Graduation

Graduation. Commencement. It means the end to one life and the beginning of another. As I graduated from college today, I couldn't help but reminisce about anything and everything that came before and brought me up to this point. This means all the successes, failures, and the inbetweens. The people, the places, the PEOPLE that enriched my life and made it for what it was.

When I came to college, I wasn't prepared for what a life-changing experience it would be. Coming into college as a little freshman, I thought I had the world figured out. After all, high school was supposed to be the best years of your life and all that jazz but it was NOTHING compared to college.

My eyes were opened, totally. I encountered people from all over the world and not just my little city whose diversity left something to be desired. I was thrown into situations I was both prepared and unprepared for (but willing to try). My mind was opened, completely. I was shown new ways of life, new ways of thinking. For sure did I learn that my wasn't always the right way (but sometimes it was hehe).

The ability to have this little microcosm, this little incubator where you were able to experiment and make mistakes and have fun while doing it is seriously the best thing about college. Sure you could enter the "real world" (and yes, there is a difference, college is NOT the "real world") but you would miss out on being with other people just like you who are trying to figure things out about life and themselves. It is a gradual journey, but when it's all fresh and exciting, when you're young and naive, it's invigorating. You get a little piece of the world to call your own for four years where the consequences are real enough, but then you know there's always a next year.

(Unless you do something stupidly, horribly wrong, but then that's not part of college, that's life talking.)

And it was a mixed blessing that I went to college during some of the most tumultuous of times. Everything seemed to happen, from a new president of the UC system, to the recession (still remember being in linguistics class and my teacher saying "Did you hear about the stocks falling this morning?" I think I still have that recording somewhere...), to the new student center/arts building/engineering building/school of business building, to the women's soccer having their best season in awhile, to Black Out Night At the Bren, to even the smallest things like being the last freshman class to have an outdoor convocation ceremony, free barbecue lunch, and foam party... And the obligatory "many, many more."

One of the biggest regrets I do have is not keeping up with Blipfoto as much; I wish I had documented every little bit of my college experience instead of just bits and pieces because I really do cherish all the experiences I had and most importantly, all the KNOWLEDGE I gained--whether it was about myself or about the world we live in and life in general (bonus points if you get that reference).

And most of the learning did come outside of the classroom. As I say, every experience is what you make of it. You could go in and out of college like a ghost or you could throw yourself into everything you want. Try new things. I am glad to say I did the latter and my Blip (somewhat) shows that.

I'd also like to thank the following people for making everything what it was:

**My parents first and foremost for being so supportive, helping me not only financially but emotionally. The first few days there was some homesickness (not as much as SPOP) but they were there to cheer me up. And cheer me up they did throughout the four years. I vented to them and they shared in my frustration and I rejoiced with them and they shared in my revelry. They helped instill the values I hold today which has made me live life with conviction and purpose.

**My siblings for being there for me and just being generally supportive. Torie for giving me advice on beauty and stuff or making me laugh. Michael for doing stuff with me like making videos and stuff. Dana for drawing all the stuff that decorate my walls in my dorm and apartment

**My extended family like my aunts and uncles and cousins for being so helpful and supportive!!!

**Everyone at the yearbook -- that's where I got my start and I'm so happy to have joined and met so many driven and hard-working people! Yearbook seriously taught me all my work ethic and strengthened my abilities as a team player and a leader. Yearbook shaped my college years and I'm glad I could capture it all in a book. THANK YOU to everyone involved. Being in charge of a publication has helped me an infinite number of ways, I cannot picture having gone to UCI without it and I will miss seeing all the brilliant things that people came up with and also the Wall of Shame :) I can't say thank you enough.

**Everyone at the newspaper -- being involved in both yearbook and newspaper for all my four years kept me in touch about what was going on at UCI. Without either, I would've just sailed through without ever knowing what it was like to be a true Anteater. Newspaper allowed me to work with some of the funniest and creative people and while it was VERY HARD WORK, a lot of it was very rewarding. I will miss seeing everyone's photos every week and seeing people's abilities grow over the year. Also: meetings that were actually funnn.

**Linda McCrerey -- because of newspaper, I was able to connect with this wonderful woman who helped me get my first real job on campus, gave me such great advice, and allowed me to shoot pictures of so many wonderful Claire Trevor School of the Arts performances. It definitely helped enrich my experience at UCI as well as get in touch with my creative side.

**Bryan Jackson -- THE BEST PROFESSOR AT UCI. He cares so much about his students that it makes you remember what a professor at UCI should be: thoughtful, practical, and full of great information. I learned so much not only about video production but about how to be the best worker you can be. By allowing us to actually work through problems ourselves (with some guidance, of course) we learned so much more than "THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO DO IT." We came up with our own ways and collaborated on others. Being able to work like that is amazing and something you don't usually hear about. His classes were fantastically rewarding and all the sacrifices I had to make made me stronger in the end.

**Miles Corwin -- the best writing professor I had at UCI. Filled with wonderful stories and a real dedication to his students and the craft of writing, he made the two classes I had with him the highlights of my educational years at UCI. Going to class was never a chore and something to actually look forward to! Inspirational!

**All my other professors and T.A.s who did their best to make sure that I learned something at the end of the day! And spent countless lunch hours meeting with me and making sure I got stuff down. Special mentions to: Annie Moore, Ryan Hume, and Lara Schweller off the top of my head. And Ray Mendoza, I guess :P

**Maryann and Fanny -- the best roommates who kept my days not at school lively.

**All my high school friends -- I was so scared that I would lose you all as we changed and grew up, but thanks to our combined efforts, we kept in touch and are better friends than ever!

**All my college friends -- so happy to have met you and I'm grateful for all the days just wandering around campus or going to the UTC and just TALKING. So happy to have you all in my life now!

**SO MANY MORE. It's hard to detail in one little blog post all the people and things that have coalesced together to create four wonderful years. When I first came to UCI, I was--like many others I've spoken with--somewhat reserved about it. What's in Irvine? It's boring! Everything closes at 10 PM! All the cool places are an hour away in L.A.! And so on and so forth.

However, what I saw proved otherwise. I found the most wonderful people, the smartest students, the most athletic players, the most thought-provoking professors, and some of the most fun events I've been to. I'm not painting it all rosy; there were some bad times and some bad things but those were part of the college experience, too, I've got to thank them because I learned a LOT from them.

Irvine was, to use a high school phrase, my "match school." I really can't imagine having gone to any other place.

And now as we fresh grads ascend into that great unknown known as "The Real World" things are indeed scary and we are being removed from our comfort zone once again. BUT! What I've learned in college is you got to have fun, that everything happens for a reason, and that people do recognize GOOD work (and bad, so don't have any of that). So there's nowhere to go but up as long as you do your best and put yourself out there.

And thanks again, Blipfoto, for being such a great place for documenting my days at UCI. So many blippers have inspired me by what they can do in a day or how they can find so much beauty in their everyday lives. I hope to do that even more, now. But now just not in college--in life! See you in the next album!