Graduation shoes

In a couple of weeks I will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Finally.

I was never terribly good at school when I was a young thing, but my brain isn't crash hot at storing long-term memories, so I really have no idea what I actually did with my time, but I do recall that I didn't open too many textbooks. So, despite a lack of real evidence that it would be a particularly good idea, seven years ago I decided to go to uni after a good, solid ten years out of the education system.

Like many mature-age students, I struggled at first. The reading matter was impossible (not difficult, just too left-wing for my liking - that'll teach me for studying humanities), the workload was demanding, and everyone else that seemed to be in my orbit was about 42 years younger than me. So that was tops. I studied full-time and worked part-time, and then I studied part-time and worked full-time. Nothing worked really well for me, and it all sucked for a good few years, but, looking back, I wouldn't change a thing.

So now I am going to my graduation in March.  Although I refuse to believe they won't make me do an extra unit until I actually get that piece of parchment in my hand. Before I started telling people about my graduation, I was all calm and chill about it. Then people, as they are wont to do, started to warn me about things to do, things not to do, things to avoid, etc etc etc. So now I am quite terrified about the looming graduation.

First, there's the shoes. See, I don't really care about shoes. They are a boring topic of conversation, and there is not much to discuss once you finish yakking about the brand, the style, the cut, the colour. I don't care about stupid shoes. Some people do, and that's cool, but I don't care for conversations about shoes. But now I am quite obsessed about what foot attire I should wear to my graduation, because someone told me to be careful about walking up the stairs to receive my degree because it would be terribly embarassing to trip and fall.  Why the hell did she need to plant that seed of destruction inside my head?
 



Actually, the possibility that I will trip over in public, thus humiliating myself in front of hundreds of people, is something that I would likely have come up with all by myself.   I didn't need her help in feeding my insecurities and lack of confidence in walking up a couple of stairs in front of a bored, therefore judgemental, bunch of people.  And then she just told me not to stress about it and to stop overanalysing. Well, I actually have quite a gift for overanalysing. And, besides, if people could just stop overanalysing all by themselves, I would have just wasted four years of my degree studying psychology.  If people could work out how to get rid of anxiety all by themselves there would be no need for psychologists.