I graduated this past April. It was amazing. Best thing I have ever done in my life. So far. I still can't believe I have finally achieved that great accomplishment. College was an amazing experience that taught me so much, my greatest lessons were learned outside of the classroom that no books could teach or explain, I met so many people that touched and changed my life in numerous ways. I came into my own during the five years I was studying, I found and created the person I wanted to be, set goals I wanted to achieve and had so many great experiences, I am of course still learning and forever will be. I will miss my wonderful years of being a college student, there are of course things I won't miss, stressful deadlines, the nagging of homework, the anxiety of tests and so forth, but there are so many things that I will miss such as learning so many wonderful things everyday, being surrounded by professors and fellow students that had so many amazing insights, stretching my limits and creating something I didn't think I ever could, being inspired in a way that can only be brought about by learning, the reward of getting that good grade on my sweat and tears turned into the form of a research paper, researching and developing a deep love and bond with the artists and subjects I wrote about such as Van Gogh, the Lacoon, nautilus cups and shells, The Haywain by Constable, the San Vitale church in Ravenna etc. The one feeling that I will miss most of all is the feeling of walking out of the last final of the semester knowing that I had done my best in all the I had done and being over whelmed with that wonderful feeling of accomplishment. I loved studying Art History and Curatorial Studies it was purely amazing and is my passion.
Friday was commencement for all the graduates in every department. It was such a thrill to gather with all my fellow graduating students and to feel the excitement buzzing in the air as we lined up to make the famous march to the Marriott center. Below is a picture of a few members of my ward that were also graduating.
These were the girls that I was by in line, I don't remember their names and had never seen them before and haven't seen them after, but we had such a fun time in line together I had to get a picture with them
This is me and Aaron Shaw, my friend in my ward at UAC which was where I was living when I graduated was next to me in line which was fun and exciting! We were both so happy to be graduating!
Elder D. Todd Christofferson was the speaker and he gave such an amazing and inspiring talk about how commencement means the beginning of a new life not the ending of our college careers.
Bethy and Reece were so nice and surprised me by coming to the ceremony, I wasn't planning on having any family come until convocation the next day. It was awesome to have them there though, it meant so much to me that they willingly came to support and celebrate with me. Bethy got those awesome shoots of Elder Chistofferson and the Marriott Center. Afterward she took some great picture by the beautiful spring blossoms around campus, I must admit BYU had a gorgeous campus in the Spring and in the Fall. After all the picture taking we went to get dinner at Slab pizza.
The next day I gathered with my fellow Art Historians at the lovely hour of 7 am to prepare for our convocation ceremony and to receive our diplomas! I got these pictures off facebook thus they are so small, but they are such cute pictures I couldn't leave them out. Bethy was an excellent photographer and got some great pictures of me in my shinning moment! When they called my name my dad cheered so loud I thought it was Reece or Ricky, but nope it was my daddy!
I was so happy that the Burtons could come out to be apart of my special day! It was so great to have all of my sisters and both of my parents there to celebrate this happy occasion with me! They brought me the most beautiful flowers! Dad found a special graduation owl a while ago that he had been saving to give to me on the exact day, he told me it was the beginning of my collection. It was such a sweet and sentimental gift
It was a cold and rainy day so I was grateful the Madisons had come to the commencement and took some good pictures in the sunshine the day before. We still took some in the beautiful gardens by the HFAC and the museum. The graduation robe and cap aren't the most flattering things to wear .... After the ceremony we all went out to get the yummy all you can eat french toast at Magleby's, it warmed us right up.
That night for my special graduation dinner we all went to the New Yorker in downtown Salt Lake. No one had been there before so it was a fun to try something new. It was a super nice restaurant with amazing food! We even got our own private room which was super nice! It was a great way to end a wonderful day!
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