Graduation!!!!

Finally I can say that I am a college graduate!

I am a Fresno State Alumi; a Bulldog, Class of 2011!

It is such an unbelievable feeling to know that I did this. As I mentioned here, it was a quite a journey to get here. It took a lot of hard work, but it has certainly paid off and I am so proud of this accomplishment!

On Wednesday May 18th, I took my two last finals. The weather that day started out pretty gloomy but by the time I walked out of my art final, the sun (very fittingly) came out and shined brightly. When I pulled up to my house I heard a car horn honking; Amanda was in her car waiting for me to arrive. I had to hold in my screams. It finally hit me that I had just taken my last test before graduation. Amanda greeted me with this little wonderful treat :

A bouquet of flowers and the goods to make some strawberry margaritas!

*This is the fun balloon and bubbly treat the Zac's parents

brought for me when they arrived at our house on Tuesday night.*

Nobody was home when we went into the house. Mark, Tammie, Sarah and Baby Grayson were spending the day visiting family in Chowchilla, and Zac was at work. While we waited for everyone to get home, we put on some music and started making some drinks to celebrate.

Amanda blending up some yummy drinks.

Since no one was home, we had to rely on my camera's self timer and the kitchen counter to get a picture of us and our very large margaritas...hence the ducking down pose in this picture.

 

When Mark, Tammie, Sarah, and Grayson returned they brought with them all the goodies to make tacos. The night turned into a very fun margarita/taco night. It was definitely a preview of the weekend celebrations to come! 

________________________________________________ 

Graduation day was Saturday May 21st. I woke up before my alarm clock, excited like a little kid at Christmas. I was glad that, while I woke up tired, I didn't wake up TOO tired. The night before, after the engagement party everyone headed back to our place and we had a little bit of an "after party". We pulled out Yahtzee, popped open a few more champagne bottles, and stayed up playing games and prepping a few things for the post graduation bbq. Though I probably should have gone to sleep earlier than I did, I had so much fun that night. Zac and I are so glad that our house is becoming the house that everyone goes to. We're looking forward to the day when the backyard sitting area is complete and our indoor living spaces are fully furnished so that everyone has a place to relax and enjoy their visit.

Graduation didn't start until 9:30am but the information sheet I received when I bought my cap and gown said that doors opened at 8:00am and graduates should arrive early. There was also an incentive to arrive early. This year has been Fresno State's Centennial Celebration year. The school opened it's doors on September 11, 1911. To celebrate the centennial graduation, the school was going to hand out celebratory golden stoles to the first 1600 graduates. There were over 5000 graduates this year and although not all of them would be attending the main graduation on Saturday (many people decided to only go to their department graduations) the vibe on campus the week of finals was to get to graduation early. So I arrived at the Save Mart Center loading dock at 7:00am. Thus began a very long but very satisfying day!

Graduation started at 9:30am and ended just after noon. Walking out onto the floor with the other graduates in my department was something pretty spectacular. There were so many people in the building that it was a little overwhelming. Even though there were thousands of people in the stands, I saw Mark and Tammie the second I walked out. They were at the end of their row and I caught sight of Mark's light blue shirt and beaming smile. Further down the row I could see my parents. My mom was looking around, almost frantically. She didn't spot me until after I had already sat down and texted her. Everyone else in the row had waved hello and sat back down but my poor mom stayed standing looking from section to section to find me. The moment she finally saw me was pretty priceless and I'll always remember it.

Shortly before the ceremony officially started, I spotted Mark walking down one of the side aisles, getting closer to get a better shot with his camera. He was able to snap this photo before one of the ushers came over and told him that he had to go back to his seat.

 

After he returned to his seat my parents tried their chances of sneaking a few photos in the same spot before they were caught. I felt like I was having a little personal photoshoot even among all of the other graduates I was surrounded by.

 

It was pretty cool to be a part of the Centennial Graduation Ceremony. Watching the video slideshows with pictures of the school throughout the years made me not only excited to be graduating, but to be graduating from this school with this group of people.

It felt so great to see my name listed in the graduation program.

After the ceremony ended, I headed outside to meet those that

were able to make it to the ceremony. The weather outside was beautiful!

 

Once I was able to locate my crew on the lawn outside of the Save Mart Center, I was greeted with smiles, hugs, kisses, and flowers. It was such an outpouring of love and pride and it all meant so much to me.

I know that my parents were very excited for this moment. It's been a long time in the making and they have both told me how proud they are of me for reaching this accomplishment.

My dad knows firsthand the work that goes in to finishing school. He worked hard to get his Master's Degree in Human Resources when I was a little girl. I remember watching him type up papers on our type writer (yes you read that correctly, it says typewriter). He spent many nights up late reading and putting together projects. My father is a quiet man, so hearing him say that he was proud of me after graduation was something special.

My mom has always been the biggest cheerleader for her children. Everything that we've worked for, involved ourselves in, and achieved, she has been there for. She has been so supportive of me and my educational goals. When I had difficulty going back to school, she was right there by my side. I am very thankful to her for this support.

One of the great things about having Zac in my life (aside from being unbelievably happy with this man) is that I get another set of parents in my life. Zac has a wonderful, welcoming family and Mark and Tammie are amazing people. They've always treated me like one of their own. Over the last six years I have gotten so close to them, they have become my family, and I was so happy that they were able to make it to graduation.

Their smiles in this picture make me want to cry every time I look at it.

That afternoon/evening we had a bbq at our house to celebrate the occasion. My parents brought a cake.....

...which, of course, Zac couldn't resist.

It was the perfect ending to a fantastic day!