Today Choose Joy: So.. I GRADUATED!

Hey guys! Yep, you read correctly. I GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE! It's a crazy feeling being done with school and not going back in a few weeks. But it feels so good. Like I finished something I started.

It's comparable to that feeling you get when you have been reading a book for a long time and you finish the last page.. you close the cover and reflect for a moment..then you move on. I guess that's sort of how my graduation from college was. It was as if I just finished, reflected for a moment and now I'm moving on. -- Graduating in December is anticlimactic.

** Disclaimer- This post is long, sappy and slightly dramatic. Continue at your own risk. **

I haven't decided yet which career path I want to take. I've been praying about it and I'm trying to put my trust in the Lord to know that whatever happens next will happen for a reason. There's quite a few things I'd like to do and it would be ideal to get a job doing something I love. Right now I'm figuring out with direction I want to go. Finding my niche.

I moved away from Logan and I've been having a hard time being gone. Logan became my home and it was hard to up and leave my life up there.. I miss the town and my friends and even Utah State's campus. I miss how quaint it was. I miss how close and compact everything was. I miss how social it was. I miss everything about it.

Since I began college in Logan, I've formed hundreds of friendships- big and small- and I know they'll never be forgotten. After we have all passed away, I look forward to seeing everyone again and talking about old times. I am excited to watch my life movie and be reminded of the happiness that came from that chapter of my life. Part of me wishes it didn't end so soon.

I left behind best friends. Old roommates and constant support systems. I left behind my yoga buddies. My sushi dates. My painting partners. My study groups. I left my routine and my hobbies. I am now recreating my routine and finding new places to continue my hobbies. I am strengthening old friendships and trying to keep my life going at a pace I feel comfortable with.

Phorist, my yoga buddy and me.

If you didn't know, I graduated with a bachelors degree in Journalism and Communications with an emphasis in Public Relations and a minor in Multimedia. I am eternally grateful and so blessed to have had the opportunity to attend and graduate from college. I know it's not a possibility for everyone and I consider myself very lucky to have made it through. I loved college. So far it has been the best years of my life. I was the happiest I've ever been in Logan. I didn't take it for granted. I lived to the fullest and took advantage of every opportunity I had while I was there. I'm so glad I did.

I'll tell you what though. I won't miss homework or wasted time with professors that don't know how to teach. Or paying for the spot you left your car in for 10 minutes while you dropped off a paper. Or buying food on campus that costs a million dollars.. but you have to buy it becuase you're STARVING. Or living paycheck to paycheck and barely making it through (even though I'm still doing that.. except I'm not getting paychecks now haha.)

But, I will miss being around people that relate to me. People that are in the same phase of life as me. People looking for friends and finding themselves. I found myself in college. I found what kind of person I wanted to be and would strive to be for the rest of my life. I found new hobbies and interests. I found a list of things I need to work on to become a better person. I found my struggles and my weaknesses but also my strengths.

I learned more about myself and how to grow up and live on my own then I did actually attending classes. I KNOW I went to Logan for a reason and that Heavenly Father blessed me so much while I was there. I want everyone to experience college as I did. I want everyone to have the happiness and laughter that I had up there.

I had hard times too. I had constant financial struggle. I had jobs I disliked and roommates that were hard to live with. I had boy drama. Oh did I ever have boy drama. I am blessed that I had the opportunity to date as much as I did. I made so many friends from dating and I met some of the neatest guys. I also met dirt bags and divas.. but I wouldn't trade them for the world. If I didn't date as much as I did, I wouldn't know what I want. I wouldn't know how a guy should treat a girl and how I deserve to be treated. I wouldn't know what ambition and hard work looked like.

Friends and I at Hyrum Dam for a summer BBQ. (I'm the second from the left.)

I'm happy to be graduated and I'm thankful for my parents who helped me along the way. I'm thankful for my friends and my employers and everyone who has been a part of my life. I'm so happy to be graduated and I'm excited to get started writing the next chapter of my book down here on earth. Cheers to a bright future!

Here are some pics of my closest friends and I this past year.