Thursday, May 29, 2014

College Graduation

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

My final weeks as a USC student passed by in a blur. It all started with Scott's graduation weekend. I joined his parents, siblings, grandparents, and my mom for one last weekend in Redlands to cheer while he walked across the stage. The ceremony was followed by celebratory pictures and lunch that consisted of calzones the size of my head. My mom hadn't seen Redlands before, so Scott gave his last tour of the campus complete with one last stop at A La Minut for an Orange Honey ice cream.

Graduation felt closer once I left Redlands for the last time and realized it was my last week of classes in college. After my hardest final on Monday, it was time for the senior celebrations. One last Whiskey Wednesday night at the 90, sorority senior wills, and of course the Fountain Run. An SC tradition is that the last Thursday night of classes, all seniors run around campus and jump in the dozens of fountains on campus. It's filled with debauchery, ridiculousness, and some inevitable bruises. It was an unbelievably fun experience and madness on campus.





The marathon week continued with our final invite that Friday. Luau falls on the last friday of classes every year, and all the seniors celebrated with a party bus to Manhattan Beach for drinks at Sharkeezs and then took the party bus back to the sorority. Everyone was a little nostalgic about our past four years of invites, and I was so happy that Scott could make it to be my date from the first invite to the last. The actual invite was at Gladstones in Malibu--right over the beach and with free calamari and snacks. It was a great way to end the week, and I spent the rest of the weekend at Scott's house in San Diego before taking the train back to school.



Before I knew it, it was graduation. The day before we had a mother daughter brunch at the Jonathan Club downtown. It was a little rough in the beginning because the seniors had "senior bonding" the night before, but the food was delicious and the club was beautiful.

Graduation day started with a 4am wakeup call since we were heading to the 90 bar to open its door at 6am! By 4:45 we were standing in line with coffee cups full of mimosa watching the sun rise and the line turn into hundreds of students (with a few parents thrown in there). The 90 was completely packed with loud 80s rock, and a lot of spirited seniors screaming out the lyrics. By 7 am, we back at the house eating breakfast before snapping a few pictures with friends and making our way to campus.




After a horribly hot main ceremony with 92 degree weather and thick black robes, we headed to The Shrine for the Political Science graduation. It was such a relief to be in a beautiful and air conditioned venue, and I'm proud to say I graduated walked across the stage without falling.

The rest of the night was spent celebrating at home for a graduation dinner with all the family. My college experience was absolutely amazing, and it's bittersweet to end my career as a student of USC. 

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