Hard on the heels of my degree certificate, came the information pack and guest tickets for my graduation in about 6 weeks time. Early indicators suggest I might be wearing a kilt to the ceremony, we'll have to wait and see though. My wife and I had a, should I say, "heated discussion" about why there were only 2 guest tickets in the pack, when I had asked for 3. I explained that there was only meant to be 2, that it had said I would only get 2, and that it also said there was great demand. Of course, that wasn't sufficent, I would have to phone and demand an additional ticket. The whole "discussion" became a moot point really when she picked up the tickets and discovered there were 2 stuck together. That was my fault too. As a husband and father, I find that being to blame is just part of the job. I'm beginning to get the sense that this could be an incredibly hard year. There are high expectations on me, from everyone including myself it seems. I envision that some of the things I'll have to do in the coming months will test me like never before. Not that I doubt I can do it, and I certainly want to do it. It's just this external pressure that's beginning to build even after a week. What will it be like later on if it continues to build? You just don't realise what it takes to become a teacher, it feels like I'm climbing Everest, and that when I get to the top, I'll find it's just the first mountain in a chain of peaks.
So far, the lecturers and tutors have been amazing. I just can't believe how good these people are at talking, and with such confidence and exuberance. Perhaps that's where a lot of the pressure is coming from. They're setting the bar so high for us, that the task seems enormous, but I've met teachers before, and they're not all geniuses, far from it in fact, some of them haven't met up to my expectations of what a teacher should be at all. Perhaps I'm merely realising just how prestigious a Uni I'm in, and seeing first-hand why it's so damn prestigious.
