Graduation!

Graduation went great!!! The overall ceremony was really nice, everyone had fun and we all got some great pictures. The whole ceremony lasted about three to four hours but it went by so quickly we barely noticed the time go by.

My morning started very interesting. I accident set my alarm clock for 6PM instead of AM and my alarm clock never went off. Lucky for me I’m used to waking up at 6AM to teach so I woke up anyway. I got ready and I left the house at about 7AM. Hit a little bit of traffic but I knew I didn’t really need to be there until 8AM. I was worried that it would be complicated to get there because I have never been there but it was quite easy. I figured they have to make the stadium pretty dummy proof since it is made for the public.

I got there at about the same time that Ale did. We ended up walking in together and greeting everyone. It was great to see everyone because we have not seen them in a long time. When it was time to line up Ale and I had to separate. She had to go on the line to sit with the graduates while I sat up front since I had to give a speech. My dad and Stephen sat very close to me at the bottom so it was very easy for them to take pictures. Everyone looked so good!

The ceremony started off with talking from different board members and deans. After that we got right to handing out diplomas to the graduates. Sitting up front I felt like I was at a shoe fashion show. Some girls wore beautiful shoes and some wore crazy shoes that made you wonder how they don’t hurt. When it was finally my turn to get my diploma my biggest worry was that I don’t trip. Lucky for me I did great, but I did see about three girls almost fall if it wasn’t for Mr. Wood catching them at the bottom of the stairs.

Following the distribution of the diplomas was my time for the speech. I was very nervous but I don’t think I showed it. I walked up the stage and stood right behind the podium. My feet were wobbly all over but I had a great smile on my face. I had to make sure I’m not speaking too fast or too slow and that everyone got the message across. I think I did a good job. When I was done I got a loud cheer and a lot of clapping. It was a great feeling. On my way down from the stage my sleeve got stuck on the railing and I had to unhook it! It seemed like everything went in slow motion for me. I remember every tiny detail of those 3 minutes that felt like 3 hours.

After the ceremony was over Ale and I had to find Ms. Young because she said she had something for us. Ms. Young has done so much for us already that I was surprised that she had something else for us too. We got really nice Berkeley Alumni t-shirts with a graduate picture frame and a card that was signed by everyone at the Garret Mountain campus. It was a really nice surprise. My dad and Stephen got me two dozen of roses and my friends got me cards. We took a ton of pictures and the event went really well.

I am so excited that I have finally completed everything there is to college. Done with classes, got my diploma, and now walked graduation. Even thought the economy is not doing too good for current graduates we have to stay positive and take this as a learning experience of how to get though in hard times. Its better we learn now when most of us don’t have many responsibilities like mortgages, families etc. Eventually everything will turn around for us, but for now, let’s be happy and excited that we have completed a very important step in our lives!

Pictures!!!