Friday dawned cold and misty. I rolled out of my sleeping bag around 9:20 with groggy eyes and a smile. TODAY was the day. Not just any ordinary Friday, but the Friday in which my friends and I would graduate from college. See why I was smiling??? :)
Every 20 minutes or so, Shelby and I would turn to each other grinning while we said something like "This is it Shelby, today is the day... we graduate (this said in a rather screeching high pitch tone of excitement)".
At 11:30 am I arrived at the school for rehearsal. God gave me the privilege of being the commencement speaker and so I had to practice with the mikes and the other people speaking. I waltzed into the gym and stopped short, speechless. Yes, I had seen graduation last year, but for some reason I struck like it was the first time seeing everything before me. All the bleachers were folded out, the whole floor of the gym was covered in chairs and some had ribbon on them, and the stage had been put up with trees and a table with diplomas, and there in the center was the podium. My heart leaped and I could barely contain my excitement. The dream of graduating was finally coming true. I was walked over to the sound guys and given instructions from them.
Then... I walked up the middle aisle of chairs, up the stair to the stage and stood in front of the podium. The mike was turned on and I began to speak. The echos of my voice filled the room...it was weird. The sound guy came up and fixed where the mike was and I began again, this time with confidence and joy. It made a difference. I went through the speech one last time and just as I was finishing the Vice President for Instruction and other speakers walked in. We all had a small meeting and were each giving a overview script which outlined what would go on that night.
They all introduced themselves to me and many of them practiced my last name (its a hard name for those of you who don't know it...lol). Then the president of the college came in and we talked briefly before she too was given a lesson by a staff member on pronouncing my name. Hahaha..
I ran to another building and made copies of my speech and before I returned I stopped by my boss's office and read her my speech. Her smiling face was such an encouragement and when I looked up for my final words there were tears in her eyes. I will never forget that moment.
After giving copies of my speech to the other speakers I was free to go. I floated back to where I worked because one of my boss's had bought flowers for me. Thank you Bridget, you are sooo very sweet! Before leaving I ran into one of my good friends, she and I talked for a while and also did the little "We are DONE" scream.
On my way home I stopped and bought a pair of earrings for graduation....they would go perfect with my outfit. I arrived home and bounced into the house. Daddy was grinning and so was I! I ironed my gown and prepared the last minute things needed. Then I returned the Shelby's house.
By this time there was only 3 1/2 hours left till graduation and so the level of excitement was steadily climbing. We had a brief lunch and then commenced with getting ready. As I curled my hair I reflected back over the last two years. Sure there were many times of misery and sadness, but I believe that the good times far outweighed the bad. I would be leaving this school with a treasure box full of memories and more importantly with some of the best friends a person could EVER have. No, I would not trade those two years for anything. God had been so good!!
Every few minutes I would run downstairs and talk to Shelby. My adrenaline level was through the roof! I laughed as Grant and Andrew proudly showed off their "mirror" shoes. I persuaded them to iron their gowns (they were going to go all wrinkled) and then looked in awe at the amazing job they did at it (way better than my iron job). Even those two boys, who many times pretended not to care, seemed excited.
Shelby and I got into our dresses and then... we put the caps and gowns on. I put my stoles and honors cord around my neck, slipped into my shoes and I was finished. There was no more left to do.
We were ready.
And so, wreathed in smiles we left the house and headed for school (I had to be there a little early). All the way over we talked excitedly and the camera flashed picture after picture. Finally we pulled into the school parking lot. I turned the car off and took a deep breath. Here we were... and it was time. I opened the door, grabbed my stuff and we proceeded to our starting point.
We walked into the building where we were supposed to start and to my great excitement there were graduates! Yay! I don't know why, but I was just so excited to see others dressed like I was. Quietly I slipped into my boss's office and hugged her. Thank you Laine for everything you have done for me! I bought my honors stole and then Shelby and I checked in. We got cards with our names and then I received instructions that all amounted to "Don't get lost, we don't want to come looking for you, stay with Trish, and watch the clock". Hehehe... you would have thought I was a little kid, oh well.
My mom was there, looking very fabulous I might add, and she helped me breathe and helped fix my outfit. We walked out of the preparation room and there were Grant and Andrew. They looked awesome!! I had waited a long time to see them in "dresses" and it was well worth the wait. They honestly didn't look funny like I thought though. I put my lip gloss on for one last time and stood talking and waiting with my 3 "siblings", Ryan, Vanessa, and Wes. It was fun and helped pass the time that seemed to crawl along. All throughout the wait I saw friends... and what fun it was! Everybody looked fabulous in their maroon outfits with the gold cords. Each minute that passed seemed to get better and better. The whole experience so far was 100 times better than I thought.
Finally the head of registration moved all the graduates into a hall. I had to stay behind. I sat down on a bench in the now quiet and spacious main hallway and thought. How many times had I walked these halls with a backpack, and what fond memories I had. These halls had held some of my greatest fears and some of my greatest joys. This hall, normally bustling with activity, was all but deserted and in it's quietness I once again praised my Savior for His many blessings to me. I thought about what would be happening soon. In a few minutes I would be participating in one of the greatest ceremonies of my life.
The faculty came out of their meeting and walked up to Trish (VP for Education Serv.) and she told me where to stand. I stood there and watched as the faculty made two lines behind me and then the students filed into two lines behind them. Everybody was in place. The faculty looked grand in their flowing black robes and colored scarves representing their schools. I smiled, this was a memory. In front of me stood the board of trustees, the president and two vice presidents, all dressed in those black robes. All of them, as well as the faculty had black hats too.
Suddenly, Mike (who was in charge) signalled us and we began to move forward. My heart leaped and I drew in a sharp breath. The time had come....
