Even though I woke-up at 3:30am on Friday to the pouring rain and thunder, knowing that Graduation would 99.8% be held indoors, I ended up having one of the best days I’ve had in a while. (Totally trumped my birthday the previous week!) And I guess you could say it was a marvelous day too! The only way to relive this day is to show you a slew of bad quality photos that I will forever hold near and dear to my heart!
So after I woke-up I did the usual morning routine to get ready for “school” one last time. My mom and Jimmy decorated the kitchen with balloons and graduation banners, a nice way to brighten the dark gloomy morning. I made a delicious breakfast of some buckwheat cereal with cocoa powder, peanut flour, and vanilla stevia (I need to share this non-recipe with you!) and fresh summer blueberries and strawberries. Two things going good so far…take that Friday the 13th! I drove in the pouring rain to the school, parked and waited for the rain to let up before running from the parking lot in to the cafeteria where the PTSA was holding a pre-grad breakfast. From there we had to wait over on hour before we got our caps, gowns, and cords. I had a purple and gold cord for Latin Honor Society, and a surprise-to-me yellow cord for high honors (a GPA above a 4.0)! Woohoo! Since it was still pouring out, we couldn’t even practice outside, so inside practice was our only option. We got that done pretty quickly, then put our gowns on to take a few class pictures, and then I booked it out of there and headed on home by 11:15!
When I got home the sun came out shining brighter than ever. Really?! O, Mother Nature. But I was still in a great mood and full of energy. So I got in a crazy good workout that left me even more energized. I was literally jumping out of my skin excited and happy at this point in the day. The rest of the time before graduation flew by. I got all dressed up in a black dress and black stilettos (hoping I wouldn’t trip and die, but since it was inside, the chances of that we very small. Plus I have had those shoes forever and never got to wear them, so why not on this glorious day?), had dinner at 4:30 and then we headed back to the school. In the meantime the storm came back full force!
We met my grandparents there, I left everyone to sit in the gym for hours before the ceremony started at 7pm and went to stand in the cafeteria with all the students taking pictures and waiting anxiously to get this show in the road.
Then it was finally time to proceed in. Things were getting real now! But still not really real. It still seemed surreal at this point. Here I am walking in to the gym.
Then the numerous speeches by the principal, top 7 students, the super-intendent, and the choir. It actually went pretty fast, but I started to drop at this point. My energy was slipping. Way to close to my bed time now. The adrenaline was wearing off. But…soon they started calling the names of the students so I had to stay awake! I am close to the end so I had a ways to go. But it finally was my turn.
(That is all a fraud. They give you an empty diploma book. We had to pick up our actual diplomas after the ceremony, back in the cafeteria 😛 Kills the excitement!)
After I sat back down, and the names we all through, I started getting the chills. This was real. I had just graduated. The obligatory throw your cap in the air (I did a small toss since I didn’t want to lose it!) and we proceeded out of there! (only an hour and a half for my class of 430! Yay, it was quick!) Did this really just happen? But then I had to push through crowds of the new grads and get my diploma, then walk all over the school trying to find my parents, Jimmy, and grandparents. I should have stayed in one spot, but I didn’t and those stilettos ceased to be my friend. I finally ran in to my Jimmy and my dad and we headed outside to my grandparents and mom and take a few last pictures before we left.
Then I was so exhausted, my dad and Jimmy took me home so I could eat something, take a shower, and hit the hay! They all went out to dinner though with my grandparents after they dropped me off, haha! But that is fine by me! Eating out is torture anyway 😉 I ended up getting a bit side-tracked on Facebook and twitter, but hey, I had to share my happiness and jubilation with the world! I got to bed by 10:30, fell asleep right away, and woke-up, no longer a Lion, but a fresh new GWU Colonial!
They only way to celebrate on Saturday morning? Pancakes of course!
Now it is time to savor the Summer and get ready for a whole new world/life/experience! I think it is still going to take a few days for all this to sink in. Until then…have a Happy Power Monday! See you back here to tomorrow with some things I am loving lately and the winner of the Skoop Giveaway! Enter by tonight for your chance to win!
So tell me:
+ Did it take awhile for reality to sink in after you graduated? Did it feel real right away?
+ Tell me something marvelous about your weekend!
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cduncan1983
Congratulations. And those pancakes look awesome!
Strength and Sunshine
Haha, thank you so much! 🙂 XOXO
Kamila Gornia | Holistic Biz Coach
Congrats!!!! Way to go!
Strength and Sunshine
Thanks sweetheart!
Kristy @ Southern In-Law
Congratulations on graduating, girl!
Funnily enough, I skipped out on graduating and went to a business meeting instead. I always hated big ceremonies like that so I was happy to skip it haha. But we don’t do the whole robe/cap thing in Australia unless you’re graduating from university.
Strength and Sunshine
Thank you sweetheart!
Ah, so it is a more low-key thing? Well tha’ts okay then to skip it! I couldn’t imagine not going to my graduation though! It was such a good feeling and such a wonderful memory to have!
Angie Agerter
yay – congrats on your BIG graduation. Feels amazing doesn’t it?
Our weekend was a big flop, but oh well hopefully next will be better
Strength and Sunshine
Thank you! And yes it does, haha 😉
O no! Well I hope this week bring you sunshine and happiness! I will be sending you good vibes!
Angie | Big Bear's Wife
Congratulations on Graduation! Loved all of the photos!
