That all-important day

This post is a tad backdated, but I'm gonna blog about my graduation day which happened on 25 August 2007. After all, it's a day that doesn't happen all too often in one's life - unless you go for a Masters' and then a PhD. I had lots of feelings about that day. Happy, excited, frustrated, nervous, anxious, stressed, tense, relaxed... and even wishing it would be over! Strange, but true. *grin*

I was happy I was graduating... not sad because I've been waiting for this day for the longest time. I don't miss college too, like how most students would, because I did my degree part-time and thus we (my classmates and I) were not as close as we could've been. That is perhaps my biggest regret over college? That I didn't have the chance to build close connections with people whom I could be friends with for say, the rest of our lives.

Excited because I finally got to wear the mortarboard! My previous convocation for my higher diploma only allowed me to wear the robes but not the hat. (But now hor, I want that round round hat only PhD holders get to wear. LOL!) And no, I didn't get to take a mortarboard tossing picture because the silly hat was firmly fastened to my head with four hairpins! To toss it would mean having to yank out my hair with it. Can anyone say ouch?

Frustrated with the inept planning of the school. All of us felt that the convocation (and rehearsal!) was not planned well, but done in haste and very slipshod. But then again, we are used to getting second-class treatment from the college, so it was nothing new to us. To tell the truth, a lot of the students and parents griped about the whole convo thing. Parking was horrific, the hall was hot, too many people milling around, no crowd control... nada. Nothing. Oh well.

Anxious to quickly get the moment over and done with. Thankfully we were the first batch of students to go get our scrolls, but it meant that we had to sit through the rest of the nearly three hour ceremony doing nothing. *bored* There were like five hundred students all graduating at the same time, so you get to watch those several hundred faces go by in a blur.

Nervous at the moment when I was about to go on stage to get the tassel switched from left side to right side, signifying that I had "graduated". Then you had to fake that smile for the five official photographers bobbing up and down in front of the stage. Tentative about how the picture will turn out. Some grimaced, some smiled just a little bit, some didn't smile at all, some even outsmiled the dean!

Amused at the sight of my dear dad trying to video record the moment and searching for me in the crowd of similarly garbed students. You couldn't tell us apart at a distance, all clad in our Harry Potter robes! In fact, when I watched the recording later at home, the parentals pointed out to me all the different girls captured on screen because they thought it was me going by them. Hahaha.

Elated at the fact that the parentals got me two bunches of flowers with the requisite graduation teddy bear/Winnie the Pooh bear! I had honestly only expected one - which I specifically requested for lilies. Heh. So the roses were a bonus! Love ya, mum and dad! *muack*

A little bit frustrated after all was over and done with because I hadn't had anything to eat since morning (and we were there at 7.30am!) and I couldn't find my classmates in the crush of people milling around. So I only managed to take pix with like four of them and I missed my other best friend completely because she disappeared off with her family. Didn't manage to get lunch too (which was provided) because there wasn't any place to sit down and eat and I was trying to look out for my classmates before they left.

Then I was so tired out mainly because of the hot and stuffy conditions in the hall! I was pooped I promptly fell asleep in the car on the way home after all was said and done. Ahhh... that was relaxing. LOL!

Would I do it again? Yes! But I'd be better prepared, knowing what to expect this time around. Heh.