Graduation
After finals were over, I stayed around Dayton for graduation weekend to say the final good bye (at least for a little while) to my graduating friends. Baccalaureate was held on Saturday afternoon. This Mass offered a book end to the four years at UD which began with a Mass on the first day of freshman year. In some ways that first day seems like yesterday, and in other ways it feels like forever ago. Following the Mass, most seniors had grillouts or parties at their houses that night. Students can pay for tents to be put up in their back yards for their family and friends to enjoy.
This was the first year that graduate and undergraduate commencement ceremonies were held separately. Graduate commencement was Saturday while undergraduate was on Sunday. I thought this worked out quite well, since the traffic and length of the event was long enough without the graduate students. Over 1200 undergraduate students graduated, and their names were called one by one. The entire ceremony lasted almost 3 hours. It was very interesting sitting up in the arena as a spectator watching my friends graduate. Now I know what to expect when I am in my cap and gown next year.
Once things settled down after graduation, I drove home to Atlanta on Monday. I think move-out weekend at UD is the most depressing time of the year. Everyone is leaving and saying goodbye. Your house is cleaned out and now longer looks like home. The streets are empty and silent. The campus feels like a ghost-town, only hours after being filled with family and friends.
Our house had to be cleared out by noon on Monday, and we were rushing to get things out up to the final minutes. It's amazing how much you accumulate over a yeat at college, especially in a house. Our cars were only so big, and we had to throw out quite a bit of leftover supplies.
Next year will be quite different for me. Many of my closest friends will be far away, and I will probably spend time with a smaller group of people. I am looking forward to a great house with some great roommates, though. There will always be space on the couch for my friends now in the working world.
May 17, 2008 1:31 PM
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