I will readily admit that I am a bit of a nerd. Actually, I am a huge nerd. I love to learn, and I love being a student. So it should come as no surprise that I took four-and-a-half years to finish my undergraduate degree. I wanted to take a victory lap, as they say. However, nothing about my last semester could be called academically challenging. In fact, I didn’t have a single academic class. As a Kinesiology major, there were a certain number of P.E. classes that I had to take. I kept putting these requirements off in favor of more interesting subjects such as Exercise Physiology, the Care and Prevention of Athletic Injuries and introductory courses in Cardiac Rehabilitation. But when I got to the end of four years, only eight semester hours stood between me and graduation, and they were all P.E.

Not that I really wanted to graduate. I almost didn’t want to. Not only would it mean that I didn’t get to take any more classes (at least for a while), it also meant having to sit through an incredibly long and boring ceremony. Commencement at Texas Tech lasts about three hours. There are speeches by people you don’t know and who will probably have no lasting impact on your life, and then you have to sit in agony as thousands of people walk across the stage to get their diplomas. I mean, I know graduating from college is a wonderful accomplishment, but it seems to me that the way we choose to acknowledge this occasion is more like a punishment than a celebration.

So, knowing what kind of torture lay ahead for me on graduation day, I decided to go and visit my brother, Andy, in California the week before I graduated. He had just moved to the San Francisco area that summer to work at a church as an intern with the youth group, and I was just dying to see what his Cali lifestyle was all about. I had heard many stories of sunshine, many interesting people, and IN-N-OUT burger. IN-N-OUT is a fast food chain that, supposedly, is so good that it would be worth my trip, in and of itself. I’m never one to turn down a good burger, even if I have to travel halfway across the country to get it. Besides, I was graduating; I deserved it.

My plan was perfectly laid out to allow maximum Cali time. I was to arrive on a Saturday, exactly one week before graduation, and fly back to Texas the following Friday, the day before graduation. My parents would pick me up at the airport that night, and I would be able to be back to my apartment to get a good night’s rest before my 1 p.m. graduation the next day. Mom and dad had hotel reservations, and we had dinner plans with various family and friends set up for after the ceremony. At least I would get some free food out of it.

Cali time went exactly according to plans. As soon as Andy picked me up at the airport, we went to play Wiffle-ball (a plastic baseball with holes in it) with some of the kids in his youth group. I got to meet all of his friends, and I really got to see what his life there was like. We even made a trip down to L.A. (where Andy currently lives) with the intent of going to Disney World. Sadly, that didn’t happen (and is another story entirely), but it was still a fun trip, and I got to meet some more of his friends. All in all, it was an amazing time that will live on in my memory as one of the more epic trips that I have taken.

So you can understand how we were sad to see it end. When Thursday evening rolled around, and we were making preparation to get me to the airport the next day, I just had a feeling that it wasn’t supposed to be over. It just didn’t feel like my trip was complete, and I couldn’t exactly say why. I knew that my graduation ceremony was waiting for me back in Texas, and that wasn’t particularly exciting, but I had this pervasive feeling that I had unfinished business in California.

Nonetheless, we were committed to seeing the plan through to completion. So I packed my bag on Thursday night, and we loaded up the car the next morning to head to the airport. As we drove, we talked and laughed about the previous week, and about how boring graduation was going to be. I was intermittently gazing out the window, looking at the street signs and the billboards.

And then I saw it: an IN-N-OUT sign. I had not yet had an IN-N-OUT burger.

I instantly knew that this was what I needed to complete my California experience. This was my unfinished business. I had no sooner said these words to Andy, than he had whipped us into the parking lot.

“Should we go through the drive-thru?” I asked.

“Nah, we’ve got time,” replied Andy.

What I experienced inside was not earth-shattering. I did not have an other-worldly experience, or see the face of Jesus in the bun of my burger. I did, however, have a very good cheeseburger and an excellent chocolate milk shake, and gave me some closure on my Cali adventure. Or so I thought.

Even though it had not been half an hour since we had exited the freeway, traffic had become so clogged that it caused us to get to the airport only 12 minutes before my flight was scheduled to leave. As it turns out, airlines generally consider this unacceptable, and there were no more flights that day. The best they could do was give me the same itinerary for the next day, which would not get me back in time for graduation. Oops.

To be honest, I was a little disappointed. I had spent close to a $100 on a cap, gown, and honor cords that would now go unused. I also wasted all of the money that I had spent on the plane ticket, and now had to help pay for gas since I would be driving back to Texas with my brother a few days later. I was more disappointed for my parents, though. They were so excited to see their oldest child graduate from college, and I missed it. And for what? A cheeseburger.

Then I reminded myself how boring graduation ceremonies were, and thought about all of the extra fun I had on my bonus time in California. I got to go on a retreat with Andy and his youth group, and he even held a fake graduation ceremony for me. Sometimes I think I should have planned it that way and not even have tried to make it back for graduation. Then again, it probably wouldn’t have been as much fun if it had been planned, and it definitely wouldn’t be as funny. Now I get to tell people that I missed my college graduation for a cheeseburger. It’s a great little factoid to use while playing get-to-know-you games, and I loved telling the story to my students because it allowed them to see that I am, in fact, human. More importantly, I didn’t have to waste three hours of my life in a silly outfit listening to people tell me how great it is to graduate from college, and pretending to be excited about it.

That tasty cheeseburger was five-and-a-half years ago. I still got my diploma, and my parents were able to see me graduate in 2007 when I was awarded a Master’s degree. I have had the opportunity to do and see many amazing things since I missed my college graduation, yet this story will always hold a very special place in my heart, probably because of its uniqueness. The question I get most often when I tell this story is “Was it worth it?” The answer is an unequivocal “Yes!” and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

3 Responses to “College graduation”

1. Yo' Mauma Says:
   July 22nd, 2008 at 12:29 pm

   Nic, your writing the non-graduation story has caused the immense pain to resurface!….Not!!! Good story…I love In-N-Out burgers; I dream of them. Hmmm, maybe I will plan a trip right before my graduation in Dec. ‘09? Nah!
   Much love….Mom

2. Becka Says:
   July 22nd, 2008 at 4:28 pm

   Nic,
   I have several IN-N-OUT burger stories that could count as ordinary moments on an ordinary day. However, you have beat me to this topic… so the world will never hear about how I DID see Jesus in the bun of my (burgerless) burger. Too bad… it was a good story. (kidding)

   That said, I LOVE that you missed graduation for a burger and that you think that 4.5 years is a long time to be in school (I’ll be lucky if I finish in five… and not surprised if it takes six).

   Thanks for writing,
   Becka

3. Clark Says:
   July 24th, 2008 at 9:46 pm

   Five words: I was kinda glad too.

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