Graduation Day: The Recap

So, if you've followed my blog long, you've known about my indecisiveness regarding whether or not to take part in my undergraduate graduation ceremony. I flip-flopped quite a bit, but decided to go ahead and do it, even if it were for no other reason for my young daughters see a cumulative end to my efforts and understand it better.

This week has been a doosey...lots of unexpected events and activities going on, lots of uncertainties for my schedule, etc. As late as Friday afternoon, I considered not attending the graduation ceremony and just doing something fun instead. But, I decided that I was tired of being indecisive and was going to stick with my original decision no matter what. When my six-year-old said, "I want you to graduate, Mommy," it sort of sealed the deal.

Overall, it was a memorable day. There were plenty of both positives and negatives to the experience. Here is a recap of the good versus bad.


Thumbs down:

Bad news
Several family members were unable to attend due to recently discovered serious health problems. In the end, I'm glad they didn't have to join us in sitting through two hours of speeches and freezing weather (see below).

To rain or not to rain...that is the question
There was a chance of rain and ominous, dark clouds filling the sky. The back-up rain plan called for the university to divide up into departments and take turns using indoor facilities. If that happened, my graduation ceremony wouldn't be held until 11:45 instead of 10 a.m. Since I live an hour away, I didn't want to bother rushing to campus to early if I didn't have to. When we didn't find any official rain plan announcements posted on the school's website at 8 a.m., we began to head that way. My sister asked, "What will you do if it starts raining during the ceremony?" My guess was that we would just get a good soaking. Fortunately, I only felt one rain drop during the event and a couple of rolls of thunder, but I couldn't count how many times I thought, "I wish this were an indoor ceremony."

Missing pieces
After parking in a "no parking zone" long enough so that I could toss on my cap & gown before rushing down to the football field, I discovered that my tassel was missing. Swell. The bookstore (which carried all our graduation gear) is not usually open on Saturdays, but I decided to make one desperate phone call to see if they were open and had any extra tassels available. They did.

"You'll have to buy it, but we have some."

Really? I just paid all this tuition and you can't spare $3.60 for a red tassel? We sped over and purchased one, anyway. During the moments where I was running into or out of the bookstore, I was thankful for the university's rule that we wear flat-bottomed shoes instead of heels for the ceremony!

I also regretted not bringing my cell phone with me. Not only could I have taken photos and played games during the boring speeches (I had forgotten how b-o-r-i-n-g graduation speeches could be!), but I would have been able to track down my family afterwards. I wandered around the field forever searching for my loved ones who promised me, "Don't worry about it; we'll find you." It felt very awkward to be walking around alone while masses of people gathered for photos, etc.

Freakish weather
FREEZING temperatures (high of 60 degrees....maybe) and the 20 mph wind gusts made the graduation ceremony quite an ordeal. People in the stands were huddled under blankets, and many had obviously dug out winter clothes to wear for the day.

I was sitting on the outer row with no one to block the wind, making it miserably cold. Additionally, I only brought one bobby pin along for my cap. I was terrified that my cap would fly off as I reached for my diploma and shook the president's hand. Thankfully, it didn't happen to me, but I watched it happen to many others.

After my portion of the ceremony, my family slipped off into a nearby gas station to get out of the weather and to drink hot chocolate...and I don't blame them one bit!

Medal Envy
I'll admit it: I envied my friends who made Magna Cum Laude or Cum Laude and got the extra rope or medal "bling" to wear around their necks. I missed Cum Laude by 0.02 points.

Someone recently mentioned to me that their G.P.A. started falling when they started dating their then-boyfriend now-husband. Looking back, my worst grades were my freshman year when I began dating my then-boyfriend now-husband, Tim! I have decided to officially blame my shortcomings on him. How dare he keep me from better understanding the finer points of conjugating German verbs? Just kidding...the blame was all mine. If only I had known then what I know now. Adult students rarely have a problem knowing how to study, but I was clueless coming right out of high school.

Bottom line: I was jealous. Wish I could have had a shiny medal of my own, but I'll have to just make peace with myself knowing that I had a 4.0 in my major and, as my husband likes to remind me, no one really cares what your G.P.A. is in the end.


Thumbs up:

Friends
My best friend surprised me by coming up for the weekend and going to the ceremony with us. I love her!! She has a way of making a girl feel special. She had already given me pointers on how to style my hair with the rather unfashionable cap. She even brought special hairspray so that I could follow through on my plans to curl my hair....even though we ended up leaving it straight (as you will see in the photos later). Irregardless, it was very thoughtful!

Also, I got to see my college friends who I've missed for the past six months and acquaintances within the department, too. It was good to see them, catch up on their lives for a bit and find out what's in store for their immediate futures.

Warmth (& No Sweat)
I was very, very thankful to be wearing a long robe with long sleeves on the cold, windy day. I had once been worried about sweating through those awful polyester things under a hot May sun, but never considered how helpful they might be in a spring cold spell! I was also grateful that the closest friends that I made in our department had alphabetically similar last names. Since we were sitting next to one another, we didn't have to feel awkward about huddling together for warmth!

Food
When my husband was sitting in the gas station, warming up the children and chit-chatting with the locals, he heard about an authentic Italian restaurant in the next town over. We knew all the restaurants in my college town would be filled to capacity (it's a rather small town with limited dining facilities), so we decided to give it a try. It was fabulous! Since it had been so long since I had good Italian food anyway, it made the day extra special.

No Security Checks or Long Lines
Thank goodness our speakers were just alumni who had done well in the world, but not risen to the heights of say, President of the United States of America. President Obama is scheduled to give the commencement address at Arizona State University next week. Students have to arrive almost four hours early to pass through the Secret Service security check. Lines are expected to be crazy-long and, all the while, they will be waiting in 100-degree weather in the middle of the desert in an open-air stadium. Fun!

The Diploma
Okay, so I think it's rather hilarious that people sit through a ceremony and do all these "official" things like moving the tassel, shaking the president's hand and conferring degrees...but no one actually gets a diploma during the ceremony. I know this is standard practice, but it still seems pretty silly if you think about it. (It gives new meaning to the old saying, "All this hassle for a tassel?") Yet, when I picked up my diploma and opened up the envelope containing what amounts to no more than raised-letter wording on heavy paper, I really did feel a sense of accomplishment. Yay, me!


Would I do it all over again? I don't know. I still stand by the fact that it was a lesson for my children in the importance of finishing things. Unless something really changes my mind between now and then, I don't think I will participate in the ceremony for my master's degree because the university is located much farther away and will take more effort. Plus--I'll be honest--it really was a pretty boring event overall. If I had not had not known the people sitting around me, it would have been a miserable experience.

In a nutshell, I guess I'm glad I had the experience, but I probably won't do it again...unless I get a doctorate! LOL!