And for my next trick...

Hi everybody! As of this writing, I am one final exam away from finishing my B.A.. Jenna and I graduate on May 2nd. Mom is making me wake up early on a Saturday just so she can get some pictures of me walking across a stage wearing a dress and a funny hat. In the mean time, you can all make your checks payable to Zachary Hensley. I'll be expecting an amount reflective of that which I gifted to each of you upon your respective graduations...

It's probably a good idea to go ahead and fill everyone in on my plans so as to avoid saying the same thing to everyone individually. (If you've heard this already, skip ahead to Jonny's post about hanging out with famous people). I'm taking a whole week off after my graduation. Yup. It'll be the good life. From May 2nd to May 9th I'll be my own man. Maybe I'll read a little, take a nap in the afternoon, stay up late watching a Cosby Show marathon... the possibilities are really endless. Then, on May 10th, I'll start courses toward my Masters in Political Science. I got a pretty sweet deal from UWF (because I'm awesome). I've been awarded a Graduate Assistantship by the Government Department. This will pay about half of my tuition and give me a job working as an assistant within the department (grading papers, doing research, running off copies, etc.). While this job doesn't pay much and I probably won't be eating very well, it does allow me to finally quit delivering pizzas. So it's a pretty good deal. If all goes according to my calculations, I'll have my M.A. finished in December of 2010. ... And that's about it on that subject.

I've taken the liberty of anticipating some questions that may be rumbling around in your brains about now and answered them in this short FAQ segment of this post.

I thought you were going to go to law school. What happened to that? Can't cut it?
I haven't entirely ruled out law school for the future. I have, however, very much come to doubt that I really want to be a lawyer. Mainly, I don't want to have to assume crazy amounts of debt and be forced to take just whatever job I can after I graduate. I don't think I would be very happy as a wage-laboring lawyer. Also, I would have to sit around for a year and a half before I could even start law school. Pretty much every time I have said that out loud someone has told me how "taking time off doesn't work" and that "I would never amount to anything" and that I "may as well plaster my diploma onto the hood of my car and deliver pizzas for all of eternity."

How much did you give me for my graduation?
Nothing. In fact, I probably got a free meal out of it. Thanks.

I think I already found some pictures of you wearing a dress and a funny hat on a stage while I was surfing the internet.
That isn't me.