Patting Myself on the Back (Photo Dump)

Who remembers this song from the glorious year 2000?

The fashion kills me. I can’t decide what my favorite part is – the belly shirts, the decorative chain hanging from the beltloops, the hairstyles. It’s just so 90s. Or 2000s trying to get out of the 90s. This song was released two years before I graduated 8th grade, and 6 years before I graduated high school. No matter the school, every graduation season this song gets stuck in my head without fail. Well, 14 years after the original release, I am officially a college graduate.

And it only took me 7 years to complete my college education.

In the last 7 years, I:

• started college at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, TX,
• left my internship at Teen Mania Ministries and moved back to my hometown of Modesto, CA,
• transferred to Modesto Junior College,
• got married in June of 2010,
• endured two miscarriages,
• graduated from MJC with a double major in English and Language Studies in 2012 while working 2-3 part-time jobs,
• transferred to California State University, Stanislaus to finish my BA in English,
• lost all of my part-time jobs and had to move to accommodate our lower income,
• decided not to pursue a teaching credential,
• took on two consecutive 18-unit semesters of upper-division English coursework,
• tutored two semesters in the university writing center, which became our sole income for almost 8 months after my husband got laid off,
• praised God for constantly providing for us, especially for each of our current jobs,
• endured 3 car thefts (all for the car I am still currently driving),
• and graduated Cum Laude with a BA in English and a TESOL certificate from CSU Stanislaus.

I know it’s lame to toot my own horn, but TOOT TOOT. I am patting myself on the back right now. I did it, and I’m proud of myself.

 

Now for pictures!

Graduation pictures from my iPhone:

Empty chairs

The sun melting me at rehearsal

Necessary reading material for a long ceremony

My favorite professor

The real work begins

At the beginning of my senior year, I got to take some “Last First Day of School” photos with Giana Silva Photography. I loved doing this fun photoshoot with Giana (and all my books for one semester).

 

I’m so blessed to have gotten my professional grad photos from Scot Woodman Photography. Witty, quirky, and with an eye for detail, Scot is a brilliant photographer and a wonderful guy.

(All following photos are copyright Scot Woodman Photography.)

 

So that’s my college education in a nutshell. It was a lot of hard work, and I’m so glad to be DONE. I’m definitely checking “graduate college” off the proverbial bucket list. Onwards and upwards!