A graduation, a concert, and a film.

I've been meaning/trying to write this post for days. It started off simple and has had a lot of extra things tacked on, so please excuse my randomness. :)

Friday night was my college graduation. Yay! Technically I'm a "summer graduate," which means I won't actually get my physical diploma/degree until sometime in August. I have to take two more classes before I complete my associates degree in early childhood education. Thankfully these two classes are online, and I'll be finished with them by the end of July.

{I'm not too thrilled with posting these photos, but the "professional" ones aren't any better. Darkness + nervous smile + frizzy hair from the humidity = not so swell pictures}

So I was really nervous about graduation. My homeschool high school graduation was very small- we had about six graduates. The community college had somewhere around 516 graduates this spring, so there were thousands of people there. Under a huge white tent on the athletic field. It was a little unpredictable. Some examples:

-The sky was black. I was sure that it was either going to start pouring down rain or that we were going to have a scary thunderstorm. Or both.

-Since we were under a tent held up by giant metal posts, a thunderstorm would have meant that graduation would have to be postponed, for the first time ever in the college's history, until the next day.

-Because of the pending storm, people there (graduates and family/friends) were very anxious for the ceremony to get sped up. There was lots of hollering and cheering when someone mentioned being quick, and lots of impatient murmuring and outbursts when someone rambled on.

-Apparently air horns are a common occurrence at graduations? Someone mentioned them at rehearsal, and I was very sceptical at the thought that someone would actually bring one. Well, they did. I'm not sure if this is normal or if it's just the fact that this was a graduation in a small southern town? :)

-Who in the world designed graduation hats? Isn't there a better way? I had approx. six bobby pins holding that hat on, and it still felt like it was going to blow away with every breeze.

Honestly, though, I enjoyed it. The ceremony made me feel proud of our little community college and of the early childhood education program. The past two years have been good for me, though I was usually too stressed out to realize it at the time. :) But, let me say that I am so relieved that it's {nearly} over and I'm ready to move on to whatever God has planned for me next! I usually don't like change, but I'm ready for this change. Though it will be a little weird to go from seeing people several days a week for two years to not seeing them at all.

{The graduates of the early childhood education program at our reception before the ceremony. Please ignore my lack of a smile- there were lots of photos being taken and my face needed a rest. :) }

The thunderstorm and the rain held off, in case you're wondering. We got through the ceremony much quicker than I expected. After some photos, we hurried out of the parking craziness and hit the Dairy Queen (I got a Reese's Blizzard). We sat and ate on those concrete tables under the umbrellas and watched traffic. :)

{After the ceremony. My dad, my grandma, me, and Marmee. :) }

So...that was our big Friday night on the town. :) Then we read in the paper that the local symphony orchestra was having their spring concert Saturday night. They only have four concerts a year, and the spring concert is where they usually play Broadway-ish music (as opposed to classical, Christmas, or patriotic at the other concerts). The concerts are free, by the way! This time they were having big band hits, as well as some songs from Broadway. And my mom knows that I love that type of music, so we made plans to go.

It was really amazing! Some of the songs played were: In the Mood, Moonlight Serenade, and medleys of Irving Berlin, Hoagy Carmichael, Cole Porter, and Duke Ellington songs. Plus they did medleys of songs from Porgy and Bess and Guys and Dolls. This was our second time attending, and I knew a large majority of these songs, which was so much fun. The last time we went featured classical music, and I only knew one or two of the songs.

There was something so cool about hearing some of my favorite songs like In the Mood played live. Of course, it didn't sound as "brassy" as big band music usually does- because of the large number of string instruments it sometimes reminded me of old movie scores. Most of the couples there were elderly, so I imagine that maybe they danced to these songs as teenagers and young adults. :) If I closed my eyes and just listened, it would almost be like one of those dinner and dancing clubs that are always shown in old movies.

 {This is not my picture, but it is the town symphony orchestra.}

So that was our big Saturday night out on the town. :) By this time, we were getting pretty exhausted. We're not usually so busy on the weekends. But I love that our town (we don't live in the city I mention. It's about 16 miles away, but it's probably the closest one to us) has fun stuff like this. People, especially young people my age, always complain that our town doesn't have anything to offer. But it does, if you're willing to look! We have lots of history and there are always interesting things to do. And if people would just stay here to look for and make opportunities instead of moving away, we would have even more to offer. Rant over. :)

One more random note. I've been wanting to see You've Got Mail for quite some time now, ever since I learned that it is based on two of my favorite classic movies: The Shop Around the Corner and its musical remake, In the Good Old Summertime. Well, today I finally got to see it. I loved it!

First, a little disclaimer: this film is rated PG, and while that's generally safe now, it seems that in the 90s you could get away with more in a PG rating. I could do without the language (especially the gym scene which is where a lot of the movie's language occurs) and other unappropriate content scattered throughout the movie. I do not like the fact that the main characters are both already involved with someone when they start corresponding (or that they both seem to be living with the boyfriend/girlfriend, and they're not married). And I don't like that this movie seems to endorse getting involved with someone you met online. I know it was just their way of trying to "update" the story from letters to email, but things could be a lot more dangerous this way.

But the movie is really sweet. I think it'll be even better when I use my DVD language blocker next time. :) I love the way the movie echoed and referenced The Shop Around the Corner and In the Good Old Summertime in big and small ways. I loved that the scene where they are supposed to meet for the first time borrowed some lines word-for-word from the old movies. I love the focus on bookstores (independent vs. chain stores). I love that they talk about Pride and Prejudice! I loved the music- it fit perfectly. And I love Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan together! They make such a cute couple. Although I cannot hear Tom Hanks' voice without immediately thinking of Woody. :)

Until next time,