It Has Arrived!

School is starting up again this week and it makes me a little sad that I won't be heading to the store and stocking up on school supplies for the start of a new semester. Minus the expenses I love going to school. I especially love the first week of school when I get to see who is in all of my classes (in major classes its always nice to see familiar faces) and hear about all of the things I'll be working on and learning throughout the semester. Yes, the true geek in me LOVES school.

My saddness for not attending school this semester is small in comparison to the excitement I felt when this package arrived in the mail yesterday:

I quickly opened up the package to reveal.....MY DIPLOMA! It felt so good to see my name and the official seals. Graduation was something special and it felt great to accomplish this. This piece of paper represents years of hard work, an unbelievable amount of papers, projects, and assignments, many long nights of studying, and a few hundred laps around the parking lot looking for a spot.

One of the gifts that my parents gave me for graduation was a frame for my diploma. As soon as I opened the package I went straight upstairs to grab the frame and put my diploma in its new home.

It only took a few minutes to get the diploma fitted in the frame....

...and up on the wall in the office.

I think it looks amazing!

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! 

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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!

Whoa What a Week!!!

Okay, so more like "what a crazy, awesome, fantastic, amazing, INCREDIBLE WEEK?!?!?!?!" I definitely give this last week two thumbs WAY UP! So many incredible things have happened and I feel so excited, blessed, lucky, etc., etc., etc.! Seriously my cup runneth over!

My serious lag in writing posts has been due to the fact that I have been living a very full life for the last week. Every day has been filled with some activity or another (often one AND another) and I've been moving non stop since finals ended on Wednesday. The celebrations began that evening and they are finally all winding down tonight. Needless to say I am completely exhausted but unbelievably happy.

Here's the rundown of this week:

Monday:

- Family Science Exit Exam

-Infancy Final Exam

- Internship Final Packet/Project Due

- Sarah, Amanda, and Grayson arrived

Tuesday:

- Last day of work for a week (feeling a little blah about going back but I'll be happy to be making money again!)

- Fresno READS end of the year celebration dinner at Spaghetti Factory

- Zac's parents arrived

Wednesday:

- Anthropology Final Exam

- Art Final Exam

- Margarita / Taco dinner celebration at the house

Thursday:

- Phone interview with corporate for a new position at work

- Pedicures and shopping with the girls

Friday:

- Wedding dress shopping

- Bridesmaid dress selection

- Engagement dinner

-....Engagement dinner "after party"

Saturday:

- GRADUATION!!!!

- Post Graduation BBQ at the house with the fam bam

Sunday (Today):

- Brunch at Mimi's with the girls

- Ashley's baby shower

- SLEEP!!!! (At least I'm hoping that's what's next!)

It's definitely been a packed week, but I really can't complain! It has been so wonderful being surrounded by all of my amazing friends and family for the whole week. This has definitely been a rarity for the last two semesters. Most of the time I felt so stressed; locked away in my dungeon of a study space, finishing work...alone. But the work has paid off, graduation day finally came, and I am now free to spend time with the ones that I love on a regular basis. It will be so fantastic (yet weird) to catch up with family and friends and have almost nothing new to tell them, instead of weeks worth of things to unload. I am looking forward to this new found freedom of time and energy.

I will certainly post details of each of the daily "adventures" I had this week. For now though, it is time for some serious relaxation! All of the celebrations have caught up to me and a bubble bath is calling my name. Let's just hope that I'm still awake enough to enjoy it.

