Graduation and things

So past weekend could not possibly be more packed than it was. Friday morning I had my Marine Fisheries and Economics and Policy final, which I thought went pretty well (except for some tricky multiple choice questions… I hate it when the choices could all possibly be right and then the last options are either “all of the above” or “none of the above” because then you start to second guess yourself). After that I met with one of my professors (the infamous Dr. Bohlen), I realized that I still have a ton of work to do on my honors thesis paper… I’m essentially rewriting it from the beginning! I’ve got until the end of May to hand in a new paper. After that I raced back to my apartment to start getting ready and clean up a bit, met with Dr. Auster (to discuss essentially the same thing I talked to Dr. Bohlen about) and then drove to graduation.

Graduation on Friday at Avery Point took place on the lawn in front of the Branford House- a beautiful mansion that overlooks Long Island Sound. Unfortunately, the day was a bit foggy, but at least it wasn’t raining during the ceremony. Eight kids graduated with a Marine Science major, and overall about 50 people graduated, mostly adults with a Bachelor of General Studies. I was the only honors student to graduate from Avery Point! It was a really cool ceremony because our professors actually said something about each student- you can see what my professor said about me here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH9GAiDDjf0&feature=youtu.be

Afterward there was a brief reception in the Branford mansion- I was too busy talking to all of my professors and friends to even know what they were serving. It was so great to have all of my favorite professors at graduation, and to graduate with some of my best college friends. Mom, Dad, Josh, Grandma Lola, Uncle Steven, Nanna, Poppy, Uncle BJ, Ronnie, and Sharon all came out to dinner after at the Seahorse in Noank. It was great to get to sit down with everybody and celebrate! I’m so grateful for having such a supportive, awesome family. The coolest part was that coincidentally Veronica (one of my good friends that graduated the same day) was having dinner with all of her family at the same restaurant at the same table.

Saturday and Sunday morning consisted of me and Chris moving out of our apartment. A big thank you would have to go to my mom who stayed with us all day Saturday and helped us pack, and to my brother Josh, who took all of the furniture to both Chris’ house and mine with a truck and trailer. It took SO long to pack up everything- it’s all in my mom’s office right now. I never knew I had that much stuff! There’s nothing I hate more than moving. Saturday night Chris and I stayed in the apartment (without any furniture!) and slept on the floor and watched movies. Sunday morning consisted of more cleaning and turning our keys in.

Sunday night was graduation round two. It was up at the Storrs main campus- where I technically spent most of my undergraduate career. It was nice to graduate with a lot of friendly faces, including Devin (one of my best friends in gradeschool), Chris and Mindy from Avery Point, honors students, and other faces from around campus. It was a sort of closure- because the Storrs campus really was where I started and coincidentally ended. Hundreds and hundreds of kids graduated. It was a bit overwhelming but I’m definitely glad I went.

Afterwards, me, Mom, Dad, Josh, Grandma Marge and Bob all went to The Bidwell Tavern and had chicken wings! Of all ways to celebrate a graduation! It was unbelievably fun because it was so unexpected! We all got wings of all different flavors and had a great time, sticky fingers and all. I’m really looking forward to seeing the DVD from this graduation- I’ve already heard Bob took some great shots! I also really liked going to this graduation because I never see Grandma Marge often enough!

Since then, I’ve been working at Panera, settling in, and visiting a couple of places to live in Rhode Island. Mom and I visited three places today. The first was just like a scene out of animal house- gross, overpacked with students, tiny, and expensive for what the space actually is. The second place was a basement of a raised ranch of a 67 year old woman. The space was large but it was about 25 minutes from campus. It was cheap enough, but I’m not sure if I’d want to live with an older woman, rather than other students. The final place we looked at was an efficiency apartment attached to a house right on Misquamicut, less than a quarter of a mile from the beach. The location was absolutely incredible, but it was a bit pricey and about 38 minutes from campus. I’d love to live there but Dad didn’t want me living that far from school. And so, the housing search continues.

The picture of me smiling on the steps outside of gampel pavillion is at the same spot that Mom and Dad dropped me off, four years earlier. I was crying so bad when they dropped me off to college! Glad to see that four years later I'm on those same steps smiling!