[Story] Don't let your degree get in the way of your education.

This summer I'll be moving from the UK back stateside en route to the south, where I'll be getting my master's in library and information science and working as a graduate intern at a special collections library! I'm pretty excited, and that's more or less the extent of the latest news in my life. However, I've got almost 5 years worth of feelings that accompany this transition, so that's what I (in an uncharacteristically public manner) am about to get into.At my undergraduate matriculation in 2011, the vice-chancellor gave a speech welcoming his (largely-hungover) audience to the university, and offered one piece of advice that has stayed with me throughout my time here: 'don't let your degree get in the way of your education.' I walked out of the ceremony as a newly-minted student that day and, since then, I have (kind of) figured out the French subjunctive, I can advanced search jstor like nobody's business, and I know that to score a 70+ on an essay it had better be nuanced af. These are all useful things to have learned, and they continue to serve me well.That said, at a certain point, being here to do a degree stopped being a series of box-ticking exercises, and turned into a vehicle for self-exploration and learning how to adult. As it happens, the time you spend procrastinating isn't worth the panic and self-hatred the night before a deadline, the sunrise from the 4th floor of the library isn't that pretty, and you really do need to learn how to cook more than 3 meals (and variations on risotto don't count).None of this came quickly, but it did happen. When I stopped procrastinating, research and ideas challenged preconceived notions I'd had about society, the world, and myself. When I started sleeping more, I stopped struggling so much with my mental and emotional health. When I started cooking more, I invited friends over, and we talked about how sometimes we all felt frustrated, and scared, and like we didn't always know why we were here.As Bill Bryson said, having just offered a detailed declaration of his love for Britain, "all of this came to me in the space of a lingering moment. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I like it here. I like it more than I can tell you."Change is good, but I will miss this place deeply. In my time here I have been educated by friends, strangers, professors, and the weather. I have learned in classrooms, in kitchens, in bars, and at bus stops. I'm better for all of it. Beyond all of that though, I'm pretty happy for now! And that's what I always wanted to be when I grew up anyway.