Free At Last! Free At Last!

Well yeah, it was a self-imposed slavery; I admit it. But school is finished and I am free to move on to new and exciting self-imposed enslavements. (Auto-correct says, " 'Enslavements' is not a real word.")

You would think that after all the stuff I did for the fashion show I would get to relax and cruise right on in to graduation.

Not so.

No, I had pretty much quit working on my portfolio throughout the month of April (in fact, I quit going to the class, too) and so I had to create and illustrate two more designs, and make flats for my new line, The Dagged Edge (say it like "dag - id"), and finish the flats for my Pianoforte line. I also had to collect swatches for Pianoforte (which meant digging through the disastrous sewing room to find bits of every fabric I used) and build the color page, and then just put the whole portfolio together. This was due on Thursday, May 2—the same day as graduation. (What was administration thinking scheduling commencement on the last day of finals? Duh.)

I slept pretty much the entire weekend after the show—Saturday through Monday. Monday evening I started drawing my last two "Dagged" designs. I worked all day Tuesday and Wednesday, stayed up all night again on Wednesday night, and finished building my portfolio pages on the computer by 9:30 a.m. Thursday. A quick shower, then off to the print-shop to print and trim the pages. Fortunately Bruce was home that day, so he played chauffeur for me.  That meant I could put the portfolio together on the way to school—including sticking my swatches to the Pianoforte color-page. (It also meant I didn't fall asleep at the wheel.) I was ready to present to the class by 11:00 a.m., and I got to see everyone else's portfolio too. (If you want to see my portfolio click HERE.)

We left the school just before 1:00, stopped to get lunch, then . . . off home to get ready for the graduation ceremony.

Well, I slept on the way home and when I got there I took a one-hour nap while Bruce went to pick up the kids from their various schools. I was supposed to be at the Maverik Center by 3:30, but it was closer to 4:30 when I got there. That stressed me out—a lot— but, in hindsight, that was actually nice because it meant I had less standing around and waiting to do.

Now, the stupid thing is that I didn't give out any of my graduation announcements. I was just so dang busy with the show and then with my portfolio (which actually I didn't convert to electronic form until Friday—after graduation) that the announcements slipped my mind altogether. So family members can still expect to get one in the mail. Just think of it as an announcement and not an invitation, and then all will be well. ;-)

Anyway, when I walked into the Maverik Center I kept looking around for Bruce and my kids. At first I couldn't find them, among the families and friends of the 4200+ graduates, but then Ryan and I caught each other's eyes and I waved at him. Then the other kids and Bruce waved at me too. Yay! It made me happy to know where they were (and they weren't far from me, actually).  :-)

Where's Waldo? I can see me . . . can you?

The actual ceremony wasn't nearly as boring as I'd anticipated (although I did yawn through the whole thing. But not because it was dull.) The administration didn't spend too much time patting themselves on the back. "This graduation ceremony is all for You," they said. The keynote speaker, Sekou Andrews is a "Poetic Voice" and the CEO and founder of Sekou World, Inc. His speech was actually like a poetry slam; good and interesting (although maybe just a little too long. "Trim a few notes . . ."). And when I finally got to walk I was awake and excited and smiling and everything! Yay!

Mojdeh and Maria handing flowers to me and my cohorts
(left to right): Ellen Young, Mindy Batt, Anna Graetz, Me, Cherylene Rosenvall and the blond girl I never had a class with, so I don't know her name. :-/

I get my roses and a hug from Maria.

Mojdeh, the head of the Fashion Institute, and Maria, one of my instructors, were both there handing roses to all the fashion graduates as we went up to the stage. Stop to have a picture taken. Stop to hand them the card with my name on it.

When I handed them my card they made a big, big fuss that I should step right into the place of the person ahead of me (it was Cherylene) and not let any time lapse between us.  I was almost paranoid about doing it right.

Stop to get my diploma cover (the two diplomas will arrive in the mail in a few weeks.) Shake hands with the president.

So I hurry forward so that I won't be in the way, or slowing up the works, and this guy from administration steps in front of me to have a conversation with the president. You can see she's sending the guy on the left on his way; in the bottom right corner is the next graduate waiting to hurry and take my place, and I'm just standing there wondering what's going on.
("This graduation is all for You!")

But he did sit back down (and probably in less time than it felt like I was standing there for), and I did shake the president's hand.

It's official—I am a graduate! Yay!!

After the whole "awarding of degrees" we went back to our seats, moved our tassels from one side to the other, and then they shot big, long, metallic blue and gold streamers out of confetti cannons at us.  So of course I had to gather one up and drape it around my neck. :-) Then my family came down to hug me, we took some pictures, and it was all over. Maybe that was the official thing that made me a graduate . . .

Cherylene and me: We started and finished together.

Well naturally there was no dinner planned that day. So we stopped at the store on the way home again; I wore all my graduation stuff—except for the hat—into the store. Why not?

And now, one week later, I am mostly recovered from all the sleepless nights; I can look back on my school work and think it was pretty good; I have learned a lot—I'm pleased with what I've gained (except for the extra 25 pounds); I'm working on getting back into the swing of being a mom. But the question remains . . .

We'll see.  We'll see.