The Bishop's Difference

Proof of validation for what feels like a lifetime spent between historical buildings and uniform violations: my graduation announcements.

I have a list of people who I hope will send me money.

I have the package complete with name cards, cards, and envelopes.

I start stuffing envelopes as my mother taught me to do when I was a small child of seven and she no longer felt like doing our family's Christmas cards. At a rapid and accurate pace, I am almost finished stuffing the 50 graduation announcements in about 15 minutes.

This is where it goes south. There seems to be way too many envelopes for each card. And some are bigger than others. I figured that there was some sort of error, and I now have lots of extra envelopes for my future letter-writing campaigns. This is not logical at all. This is maybe where I should have taken an extra math class.

The great thing about Bishop's is that (almost) everyone is exceptionally smart in their given field. My peers continue to astound me in what they are capable of, and the general sense of impending success my class exudes as we approach graduation. This intelligence, however, rarely extend past the walls of classrooms.

The usual problem with overly book-smart people is a lack of common sense. Mine just happens to coincide directly with an acute lack of coordination and patience.

So, as I'm sure you've figured out, the envelopes were not an extra bonus. One envelope was meant to fit directly into the other, so that people could send back money in the smaller envelope, which you are meant to address to yourself. This lead me to the urge to calculate the real profit possibly made. If 50 grad announcements with name cards cost about $100, and you have to put two 44 cent (I am still astounded there is no symbol on my keyboard for the cent sign) stamps on each (in order to incite a return envelope), that is about $2.88 cents per card sent out. Not every person will send money. Is it worth it?

The real question, however, is was my expensive high school education worth it. If I am able to graduate from what is one of the most difficult secondary education institutes in the country, yet am unable to open a doughnut box, let alone assemble my own graduation announcements, was the investment worth it?

Well, once again, I'm putting all my eggs in the basket that is the big apple. I'm sure some street smarts will smack me in the face once I hit the ground running. 126 days to go!