Hope Road

Was it only yesterday? Wow. Everything was a blur. Graduation is the kind of event that catches you up in its momentum, leaving very little time for reflection. But I am going to process some of it by writing about it now. I hope to post a picture or two soon.

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Yesterday morning, I woke up on edge, looking at the clock to make sure everything was on schedule. I said good morning to my roommates and noted the beautiful weather. My sister came over to curl my hair, and I made a myriad of preparations - eating coffee cake with my fingers (because all of our utensils and dishes were packed), doing my nails, brushing my teeth, etc.

My two (former) roommates are my two best friends. On one of our birthdays last fall we bought balloons and let them go in the city. We were going to do it again before graduation. We had purchased balloons the night before, but it was a little chilly and they had deflated slightly. Outside in the sunshine, we tried to release them, but only one floated away. It was Sarah’s, and she is going to South America to teach in the fall. My other roommate’s drifted along at eye level for awhile, and mine dragged on the ground. I really hope that wasn’t symbolic of our respective futures!

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Per instruction, we arrived at graduation an hour early and waited in the hall near the auditorium. It was lots of fun to take pictures, hug friends, and roam around talking to people. The hour drew near and we were herded into our double-file line, then shuffled along the corridor. Suddenly, my part of the line arrived in the auditorium, and it was an overwhelming moment - music was playing, people were screaming and cheering, and cameras were flashing. I looked everywhere for my family and spotted them waving and crying and smiling.

The ceremony really seemed to fly by. My division was one of the last to walk, so I got to see almost all of my friends go first, and I cheered loudly for each one of them. Then it was my turn, and it seemed unreal that I was walking across the brilliantly-lit stage to shake the president’s hand and take my diploma. Suddenly I was walking down the other side and taking my seat, and that was it! I was a college graduate!

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I won’t bore you with the details of the rest of the day, but it moved so quickly. The ceremony over, we socialized with friends and family. My family and I went out to lunch, then packed everything up and headed back home. It took quite some time to unload the cars, since my sister was moving home too. My room is full of so much stuff! I just want to snap my fingers and have everything clean.

It really does seem surreal that it’s all over. It was hard to say goodbye, very hard. At the same time, I’m overjoyed to be done with homework and college-related stress. And the future stretches ahead of me in all of its quivery, uncertain possibility. But I dwell in possibility, yo! (I am sure Emily Dickinson would be proud of that construction.)

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I’m taking it one step at a time. My next step is to get my life organized again, and continue my job search. I am so happy that I graduated. The Lord has done great things for me, and I am filled with joy.

Filed under: Career/Education, My Life on May 11th, 2008