She wonders what she would do if there were such a world to return to. Would she be wounded if no one cared about her? Perhaps only once the Barge made her complacent to such things. Has that already begun? Almost a terrible thought; almost.

"I suppose you are right," she nods. "You are freed from the confines of your story."

But she has also determined she doesn't actually need to graduate to reap that benefit. It comes at her mere presence here.