Editing 59: Graduation

{{comic
| number    = 59
| date      = February 3, 2006
| title     = Graduation
| image     = graduation.jpg
| titletext = Opening dialogue by Scott
}}

==Explanation==
[[Megan]] and [[Blondie]] (in her first appearance) discuss their plans for life after college. Megan has taken the increasingly unusual choice of pursuing a career as a {{w|Lighthouse keeper|lighthouse operator}}, a path that has become increasingly less traveled, as lighthouses have become ever more automated and supplanted by other solutions. Before GPS technology, {{w|Lighthouse|lighthouses}} were invaluable markers of where dangers to marine navigation, such as shallow reefs or coastal headlands, were located. Megan likes the idea of subverting the {{tvtropes|GirlInTheTower|trope of the helpless maid in the tower}} who needs saving, by helping to save seafarers by operating a lighthouse that helps them to find their way safely back home.

When it comes to her turn to answer her own question, Blondie answers that she plans to pursue {{w|Postgraduate education|postgraduate education}}, but admits that she has no purpose for doing so. After obtaining an {{w|undergraduate education|undergraduate}}/{{w|Bachelor's degree|bachelor's}} degree, {{w|Graduate school|graduate school}} is the next level of education, where students pursue a {{w|Master's degree|master's}} or {{w|Doctorate|doctoral}} {{w|Academic degree|degree}}. Augmenting one's education with post-graduate studies is a conventional career path, and would imply that the student has a definite plan for their career, yet some people may attend grad school only ''because'' it is conventional, without having any definite plan for their career. This appears to be the case for Blondie, contrasted with Megan's choice of a seemingly {{w|Blue-collar worker|blue collar}}/{{w|Skilled worker|unskilled}} career &mdash; one might expect such a career to indicate someone who has no specific career plan, yet Megan seems to know her exact purpose, unlike Blondie. The fact that Blondie then accepts an invitation to spend her breaks at Megan's lighthouse suggests that she finds this a more attractive prospect than her more conventional path.

Other comics with a similar theme about finding or taking unexplored paths, instead of fitting into the mold, include [[137: Dreams]] and [[267: Choices: Part 4]].

[[Scott]] appears to be a friend of [[Randall Munroe]]. Comics 57 through 59 all have the title text ''[[:Category:Opening dialogue by Scott|Opening dialogue by Scott]]'', forming a sort of informal mini-series inspired by him. They are:
*[[57: Wait For Me]]
*[[58: Why Do You Love Me?]]
*[[59: Graduation]]
As there already was a comic released on Monday that week, the first of these three was released on Tuesday, then Wednesday and Friday. This may be related to the fact that this was the first week where the comics were not also released on [[LiveJournal]].

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Blondie are talking.]
:Blondie: What do you want to do when you graduate?
:Megan: I want to become a lighthouse operator.
:Blondie: Oh?
:Megan: Yeah.
:[Cut to scene of lighthouse with text overlaid.]
:Megan: Lighthouses are built on interesting pieces of coast, so I'll have an interesting place to walk and swim, and great views of all kinds of weather. I'd feel good about myself and my work every single day.
:[Cut back to the two girls.]
:Megan: I'd get to be the girl in the tower, only I'd be the one rescuing people.
:Megan: Why, what do you want to do?
:Blondie: I'm going to grad school. I don't really know why.
:Megan: Wanna come hang in my lighthouse over breaks?
:Blondie: ...yeah.

==Trivia==
This is the first xkcd comic featuring [[Blondie]].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Scott]]
[[Category:Opening dialogue by Scott]]
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]