***I have to renew my energy....tomorrow is day 1 of the 20/20 challenge.

My Days Are Numbered

Yesterday I finished the last paper of my college career!!! (Well....at least until I decide to go for my master's degree). It was a 10 page paper on the social construction of gender in the Disney Princess films. It was definitely an interesting topic and I really enjoyed researching it. Who doesn't like watching a bunch of movies for school?! There are so many instances in the films that reveal underlying messages about gender roles and stereotypes. A few examples I used in my paper:

Sending the message that love comes at the cost of personal sacrifice, Ariel is willing to trade not only her voice for a pair of legs but also her family and friends in the ocean to be in an unfamiliar land with a man that she is in love with but does not know. Ursula insists that Ariel has no need for her voice on land. She tell Ariel that making Eric fall in love with her will be easy because "You'll have your looks. Your pretty face. And don't underestimate the importance of body language." She goes on to sing: "The men up there don't like a lot of blabber. They think a girl who gossips is a bore. Yes, on land it's much preferred for ladies not say a word. After all dear what is idle prattle for?" She also says,"It's she who holds her tongue who gets the man!" Well enough talk from me, take a look :

In Snow White the evil queen becomes enraged when she discovers that another is more fair than she. To regain her status as the most fair in the land she sets out to kill Snow White. Meanwhile, Snow White does not fight back from the abuse she endures in her own home at the hands of the queen. Instead she accepts her position has housemaid and sings of waiting for her prince to home.



Competition between women is emphasized in Cinderella. The stepmother is threatened by Cinderella's beauty and is afraid that if the prince sees her, he will not choose one of her daughters to marry. (The goal of course being to gain royalty and riches) To prevent Cinderella from working on her own dress for the ball the stepmother gives Cinderella a long list of chores to complete. Shocked that Cinderella accomplishes not only the tasks but the dress in time for the big event, the stepmother allows her daughters to destroy Cinderella's outfit before leaving her alone in the house.

I find it really interesting that in all of these stories, the evil force set out to destroy the lives of the young maidens are not only women, but are older, less attractive women.

The best part about finishing the paper (besides the fact that it is 10 pages I don't have to worry about anymore) is that it means I'm done! Tomorrow is the last day of instruction. After I turn in my Anthropology paper, a packet of completion for my internship, and the 10 pages on social construction for my Art class, all that stands between me, graduation, and a fun filled summer of catch up dates with friends, morning walks in the park with my love, and some serious wedding planning, are four finals. Just 4 exams between me and my diploma!

Graduation is in 11 days! Whoo hoo!

Finally!

Three weeks from today I will be walking into a room, wearing a gown, utterly excited!

Nope, it won't be our wedding day...its GRADUATION DAY!

Finally the day has come to put on that cap and gown, move my tassel, and accept my diploma! As I graduated from high school in 2003, this day has been a long time coming. I started going to Fresno City College right out of high school. After a few years at City, majoring in journalism, I decided that I needed a break from school. My plan was to take a semester off and instead three years went by before I started the process to go back to school. In that time I was working two serving jobs, met and started dating Zac, and moved out of my parents house. Realizing that I didn't want to serve tables as a life long job, I quit one of my jobs and started to get everything in order to go back to school.

When I stopped going to school, I didn't drop my classes, I just stopped attending class. It had a seriously negative impact on my grade point average and I lost my opportunity to receive financial aid. It took a lot to sort out everything but I was finally back in school and it felt great. I had a few semesters at Fresno City and then I was able to transfer to Fresno State. I changed my major from journalism to child development, and then when I started attending State it changed to Child and Family Consumer Sciences. The change in major made going back to school feel like starting all over again, but I couldn't be happier about the change. Clearly, I still love to write (and that's a passion that will never fade), but I feel so enriched by all that I have learned in my major courses and I am so happy with my decision to change my educational goals.

The next two weeks leading up to finals are going to be a little stressful. I have two term papers, a project report and an exam to get completed. May 11 is the final day of instruction and then its 4 finals to go before grauation! It's a lot to get done in a short amount of time but I am confident that I can get it all done and successfully pass my courses. Until then, my cap and gown are hanging in my closet. It's a nice little reminder on the days that I get ready for school, of what I'm working towards.

It's been a long journey and I am so excited to finally reach this accomplishment.

To make it even more special, this year is the school's centennial celebration. How awesome is that?!