Seven Years

I remember waking up in the living room floor of my new apartment; Kelly was sleeping next to me and my roommate Catherine was sleeping on the couch. We had just moved in but didn't have any furniture yet...except for what was left behind by the previous tenant (THANK YOU SAM!!). I'm sure Wiley was super confused too. I put on my dress I'd had picked out for probably weeks, and soon after my parents picked all three of us up and we went to Cracker Barrel to eat breakfast. After that- we took our time and it was really fun!- my parents dropped me off at Phelps Stokes. I stood by Grace as we went into our baccalaureate service, of which admittedly I don't remember much of. We all ate lunch at food service; there was strawberry shortcake that day. It was delicious. I remember it was about 12:30 and we made it in to Seabury Gym, and it was so early but I didn't care because I wanted my family and friends to have good seats. They were good seats- right side of the gym, head on looking at the stage. I remember heading upstairs to the old gym to line up. There were SO MANY people packed in there! And then we were moving, moving...Dr. Bullock gave me my BME stole literally as I was walking!!! I'll never forget that, I was just laughing and laughing. I hugged probably 5 professors on the way, including Ms. Sandy.

And then I entered the gym- I can still feel the goosebumps- and there were a thousand people all looking at us, and it hit me.....I was just about an hour away from graduating from Berea College! I remember walking across the stage to get my degree, and I looked out and away and there were Biology professors clapping and cheering for me, and my family made a holy riot; I'm pretty sure my dad had brought the cowbell. We drove home after the ceremony, not leaving until almost 5:30. I kept my cap on the entire ride home. Yes, even when we stopped for bathroom breaks. We were all SO tired when we got home. And then the day was over! 

That was seven years ago today. 

It was very much a happy day, considering at one point I didn't think I would get there (You can thank the D I received in Genetics for that). All my family was there and most of my Berea friends had made the trip. I remember feeling this enormous sense of relief, and yet I was amazed at how fast it had all gone! It was very much one of the happiest days of my life, aside from getting married, among others. 

In the seven years that has followed since that day, life has taken me on many wonderful and exciting adventures, and some not so much. I've worked enough jobs that I can count them on two hands. I've moved out of three different apartments. Yoda and Wiley are still around. I've lost two grandparents, and a long-term friendship. I lived by myself for the first time in 26 years. I met, dated, was engaged to, and married the same person! I've been laid off twice. I've had many moments during which I had no clue how I was going to make ends meet. I've had moments where I put just enough gas in my car to not overdraw my bank account until my next paycheck landed. I left a church I swore I never would and it...wasn't as scary as I imagined it would be. I've seen all my college friends move out of town. I've made new friends. I've traveled to two new countries. And most recently, I became a student again. 

I can't even begin to imagine what these next seven years will hold. I'm excited! God has taught me a lot, and I know I have so much more to learn. God has brought me through a lot, with much more to come, I'm sure of it. Today, I think about my graduation day and all the joy surrounding it, and I'm thankful. I'm thankful for that day seven years ago.