5.58 and 12 years. To anyone else, that combination probably doesn’t mean all that much. For me, it has quite a bit more significance.

Last fall, I finally decided to get enrolled back in school. Originally I enrolled in college straight out of high school. I attended a small, private university by the name of Southwestern Adventist University (College, when I first started up). I was there .. 2 1/2 years I think? I did alright, but certainly not my best, and my GPA was getting dangerously low by the time I ran out of money and had to stop attending.

I’ve always wanted to go back – I love school – but it wasn’t until I moved here that I started actively considering it. Then it was making sure the bills could still be payed, getting the work done so I made decent grades, and somehow fitting in the process of learning how to actually live and not simply exist. Yeah, it’s been a rather interesting year :P

One of the things you have to do when starting, and especially when returning, to school is to get copies of your transcripts. To the best of my knowledge, the school here had received all of them – but then a few weeks ago I received a letter stating that they had never received a copy of my high school records. That left me understandably a bit puzzled. I had asked someone about it when I went in previously to check on my payment status for the summer session, but they were really busy at the time and were unable to check for certain. I finally made it back today to check again.

Turns out they actually *didn’t* have a copy of my high school records. I had looked up the number for my high school and added it to my phone a while back, as I had tried to get a hold of someone there to find out what had happened previously. I called today while I was still at the school, and there was a woman there who answered the phone. She was very helpful, faxing the school here a copy of the records and then dropping an official copy in the mail.

While I had her on the phone, I decided to check on something I’ve been wondering about for, oh .. 12 years ^_^ The year I graduated, I went almost literally the day afterward to work at summer camp. I went from there to TX where I started college. In the process of that summer, my family packed up and moved from one state to another. What I remember them having told us at the time was that they would mail our official diplomas to us, as all we received was an empty placard when we walked. I never received my diploma, and to be honest, didn’t even know if it still existed.

Today I found out that it did.

I had to run down to work to use the fax, but once I got the number there, she sent me a form to fill out for release of the document. That, with a copy of some identification, and it was taken care of. 5.58 at the register and I was done.

5.58 and 12 years – and I may actually finally have physical proof that I graduated from high school. I know, it’s just a piece of paper, but it’s one of those pieces of paper that says, “I was here – I accomplished this!” It’s a little piece of concrete evidence that what has come before isn’t just all in my head ^_^

It’s getting framed and hung on the wall.