Strength and Sunshine
Thank you Angie! 🙂
Nikki Vergakes
Congrats! It all hasn’t reallly hit me until now and I graduated last year and am already going to be a sophomore in college. It didn’t hit me until my friends in the grade below me graduated!
Strength and Sunshine
Thank you Nikki!
It hasn’t even hit me that it is June and Summer is here! Live has just been so crazy, I don’t think I will realize any of this until it hits me full force at the end of August!
Casey @ Casey the College Celiac
Congrats on graduation! I remember it being such a blur last year, but a wonderful blur at that! Funnily enough, we wore the exact same robes (same color)! And pancakes are always the best way to celebrate! The only thing better than pancakes is pancakes and chocolate! 😉 Enjoy your summer! 😀
Strength and Sunshine
Thank you Casey! (P.S> I got your email last night and am responding right now!)
This whole year seems like a blur now! I just hope the summer doesn’t go by in a flash! I am not ready yet!
And pancakes = love 😉
Nichole Josey
CONGRATULATIONS! And a huge congrats on all your distinctions too:) Despite the rain and it being inside (I know you didn’t want that at all :/) Im so glad it was a great day! I’m also glad your grandparents could make it, I remember you saying they may not if it were to be inside. Enjoy the break you have and then get excited for a new chapter of your life! xoxo
Strength and Sunshine
Thank you Nichole!
They were able to come! And the best part was, they didn’t have to sit in the theater which was for extra seating for extra family and friends, (We actually snuck them both in to the main gym through a back door! No one even checked any of their tickets! Haha!)
Marisa @ Uproot from Oregon
Rebecca… I had NO idea you were going to GWU! It’s my alma mater! Feel free to email me if you have any questions over the summer- I remember how crazy it felt before starting in beautiful Washington DC. Congrats and good luck!
Strength and Sunshine
It is!?!?!? That’s awesome! Go Colonials! I will defineitly be emailing you! I need all the advice and wise words I can get! Thank you 🙂 XOXO
jillconyers
Congratulations Rebecca! You’re future and all the possibilities that come with it await you. Cherish this time 🙂
Strength and Sunshine
Thank you so much Jill! And I definitely will 🙂
Miss Polkadot
Congratulations, Rebecca, and welcome to the world of pretending you were an adult while still a child at heart. (: Kidding. It’s exciting for me even now that it’s been almost a year since I graduated. In fact, it was only earlier today I noticed and was in slight shock. A year already?!
I hope life has a lot of awesome happenings lined up for you now.
Marvelous about my weekend was spontaneously watching ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ with a friend and realizing you’re never too old to leave the cinema crying like a baby.
Strength and Sunshine
Haha thank you love! Time really does go so fast when we start looking back on all that’s happened! It seems like only then do we realize it.
Haha I have not heard one person see that movie without crying! You are not alone 😛
Megan @ Meg Go Run
Congratulations on graduating, Rebecca! When I graduated HS, it just felt like normal summer vacation, but clouded with some sadness because my boyfriend and I (my FIRST boyfriend) were going off to different colleges in Aug. When I graduated from college, I could believe I was actually done student teaching. I graduated in Dec, so I didn’t even go to my graduation, which made it seem like it didn’t really happen. But I jumped right into substitute teaching in January and it was very exciting to finally be PAID to TEACH!
Strength and Sunshine
Thank you Megan!
That is hard when you are leaving someone behind! I can’t even imagine what it will feel like to graduate from college…but then I know I want to go on to graduate school…maybe the education will never be done 😉
Annie Brees
Congrats lady! Here’s to a great summer!!!!
Strength and Sunshine
Thanks Annie! I’m starting it off strong 🙂
Tina Muir
CONGRATULATIONS Rebecca! How exciting for you, and such great poctures! Your hair held up better than mine, ours was inside and it was POURING with rain, but my hair went from being straight to a frizzball within an hour from the humidity and moisture in the air!
I graduated with my MBA a few weeks ago, and it still hasnt sunken in…actually a month ago haha. Time flies, it probably wont until you pack off for college soon 🙂
Strength and Sunshine
Thank you Tina!
Haha, the reason I kept my cap on the whole night was because my hair was a scary mess and started curling up too!
Graduating feels so good right? But yea, I probably won’t realize the impact of it until my parents drop me off and leave me at college…that first night…ah!
Carla
SO SO SO SO MANY CONGRATS.
the world is just beginning for you.
xo
Strength and Sunshine
Thank you so much Carla! I can’t wait to see what it has in store for me 😉
Deanna Segrave-Daly (@tspbasil)
Congrats!! You are making me feel OLD (I won’t tell you what year high school reunion I just attended 🙂
Strength and Sunshine
Thank you Deanna!
Haha, we are never old until we believe we are old 😉
IHeartVegetables
Congrats!!!! It might be SUCH a good feeling to have all of that completed 🙂 You look so cute!
Strength and Sunshine
Haha, thank you! It does feel so good. And since today is my first official day of summer….everything feels even better!
Jan @ Sprouts n Squats
Congratulations on graduation!! I was working and studying full time at the same time so starting work wasn’t a new experience for me but having LOTS of free time again was absolutely a change for me and the feeling of needing like I had to be doing study took a while to go away.
Strength and Sunshine
Thanks Jan!
Haha, I am pretty sure after this summer I am going to never have free time again! There is going to be so much to stay on top of and do! But it always ends up working out somehow 😉