Final Finally!

This is the draft that I sent in to BYU Magazine's First Person section. They asked for stories about finals and I couldn't help but recall my final Final. Enjoy!

Final Finally!
By Holly Kara Mesarch
(BM ’04), San Antonio, TX


Music 304 was only three credits, but it was VERY intense, and was often the bane of a music student’s existence. Add to that being pregnant with our first child, and a slight scheduling problem during finals and things get a little more complicated.

My husband had already completed his classes and we’d both already walked together during the April Commencement ceremony. He was ready to move on to attend medical school in Kansas City, MO, and I was ready to join with him in this exciting new chapter in our lives. There was only one minor problem: his mandatory orientation week started the last week of my summer term. We knew about this early on, so I made arrangements with my other teachers to take their finals early. However, the teacher of my music history class politely but firmly said, “No.”

To a pregnant woman, this the worst news possible: how was I supposed to graduate with dignity and move at the same time if I couldn’t take my final Final??? It wasn’t very convenient, but we figured out I could drive the 1,100 miles to Kansas City, be there for special opening events, drive back to Provo with my mom who would be helping us, take my final, and then fly back to join my husband. I didn’t like the idea of adding a D to my transcript, so we scrounged up the money to buy the plane ticket.

I’d already begun my next chapter without finishing the previous one, and was struggling to care at that point, but with the help of peers who shared missed notes, and lots of studying, I aced that test! The sweet taste of finally getting an A in a Music History class and having a strong finish was well worth it!