Summer 2011: Graduation

So. It has been awhile. My inner bad blogger came out to play, and also, life happened. So before grad school really kicks into high gear, I am going to write a bunch of little posts about all the fun, interesting, or life-altering stuff that happened this summer. Let's start with the event that marked the end of the school year and my career at Baylor: graduation.

My graduation ceremony started at 9 AM, so first thing in the morning I put on my cap and gown and headed to the Ferrell Center.


What's that you say? You are a Baylor fan and don't think that picture was taken at the Ferrell Center? Well, you're right. This is one of the grad pictures my friends and I took a few days before, and it is indeed in front of Pat Neff. I know my mother took pictures on the morning of graduation, but I cannot find them. So sue me, and use your imagination.

As for the actual graduation ceremony, well, it was long. And we, as University Scholars, were the last group of undergrads to walk the stage. And my rule-following tendency was in rare form, to the point that I followed a rule that didn't even actually exist and didn't bring my cell phone or purse to graduation. Apparently, judging from every other graduate in the arena, having a cell phone was not, in fact, against the rules. So everyone else was facebooking and tweeting and texting, while I just sat there. Like I said, it was long. But finally, they got all the way through the alphabet and it was our turn! I didn't trip or fall on the stage, and I even remembered to turn and smile at the camera when I was up on the big screen. I shook Ken Starr's hand and got the big green tube that I had worked, bled, and sweat for the past four years to earn. It was a good moment.

After the ceremony, I met my family at the car. We made that plan to avoid the hordes of people who would be running around after the ceremony, and it actually worked pretty well. Here are the pictures we took then.


















My cousin Amber came down, and while it would have been super sweet if she came just to see me graduate, in fact she was going with us to Europe the next day (more on that to come). At any rate, it was fun to have her there.

Basically as soon as these pictures were taken, we packed in our cars and hit the road to Houston. We all ate lunch at Perry's, which was so yummy and very fancy! Then we went home and packed, because the next day we were off to Europe!

It definitely didn't hit me then that Baylor was really over. That didn't come until much later in the summer, when I finally moved out of the Waco apartment. My four years at Baylor were possibly the best of my life, and I will cherish them forever. But now I'm on to bigger and better things, I suppose! Coming up next: European adventure 2011.