Graduation Celebration

I just realized that I never posted anything about convocation, which is crazy considering all of the blood, sweat, and tears that went into me graduating in the first place! I am so incredibly happy that my undergrad is over, and though I will likely go back to school at some point, I'm really enjoying a break from it all. It's hard to put into words, but being a student really is a full-time job. It's always weighing on your mind - there is always a paper to write, an exam coming up, readings to do (which are always at least 20 pages too long) and classes to prepare for.

Graduation at Western is comically ironic - in typical "Western" fashion it is not easy or simple, and at a certain point you start to wonder if it's worth it after all. It's not entirely different from a big final exam. I arrived at the school at 7:45 am to pick up my regalia(following the directions on the website), anticipating an hour-long line that is the norm in university. However, there was no line, so I ended up being way way too early at the school on a very hot day. By the time that I headed over to Thames Hall to wait with all the other graduates at 8:30, I was already hot, sweaty, and tired. We were all supposed to be there at that point so we could receive important information about how graduation was going to go down, but in a typical move, these announcements didn't start for another half hour. There was no air conditioning or seating, which was something I should have anticipated. When I was talking with the other graduates I was lined up with, we all joked about how Western wanted to be part of one last traumatic event in our lives before they released us into the world. Finally, at 10:00, I got to sit down, which I have to say was one of the best things that had happened to me all morning.

The ceremony was actually awesome, I really enjoyed our guest speaker, and the day started to pick up after that. Crossing the stage to have my hood placed on me was one of the biggest adrenaline rushes I've ever had in my entire life. That right there made it all worth it - the lines, the heat, everything seemed so inconsequential when I realized the gravity of the situation. It was one of those moments that I will always remember. I want to thank my parents for making all of this possible; thank you for supporting me, encouraging me, and listening to me when I felt that I couldn't take one more step. Thanks for sticking with me, no matter what. I can't fully express my gratitude, either in verbal or written words, but I just want you to know how much I appreciate your love. I'm a graduate now!

Entering Alumni Hall

Grad ceremony

Getting the hood placed on me

One expensive piece of paper

Hoodin' it up

As the guest speaker, Margaret MacMillan put it, with the 'graduation team'!

Flying high

Jeff turns 25!

Amidst the craziness occurring in our lives right now (I really had no idea how many phone calls I'd have to make after purchasing a house...that was naive) I attempted to throw my boyfriend a surprise 25th birthday party. While I don't think it was too much of a surprise, as several of us kind of gave away the "surprise" part of it all, I think a fun time was had by all who stopped by to celebrate Jeff's birthday. I got to try out a few new recipes - I tried cucumber cups stuffed with spicy crab and a nacho bean dip, which everyone really seemed to enjoy. I think I'll probably make the bean dip again. Thank you Pinterest!

I think it will probably be the last time I try and throw a 'surprise' anything, since I have such a hard time keeping secrets when I get really excited. At least when it comes to Jeff, since I'm really bad at hiding my feelings from him. I'm sure knew a good chunk of what was going on all along just from reading the emotions on my face when I tried to be sneaky about his party. He's just so hard to surprise! Also, the suspense was probably ruined when Jeff arrived for the party (where people were just supposed to drop-in so he wouldn't see a bunch of cars in the drive-way and also so people could come and go as they pleased) and my dad asked me in front of Jeff "is Jeff supposed to be here yet?" Oh man!

Oh well, with planning a party out of the way I can focus on getting rid of things Jeff and I won't need at our new house and on packing, which I have not even started to do yet. Not to mention job-hunting, which has not been going the greatest. Since talking about it only makes me feel bad, and since absolutely everyone asks me about it, I don't think I'll touch upon it too much here.

I keep meaning to take 'glamour shots' of our apartment so I can always remember the first home we lived in together, and in typical fashion, I keep putting it off. But not any more! This week I will (hopefully) get things accomplished! There are only 17 days left until we get possession! 

Birthday boy! Such a cheesy photo, but I love it