May 16, 2009

• Man.  It's been a LONG time.  Thank you all for being patient with me...are you all still out there?

  What a whirlwind couple of months it has been.  The biggest news of all?

  I AM OFFICIALLY A COLLEGE GRADUATE!  WOOHOO!!! 

  I would have pictures, but they are all on other peoples cameras, so you are going to have to take my word for it.  I knew that I was going to finish, but I am not going to lie - those last couple of weeks were really rough.  I counted it up and over the last three weeks of school I produced/wrote more than 200 pages of original thought.  I was a writing machine, and by the time that it was all finished, I felt like my brain was swiss cheese.  But it is DONE! 

  Graduation day rolled around and it was BEAUTIFUL.  It had been super rainy and grey outside all week, and I had prayed that on Saturday, the weather would be pretty - I know it may be silly, but I just wanted a day that would match the happiness on my insides.  And wouldn't you know it?  The day dawned bright and clear and was just what I had been praying for.  Isn't it just like to Lord to do that for me?  While there are those who would say that God doesn't pay attention to details like that, I am absolutely convinced that He does, and even more certain that He did that just for me on my graduation day.   (Never mind the other 600+ graduates) 

  I was standing there in the gym, with all of the other graduates from the College of Arts and Sciences figuring out where we were supposed to be standing in line, the proper place to put our various cords and pins and what not (for such a big production, we all had relatively little instruction about what to do or what was going to happen - I should write a letter and make some recommendations...NONE of us really knew what we were supposed to be doing), listening every now and again when the photographer would come over the loudspeaker and give us instructions about where to look when we were receiving our diplomas, etc...mass chaos.  Anyway - I was standing there and realized that I still didn't FEEL like a graduate.  Even in that hour before the ceremony began, I still hadn't been able to wrap my brain around the fact that it was over and I was finished.

  That all changed the minute I walked in line out into the gym where the ceremony was being held - hearing the cheers of the assembled family and friends - Pomp and Circumstance being played by the school orchestra...it all finally hit me, and I got super choked up.  Funny what you think at times like that - my first thought was 'I can't cry - I didn't wear water-proof mascara!'.  Haha.  Gotta have your priorities.

  Anyway, I got to my seat and starting scanning the stands for my family - my dad and mom, Hannah and John, my five siblings still living at home (Abe, Sam, Jannah, Jordan and Jesse) and my grandma - when I found them I started to cry AGAIN - so I quit looking at them.  Then I looked up and there was Wendy - right in my line of vision.  And I cried again.  All happy tears mind you - tears of relief and joy and happiness and overwhelmed and thankfulness.

  The ceremony itself was boring and uninspired - I guess I expected more from it, but whatever - I stayed entertained envisioning all of the professors in their academic regalia flying around on magic brooms and playing quidditch (for those of you who have read Harry Potter, you will totally get this reference) and getting the giggles on the inside because it made me laugh to think such irreverent thoughts.  Seriously though - with their poofy hats, and multi-colored hoods and drapery and such, they looked like they were straight out of the books!   On the inside I thought I was very clever and wished that I had Wendy or Flo sitting next to me to giggle with about it...

  Before I knew it, I was walking across the stage - SUPER proud of the fact that I was one of 30 or so students out of over 600 that were 'summa cum laude', or had a graduating GPA of over 3.9.  My goal was to graduate with a perfect 4.0, and I totally did it.  It won't mean anything to anyone years down the road, but it meant a lot to me for several reasons - first of all because it was like a proving ground for me (to myself, not to anyone else) and also because this is really the first time I have attempted something this big and actually finished it.  For those of you who know me well, you know that I tend to be very enthusiastic about new things, but then the excitement dies and I end up quitting before it is done.  Not something that I have ever been proud of, but nothing that I ever changed either.  This graduation for me marks the beginning of something new...a lifetime of starting new endeavors and actually finishing them.  It is a very good thing.

  Anyway - I could go on and on about the day, but suffice it to say, it was wonderful.  To have my family and Wendy there for the celebration, the party that my family threw afterwards, being surrounded by the people who love me and take as much pride and delight in my successes as I do was amazing.

  I am blessed.

  I was going to do a tribute post for the many people who have helped me to get to this point, but it is late and this is already very much longer than I anticipated.  More later friends - Havah is back! 

  • 12:55 am
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