Pomp and Circumstance... and a lot of snow

Well, so much for that "writing often" thing, it's been almost 10 days since my last post! Much has happened since then and life is pretty good right now.

First of all, I graduated! I've had a few days for that reality to set it and it's a strange feeling. I'm so happy to be done with the Saturday morning classes, the stress, the frustrations and all that jazz. But I'll miss a lot of things too. As crazy as my classmates and I drove each other at times, we were like a family. During our final class, I presented this little blog project and I told them that I despite our differences, I learned a valuable lesson from every single one of them. That was kind of the theme of the night, lessons learned and friendships made. It was nice.

Even nicer, was graduation night. My whole family made the trek down to Olean for the ceremony, amidst worries over some serious health problems with my grandmother's sister and a warning that the "storm of the century" might hit town. It meant a lot that they all came. Watching my grandparents watching me, I could tell it meant a lot to them to be there. My dad told me he was proud of me, which always tugs at my heart in a way that nothing else ever will.

The ceremony was short and sweet, but the man that gave our commencement speech, an education professor that I had never heard of, sent us on our way with a really great message. He compared our diploma to a brand new car, Bona brown with white interior (this made me crack up). We have the keys, but it will only go where we drive it. The world is an open road, see what's out there. But don't forget about your "BonaStar" button that connects you to the university that you call home whenever you need help.

Messages like that always send twinges of anticipation and excitement through my body. How will my life play out? Where will I go? What will I do? Will I ever have the courage to leave Buffalo and see what else is out there? Time will tell. I have to be patient, things will work themselves out.

Then, the party started. St. Bonaventure is a Franciscan university and let me tell you, those friars know how to throw a party. The IMC class and their guests were invited to an exclusive gathering at the friary, home of the men in the brown robes, complete with open bar and an endless supply of goodies to munch on. I walked in the door and Brother Basil, my favorite professor, greeted me and said, "Get to the bar!"

The Friary is a gorgeous building that was always a mystery to me as an undergrad. I was never part of the "special" group that got invited to dinner there on occasion. It was worth the wait. That night was so incredibly special, I won't even try to describe the details of it here. The memory will stay with me forever.

I know it's cheesy, but St. Bonaventure really is a unique place. Outsiders joke about it being cult-like, but once you're in, you're in for life. If you're not part of it, you can't possibly understand it and you probably think I'm just a big dork. Too bad. I love that school.