YAAAAY
I totally meant to do this on Sunday, but I was busybusybusy and so fell asleep at 3:30pm in front of SVU. Anyway...
I GRADUATED
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH. English and History, cum laude (after all that stress, hurrah!), and they can't take it away from me ever. YAYAYAY!
Smith's graduation is intense, guys. Finals ended a week and a half ago, then we had Senior Week to bum around (which ended up meaning eating our weight in Noho food, and then hanging out in Alex's tent watching MTV's "Tough Love" because we are totally grown up). It was bittersweet to be with Lamo 24/7 right before we all leave, but it was also a good break before the endless array of graduation events.
Which started with the Class of 1944 moving into our dorm -- holyshit were they awesome, guys. 86 years old and still the coolest ladies I've ever met. They may have criticized our clothes ("never so much cleavage in our days!") but they also sat around at 4:59 demanding cocktails ("I got one last time, I had better get one this year!") and telling us about their first lesbian experiences ("We laid next to each other in bed, and I flipped my sheet over and then she flipped her sheet over. It was thrilling").
They all showed up in time, of course, for Ivy Day. Which is when we all get married to the college by wearing all white and "planting" an ivy to signify our devotion or something. And because they are filled with wisdom we did not yet have, only alumns get to wear matching shoes with their outfits. Oh, Smith. (aside: My question is are they still alumnae? Or alumni? If we made all our language gender-neutral shouldn't we go back to the mixed-plural form?)But! I found Ms. Cussler, my high-school english teacher in the parade! She's the coolest old lady EVAR, and still loves me! Hurrah!
We also had illumination night, despite the bist (i.e. bitch-mist), wherein we all light candles, wander the campus and get pushed off Nielson staircase by sophomores. Who were singing - badly - modified versions of Be a Man and Summer Lovin'. After which we all ditched our parents and went drinking as hard as we could.
It should be said - I had nine family members following me around for all of this. Dad, Kristen, Clayton (who everyone referred to as Rapist Jesus), Mom, Rick, Alissa & John, and then my tugboat-captain Uncle Mark and his ridiculously hilarious girlfriend Kendra, who is the sort of nice but loudly socially inappropriate that makes you want to take her to parties. Fortunatley, they all get along. Unfortunately, they wanted to go everywhere together.
But anyway, then we had...graduation day! Yay! Only it was still drizzling as we walked out the door, and our programs were so wet they dyed our fingers (and then faces) blue. No one ever really learned how to put on the hood, even after my dad came and did it for us, but oh well. The whole ceremony was only about 2 hours, in which about 800 people crossed the stage. Not so bad. And Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin congresswoman, was an awesome speaker. Lamont had a bit of a snafu in processing - wherein we started to go up the wrong staircase entirely - but after that it was fine, and no one tripped while walking across the stage. After, of course, we had to do the diploma circle of DOOM. Because when you shake CTC's hand you receive a real diploma -- just not yours. For that they made all 600 undergrads stand in concentric circles and pass them from person to person until you got yours. Which I'm sure was cute when they were graduating classes of 200 people, but 30 minutes later in front of 'Scales and it's a little tiring.
But, spent the rest of the day with family/at the Montague Book Mill (again)/ sitting in the hallway in Lamo with a bottle of champaign, three tubs of Ben&Jerry's, and leftover pizza reminiscing about the last four years. Was wonderful.
And then I left at 6:00am to catch my flight out of Hartford to be back in time for the funeral in Mpls at 1, which was a bittersweet but very nice service with a massive turn-out - which is how it should have been.
Aaaaand now I'm home indefinitely! Until I find a job/apply to grad-lawschool/ get spirited away by aliens. Thank you, economy. But, y'know, whatever - I have hope! Something will come along! and in the meantime I get to sit around with my kitties ♥ and try not to miss Smith too much.
I GRADUATED
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH. English and History, cum laude (after all that stress, hurrah!), and they can't take it away from me ever. YAYAYAY!
Smith's graduation is intense, guys. Finals ended a week and a half ago, then we had Senior Week to bum around (which ended up meaning eating our weight in Noho food, and then hanging out in Alex's tent watching MTV's "Tough Love" because we are totally grown up). It was bittersweet to be with Lamo 24/7 right before we all leave, but it was also a good break before the endless array of graduation events.
Which started with the Class of 1944 moving into our dorm -- holyshit were they awesome, guys. 86 years old and still the coolest ladies I've ever met. They may have criticized our clothes ("never so much cleavage in our days!") but they also sat around at 4:59 demanding cocktails ("I got one last time, I had better get one this year!") and telling us about their first lesbian experiences ("We laid next to each other in bed, and I flipped my sheet over and then she flipped her sheet over. It was thrilling").
They all showed up in time, of course, for Ivy Day. Which is when we all get married to the college by wearing all white and "planting" an ivy to signify our devotion or something. And because they are filled with wisdom we did not yet have, only alumns get to wear matching shoes with their outfits. Oh, Smith. (aside: My question is are they still alumnae? Or alumni? If we made all our language gender-neutral shouldn't we go back to the mixed-plural form?)But! I found Ms. Cussler, my high-school english teacher in the parade! She's the coolest old lady EVAR, and still loves me! Hurrah!
We also had illumination night, despite the bist (i.e. bitch-mist), wherein we all light candles, wander the campus and get pushed off Nielson staircase by sophomores. Who were singing - badly - modified versions of Be a Man and Summer Lovin'. After which we all ditched our parents and went drinking as hard as we could.
It should be said - I had nine family members following me around for all of this. Dad, Kristen, Clayton (who everyone referred to as Rapist Jesus), Mom, Rick, Alissa & John, and then my tugboat-captain Uncle Mark and his ridiculously hilarious girlfriend Kendra, who is the sort of nice but loudly socially inappropriate that makes you want to take her to parties. Fortunatley, they all get along. Unfortunately, they wanted to go everywhere together.
But anyway, then we had...graduation day! Yay! Only it was still drizzling as we walked out the door, and our programs were so wet they dyed our fingers (and then faces) blue. No one ever really learned how to put on the hood, even after my dad came and did it for us, but oh well. The whole ceremony was only about 2 hours, in which about 800 people crossed the stage. Not so bad. And Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin congresswoman, was an awesome speaker. Lamont had a bit of a snafu in processing - wherein we started to go up the wrong staircase entirely - but after that it was fine, and no one tripped while walking across the stage. After, of course, we had to do the diploma circle of DOOM. Because when you shake CTC's hand you receive a real diploma -- just not yours. For that they made all 600 undergrads stand in concentric circles and pass them from person to person until you got yours. Which I'm sure was cute when they were graduating classes of 200 people, but 30 minutes later in front of 'Scales and it's a little tiring.
But, spent the rest of the day with family/at the Montague Book Mill (again)/ sitting in the hallway in Lamo with a bottle of champaign, three tubs of Ben&Jerry's, and leftover pizza reminiscing about the last four years. Was wonderful.
And then I left at 6:00am to catch my flight out of Hartford to be back in time for the funeral in Mpls at 1, which was a bittersweet but very nice service with a massive turn-out - which is how it should have been.
Aaaaand now I'm home indefinitely! Until I find a job/apply to grad-lawschool/ get spirited away by aliens. Thank you, economy. But, y'know, whatever - I have hope! Something will come along! and in the meantime I get to sit around with my kitties ♥ and try not to miss Smith too much.