Too cool for school

May 7th was my last day of school EVER! Woohoo!! My mom flew in that weekend and then I graduated from OU on the following Tuesday, May 11th (whoever thought it was a great idea to have a graduation on a Tuesday should be given an atomic wedgie. The graduation seemed a little long, but it was nothing compared to my BYU graduation, so I didn't mind. I'm glad I went. Unfortunately, my camera evaporated while I was Seattle last week so I don't have any of the pictures to share in this event. :(

At my graduation, I was able to reflect on the past graduations that I have had. It all stated in June of 2004 when I graduated from high school....


I was super excited, but mainly it was because the three of us plus one more friend were going to Disneyland in a mere 72 hours from then. I also remember my dad making a point to let people know he was NOT proud of me for graduating high school because "graduating high school is just something you DO! EVERYONE should do it!"

So in order to win daddy's pride- er, I mean get more smarter, I furthered my education. Being totally unsure of what I wanted to study and terrified to leave home, I went to Bellevue Community College for my next "degree". I had one goal at BCC- to get OUT! So many people in my single's ward were at the same community college for 4+ years. I did not want to fall into that trap, so I went full time for two years and graduated with my Associates degree in general studies. My school did have an official graduation but I had better things to do than celebrate graduating from my community college (like say, watching a rerun of Full House) so I didn't have a graduate picture for that school. But I think it would look a little something like this:

During my cherished BCC time I applied to BYU for further smartering. I was in the wonderful world of Provo for three years and in April 2009 I graduated with my BSW (and a handsome fiance!)
This was probably my least favorite graduation. Don't get me wrong- I happy TO be graduating but it was the LOOOONGEST ceremony AND it was the same day as my grandma's funeral. Rather than soaking in the long boring moment, I was constantly checking my watch* to see if I was running late and praying that I could go next. After I got my fake diploma and walk on stage (which I will admit was pretty cool), I had to shuffle through a bunch of people and find my parents.

This past year I obtained my Masters of Social Work!! Even though the ceremony was not the most exciting, it was such a great feeling to know that I was about to graduate for the last time EVER! I also got to sit next to my friend Bianca, who I sat next to in almost every single one of our classes.

I am so grateful for how obtainable education has been for me. There are so many cultures in the world (and even in the country that makes school difficult or almost impossible for some. I am thankful for a sweet husband who happily put his own education on hold so I could finish mine. I am so SO thankful that Jordan worked so hard this past year so that I could be blissfully unemployed during graduate school- it made a world of difference.

We took tons of pictures that I hope will emerge when/if my camera ever comes back to me. The best pictures were of my cap and gown. Apparently in Academia, the smarter you get the stupider you look. I these long wizard sleeves and and an even longer hood! I looked like someone took ever character from Harry Potter and smooshed them together.

So now I am done and out of wizard attire. As for Jordan, he has a brand new white coat and began PA school four days ago! So we have one more graduation to sit through in two years and then we can wave goodbye to student life!


* by watch I mean cell phone. Honestly, who wears watches anymore?