What a great moment! After five years of stress, sleepless nights, peer critiques, and more, it's rewarding to be able to say that I've completed my Bachelors Degree in Graphic Design with the highest honors.

While I did graduate through Southern New Hampshire University, that's not where I started. In 2013 I attended Shippensburg University. I loved the teachers and students I got to work with, but I felt that their graphic design program was underfunded and not very developed. I still have the abstract, phallic sculpture that I created in my 3D design class, which my professor loved. I had a hard time taking that class seriously considering the materials- or lack of- that we had to work with, and wanted to see what I could get away with. During the critique my professor started to get frustrated that none of the students wanted to mention what it resembled, so he blurted out, "It's a penis!"

The following year I attended the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design in my home town, Lancaster. This college was very liberal, and many of the projects didn't have a whole lot of restrictions. This allowed students to be free to experiment, and work on perfecting skills specific to their passions. I have seen a lot of amazing work come from peers and alumni from this college. Unfortunately, while attending PCA&D, I became very sick after contracting Lyme Disease from a tick. I was horrified when one day I couldn't remember how to navigate out of this school which I had been attending for months. I struggled through classes, not knowing how to properly deal with my pain, and because of conflicts with people I had been living with, I had to find a new place to live.

Since I had started talking to my father that year, I asked if I could once again be a part of his life. He was very accepting, and allowed me to move across the state of Pennsylvania to live with him. The best college I could find that offered a Graphic Design Program was La Roche College. I loved how structured and advanced their program was, but found out that I did not have enough funds to graduate from this school because less credits from my previous colleges had transferred than I was initially told.

The best option I could find to finish my degree was through Southern New Hampshire University Online, and I am so thankful that this was an affordable and manageable option for me, so that I could work and study on my own schedule. I can admit studying online can be difficult because there isn't the opportunity to talk with my teachers and peers face to face in a class setting. Since I love critiquing work, however, the online platform was great because I felt less pressure to say whatever was on my mind with the intent of providing the most valuable feedback that I could offer.

Does this mean I am finished with my education? Hardly. Learning is a life long experience, and I want to soak up as much as I can. When I feel that I am living a stable life financially I want to continue to take classes to further learn web development, video and music production, and also sign language.