Jovers

Friday afternoon, I graduated with my Bachelor of Business Administration.

I wasn’t all too excited about the actual ceremony; if anything it was stressing me out. Both Andrew and I’s family arrived in Kansas City around 1:00pm and the ceremony was at 4:00pm. In total, there were 13 of us, which was a lot of people to be crammed into our little apartment!

I arrived at school about an hour before the ceremony for the robing and to get in line. It was really disorganized, so I ended up just standing for pretty much the whole hour. I found quite a few classmates that I knew, so the time passed pretty quickly as we talked. My feet were killing me, though. I had bought a new pair of heeled booties for the ceremony, but after standing in them for so long, I was ready to take them off!

I tried to spot my family during the processional, but there were so many people that I didn’t manage to find them right away. I didn’t spot them until I was actually lining up to walk across the stage and I spotted my mom and gave her a little wave.

I felt a little special because I had received Latin Honors, so when they called my name, they also announced Summa Cum Laude, meaning “with highest distinction.” I got a special medal to wear with my gown for the Latin honor. It varies from school to school, but for the business school I was within, Summa Cum Laude is anyone with a 3.85+ GPA. My final GPA ended up being a 3.93 so I was really proud of myself for almost achieving straight As.

My Graduation

After the ceremony, we met away from the crowd by the library to take some pictures. As I’m looking through them, the heeled booties were worth the pain because they are so cute. :<

We ordered from our favorite Kansas City BBQ restaurant, Oklahoma Joe’s, afterwards for dinner. There were 13 of us altogether, so just called it in and picked it up. On a normal Friday night, the line can be an hour and a half long so I knew it wouldn’t be practical to eat at the restaurant. It was just as good.

On Saturday, Andrew had his Spanish graduation where he graduated with his Bachelor of Art in Spanish. I brought my phone to read a bit while guest speakers spoke or they called everyone else’s name.

Then on Sunday, Andrew graduated with his Bachelor of Science in Nursing. At this one, they announced both of his degrees while he crossed the stage. I had teased earlier that he could wear my medal since he didn’t receive a Latin honor, so I was cracking up when I saw him wearing it. What’s mine is his, eh?

Andrew Spanish Graduation

I was honestly more excited about Andrew’s graduations than I was my own. I’m proud that I’ve graduated and that I did so well in my classes, but words truly can’t express how proud of Andrew I am. In the same amount of time I graduated with my one degree, he graduated with two – and most weeks he worked more than forty hours at his job. I don’t know how he managed to do all of that, plus make time for us, and still graduate with a 3.5 GPA.

I’m just a super proud wife, and so grateful that I get to stand by his side and celebrate his accomplishments with him.

On Monday, I turned in my final report and completed my last two finals. My final semester of my undergraduate career is finished.

Breathe.

I felt relief that I was finally finished with my exams, however I didn’t feel any more elated than I normally would. I think that’s because I can’t relax quite yet since both Andrew and I’s family will be coming up for the weekend for our graduations, and then that Monday we will be making the four-hour move back to St. Louis.

Oh my goodness, I hate packing.

We started packing up yesterday, but we both kept getting distracted and we didn’t get as much done as I would have liked. Then, two of our friends are transitioning between apartments and needed a place to stay for a couple nights. Normally, I would have no problem with friends staying – and I still don’t – it just makes everything a bit more chaotic having two extra people with us in our small apartment while we are trying to pack up.

Today was my last day of my internship. It was a bit bittersweet. I really enjoyed the environment I was in and I love working downtown, but I’m also happy to be moving on. It’s not a position that I would want to take permanently, but it was perfect for just this year. My coworkers brought in snacks and sweets on Monday to celebrate and say thanks, which I thought was really nice and I wasn’t expecting. And I never say no to cookies.

We have been squeezing in time with friends in this last week here and there, and it’s making me so sad knowing we will have to say goodbye. We’re meeting up with different friends on Thursday, and in between now and Friday, I’m going to try and finish up the rest of the packing. We still have so much to do – I haven’t even touched our bedroom or the kitchen. It makes me just want to throw everything out because you don’t realize how much stuff you have until you have to pack it all up! Haha, I’m only slightly joking, though.

We’ve thrown out quite a bit already: old papers and documents that we don’t need any more, a printer that only works about half the time, and old textbooks that we couldn’t sell back or aren’t worth anything. I want to throw more out, but my mom wants to have a garage sale when we come back that way someone can find some good use for the stuff we aren’t using anymore, so that’s the plan. It will be good to be able to really go through everything and do a good bit of decluttering and some major reorganizing.

I think it’s really hitting me now, that this is it. This is our last week in Kansas City. It’s all a jumble of different emotions and I think I’m still processing everything. I might be a bit of an emotional wreck this weekend once we graduate and pack the trailer up.

It’s crazy to think that Andrew and I have almost been married for a year now, and I’m a little sad to say goodbye to the apartment that we turned into our first home. But change is good, and I’m ready.

Rebecca Smith, B.B.A.

Packing up the Little One-Bedroom