You may not think about it, but, when you’re a recent university grad, especially one with a tendency to work overseas and want to travel at a moment’s notice, your degree is in high demand.
When you apply to work in a country like Japan or Korea, they want proof that you went to university, so despite graduating maybe years back, you find yourself back in the Registrar’s Office, making certified copies of your degree and requesting countless copies of your transcripts.
Since the ball seems to be rolling in the Korea direction, it was finally time for me to get those certified copies of my degree. Luckily, I only live an hour away from my university, so I didn’t mind the commute.
Now, I love my diploma more than some people. It’s in the biggest, blingiest frame I could get from my school, because, damn it, I worked my ass off. There were times I didn’t think I would finish, and times where others thought the same. But I worked, and so I am going to frame that $20,000 piece of paper up where THE ENTIRE WORLD can see. Or, at least, my living room.
The visa applications for overseas will often ask for your original diploma. This is not necessary! If you have the ability, make sure you get some certified copies of your diploma to send off when necessary. The chances of them stamping it, marking it, damaging it, or an array of other things happening to it that could nullify it are not worth the risk.
Or, you could have the most terrifying thing ever happen, and you could lose it.
Which is what almost happened to me today.
Honestly, I don’t remember what happened. The diploma was locked in the car, inside the locked compartment INSIDE the locked car, and was in it’s protective clearfile (I love my diplima~) and there was Ikea and it was hot and… I must not have been thinking and took it out of the lovely protective locked compartment. Looking for the GPS system or something, I’m sure.
Cue 20 minutes later when, oh god, where is my diploma?
It gone. Completely. I had NO idea where it was, and feared the worse. My mom was going on about why would someone steal the degree and not the GPS system (Oh god, the thought made me cry, despite how illogical it would be) and I simply could NOT figure out where it was.
Answer: It had some how managed to fall in behind the back seat, into the trunk.
DON’T ASK ME HOW. I’VE NO IDEA. I could have died, I was so happy to see it again.
Long story short: Keep your diploma in a giant, blinging frame on the wall, because if you lose it, you will never go overseas and it will make you sad.