"I straightened my gown for the millionth time that hour.

'Will you relax Jay?' Cerberus said. 'You look fine.'

'I know,' I replied. 'But I want this to be perfect for you.' It was, after all a bigger thing for him than it was me: his parents had not had the opportunity to finish college, mine were both doctors. Cerberus smiled and took the prop diploma from my claw.

'You're here with me,' he said with a smile. 'That makes it perfect.'

Suddenly, I didn't care that there was someone with a camera right behind us. I grabbed him around the waist, lifted him into the air, and kissed him full on the muzzle. Even through my closed eyelids, I could see the flash of the camera. It didn't matter. I had my husky, and we'd done it. We'd graduated, and completed one step of our journey together.

Besides, Mom would love the photo."


Art by GlacierK of FA

So, some back story. As of this posting, I am 3 weeks away from completing my last class in college. I have been doing well, so baring a disaster, there is nothing but time (and a lot of work on a thesis paper) standing between me and my bachelor's.
It has been... a much longer journey for me than my avatar up there. For those of you who might not know, I have the misfortune to possess several learning disabilities that have made getting my degree a massive challenge.
How massive? I graduated high school in 2002. I'm just now finishing my degree.
But the journey is almost over. I asked GlacierK if she could do this for me as I was struggling with this last class and was seriously thinking about dropping it. I hoped that being reminded how close to the end I was would help. So far, it has.