Done & Done (But Not Really...)

January 16, 2010, I walked onto stage, hugged the director of Bennington Writing Seminars, Sven Birkerts, and I bent my knees (unnecessarily) so that the Dean could place a medieval-looking hood around my neck, a symbol of completion and acceptance into a hard-won academic circle.
I remember when I attended my first graduation ceremony, watching the hoods awarded to my friends and people I didn't get the chance to know, thinking the whole thing seemed religious and, to be honest, a bit creepy. But, having been hooded myself now, I understand the necessity of ceremony. After all, graduate school is damn-tempting to drop out of, especially if the program is especially challenging (which Bennington was, for me). And those of us who tough it out, well, we deserve a damn hood.
The ceremony was lovely. There was music, dancing, tulips passed to teachers, hugs from the director, humorous speeches and serious speeches, and finally, a killer chocolate cake that made me want to find the pastry chef and tell him or her that my only goal in life was to find the right combination of words, to make just one person savor my stories as I savored that cake. (And I'm not even a cake person.)
So, before I begin to freak out about what's next, I'll cut this post short, allow that it was all worth it.