16. My Honorary Doctorate

I just received an honorary doctorate.
It took me fourteen years.

I guess that doesn’t make it very honorary.
I also completed several minors.
During the ceremony they even awarded me a bachelor’s degree.

Welcome to Earth University.
Where degrees are invisible and no one ever leaves campus.

Don’t worry.
You can take as long as you want to finish your degree.
Some people take eighty years.
Others take even longer.

What happens after graduation?
You enroll in another program.

But I don’t want to keep learning.
You have to. Otherwise, you leave campus.

Where would I go?
Perhaps nowhere.
Perhaps to an even harder university.

What’s the point of earning all of these degrees?
To learn.
Learn what?
The things that make up your experience.

Why do I need experience?
Because being enrolled is the experience.

I’m lost. Can’t I just take the pleasant classes?
No. That isn’t the whole curriculum.
Experience includes the entire spectrum, not just your favorite subjects.

But some classes hurt.
Yes. They're part of the experience too.

What if I refuse to learn?
Then perhaps you're ready to leave.

Wait...
I never asked to come here.
Are you sure?