I walked, only because I a few of my closest friends were graduating with me. Otherwise, your explanation for skipping the ceremony would have been the same as mine.

My diploma is in a pile under a desk at home. I will probably never use my degree. I don't care with a passion.

My diploma is hanging on a wall in my apartment, where it belongs. Here's what I've used my diploma to:

• Get the hell out of Windsor, Ontario.
• Get a reasonably high paying (in Canadian terms) job nearly immediately after graduation (6 months, because I was being picky).
• Get a job in LA, doubling my Canadian salary, less than two weeks after being layed off, partly because the diploma let me...
• ...Get a year-long, renewable US work visa under NAFTA in less than a week.
  

And every now and then, I actually do something at work that's related to something I learned while getting my degree... but not that often.

My diploma opened doors for me. Sorry to hear yours was a waste.