Wait, I just graduated from college?

Four years went by so fast. It seems like just yesterday I was stressing out about my first college class, History of Western Art. Little did I know the general education requirement was an easy breezy class. I worried about my "first day outfit" and where I should sit. I only knew a handful of people on campus and I'm an insanely shy individual, so I worried about meeting people. The butterflies eventually flew from my stomach and I was able to enjoy my college career. I made some great friends, was a leader in a social club, and discovered my eventual career goal post grad: working in health care administration.

Graduation seemed so far away at that point in time, but June 12, 2011 snuck up on me before I had time to realize it. Yesterday, I said goodbye to friends I might never see again in this life on earth. As depressing as that thought seems, I wasn't sad on Commencement Sunday - I was excited! Walking up to the platform to accept my diploma was a feeling I can't describe. All those stressful finals weeks, written reports and group projects led up to that moment. I earned a degree in Business. I was a college grad. Not a lot of people can boast such an accomplishment. Looking out at the audience, waving to my family with a big fat smile on my face, walking across the stage and snatching the green "Pacific Union College" diploma was hands-down, stargazing amazing!

Following are some of my favorite snap shots from the event.

My friend Katy and I. Our first class together was Personal Law during our Freshman year.

It was insanely challenging and scary, but we passed. Just like we passed Business Law and Finance together. I'm going to miss her a lot, but we promised each other that we'll meet up once a year for a girl's trip.

The handsome man in my life, Aren. He used his basketball game and knowledgeable Giants trivia to win me over. We always joke that it took the Giants to win a World Series for us to get together. He was recently named the Cal Pac Scholar Athlete of the Year, which means he is one smart and talented guy. He's going to be the new youth pastor at a church in San Diego. (Can you tell that I am so very proud of him?)

Meet my best friend Kait. She just graduated with a degree in Biochemistry and was accepted to pharmacy school in Montana. We met when we were little chubby babies in diapers. We have been apart for the last four years, but we have always remained close. She is the sister I never had. I had no idea she was coming to my graduation, but she and my boyfriend schemed for weeks on surprising me. Aren took me to an outdoor restaurant a few days before graduation. Unbeknownst to me, Kait and her husband of almost one year, had been sitting at a table the entire time. When I finally realized it was her, we ran to each other and I couldn't help but cry. I had never been so surprised in my life and I realized I am truly blessed with some great friends.

From left to right: Katy, me and Kaitlin.

I had a cap decorating party a couple weeks before graduation weekend. Katy used some colorful gems to decorate the edge of her cap and spelled out her name. My cap is in honor of the reigning champion San Francisco Giants. Kaitlin is on her way to Florida after graduation for a great job in an Adventist Health Systems hospital, so she decked out her cap with a sparkly Florida state and palm tree.

Diploma in hand. I graduated with a BBA with an emphasis in Accounting. Just one more graduation ceremony to go and I will have my masters. I cannot wait to start this journey in the service industry of health care.

God blessed me with a great experience in college. While I'm looking back on the last four years I realize that He opened a lot of doors for me. I was blessed to have an internship under my belt, great friends, and leadership experience. More importantly I drew closer to Christ. Week of Prayers, memorable Religion and Theology classes from even more memorable professors, and a little ministry called Kidz Reach helped me see my religion and my God in a new light. I was extremely blessed to have an undergraduate experience at PUC and I can't wait to look back through old year books and remember all the great memories I made during those four years.