Commencement Questions: All About Graduation

Hey y'all,

I have seen a few people ask about other's graduation experiences and since college graduations will be occurring over the next few weeks and high school graduations in the next month or so I thought I would share my two cents about all things graduation: dress, photos, etc.

High School

The bestie, aMl and I after graduating

Dress:I attended a public high school that had very strict dress code rules for graduation (and everything else for that matter...) and therefore there was not a whole lot of room for what to wear on graduation night. The dress code included closed toe, closed heel black shoes  so I found some ballet flats (we had to walk down escalators and other stairs before even entering the and for all the previous years leading up to 2008 the girls had to wear white dresses so of course when I was a junior marshal and had to buy a white dress we knew what I was going to wear to graduation but the policy changed a few weeks before my graduation so I stuck with the dress I already had.

Senior Pictures:In my school you took your Senior photos the summer before your Senior year so that took care of that.

Announcements: My parent's ordered the school announcements and then I labeled each one with the small photo of Senior Pictures.

Day Of: So of course the day of graduation it was expected to rain. My county does our graduations at the local expo center so our school always had the 8pm Thursday night graduation slot. So instead of doing anything with my hair it was natural crazy curly.
Carry: Nothing. My graduation was very formal and we had to walk in alphabetical order into a specified seat. We even had a practice run that took a few hours so I knew that I would not be carrying anything but my parents held on to my phone and extras.

Party: There will be lots of graduation parties to attend so my family and my bestie's had a joint neighborhood shindig since we are cul-de-sac potluck people.

Refer to the rules of your graduation, my school did not even allow for cheering or yelling at all during the ceremony so that all students' names could be heard when they were read. 

College

Dress: In college I actually had 3 graduation ceremonies. One was the large graduation for all students of Carolina and then I had one for my major department and one for my Women's Studies minor. My minor department had a small gathering on one of the reading days so the dress was casual and it was more like a party (yay for small departments). So for the departmental graduation for the English department was held in the theater on campus so since it was inside and required walking across the stage making it a bit more formal so I decided to opt for my J.Crew Carolina blue silk dress. For the larger graduation I knew was outside in Kenan Football Stadium so my cotton J.Crew Lorelei in white was the way to go. I wore Jack Rogers with both dresses since I knew I had to walk across a stage in my department and walk down some steps in the Tar Pit for the large graduation. 

English Department Graduation

Large Graduation Dress

If I was graduating this year from Carolina I would be debating between these dresses:

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Senior Pictures: I had a friend take photos one Friday afternoon a few weeks before graduating since I knew then that I could spend some time at all of the major highlights of campus. As it gets closer to graduation the main points of your campus will get more crowded. It took a few hours for us between changing and viewing different locations (the Old Well, Bell Tower, Arboretum, Kenan Stadium, South Building/The Quad/The Seal, the Sundial, etc.) Be prepared that during graduation weekend the main attractions will be crowded with a line. My parent's took some photos with me after the English Graduation at the Paul Green Theater and then on the day of the large graduation we took some by the Bynum fountain.

Daddy's girl

My sorority also picked a day in which we took some photos together and then on the day of the large graduation we all met together so we could sit in the stands as one group(we don't walk across the stage or read names at the large graduation only speeches and symbolically awarding degrees). 

Before heading in to graduate

Announcements: Once again my parent's ordered the school designed announcements and since they were paying I wasn't going to argue.

Day Of: I carried nothing to my English Department graduation but during the main one I had pockets in my dress and carried my camera and phone. My parent's gave me a designated place to meet after the event since 4,000 graduates plus their families means chaos so we met over at the student stores before heading to lunch. Our large graduation is much more relaxed then the individual departments: think proposal, neon signs, balloons,etc. 

Our Graduation Address by Mayor Michael Bloomberg

To Decorate the Cap or not? I did! I knew that I wanted mine decorated and I still have my cap out in my room now. It is decor and a reminder of the last four years of hard work. It has my letters since my sisters are always with me from the beginning of my college journey to standing next to me on the day of graduation (a sister even drew my monogram). 

Party: My family and I had a small gathering at our house afterwards but we did not stay in the area long after my graduation but I had some celebration at home.

What are your graduation questions? Anything I forgot?

Peace and Blessings (and Congrats Grads!),

jDl

The Adventures of Car Buying

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Hey y'all,

This past weekend I went home to my parent's house in order to begin my car buying experience. I mean, my mom is kind of an expert having been there for the test drives of my older siblings as well as for her own car. So I thought I would share my experience and some tips!

So my need to purchase a car comes from the fact that the car I currently drive is on loan from my parents. The car I currently drive was one my parent's purchased for the four kids could learn on, drive to high school, etc.  I was actually the first of all the kids to even have a car at college (in-state school perks). It is a decent car, however, my little sister is craving a car for her Senior year at NC State and since I had the car since my junior year at Carolina it is time to return it to her. So, as with my older siblings, the one year after my college graduation deadline is coming up and it's time to be financially responsible for my own vehicle. SCARY!

Step one in this process was to work on a budget, both monthly payment and total of the car so I had a starting point in my research. With bills, student loans, food, etc. I know I have a very specific budget to keep for my car and insurance payments (goodbye shopping, hello car loan). I also talked to my bank and made sure that I was pre-approved to know where my financing would be.

After I began my budget it was on to step two, Research. I knew I wanted a four-door sedan with air conditioning, a radio and power windows. The rest: color, bluetooth, cruise control, etc. were all extra things. I would not compromise on a radio but I would color. I also began to check out what was in my budget parameters and their various safety scores. I plan on having this car for at least 7 years so safety and gas mileage are important. I also decided I wanted only a new car (a warrenty and no worries are a beautiful thing).I looked at places like Edmunds, Car&Driver, and KBB for information.

Step three was to make a list of all the possibilities before going out blindly into the world of test driving. My list looked like this:

Chevrolet Sonic or Cruze

Nissan Versa

Volkswagon Jetta

Dodge Dart

Kia Rio or Forte

Hyundai Accent

Ford Fiesta or Focus

Toyota Corolla

Saturday morning, bright and early, my mom and I adventured into the land of test drives. I must say I thought it was hysterical that at two different dealerships they thought I was sixteen. I know that I was with my Mom and buying my first car but nope, not 16. Test driving included lots of note taking (thank goodness for my May Book) and telling various sales people that NO I would not be making my decision that day (I mean I had to sleep on my college decision between Carolina and U of Richmond, of course I would sleep on a car buying decision).

 

So the next step was to whittle my list down to two or three and then have my Dad look at the specs to make sure that everything looked ok with each of the cars. My final three were:

Volkswagon Jetta

Hyundai Accent

Toyota Corolla

*Apparently I only like the foreign cars

 

All the cars got the approval of my Dad as safe and would be good first time cars that would stand the test of time. So the next thing was to compare prices and monthly payment to make sure I was comfortable. I have since made my decision.I only have to test drive the car one more time to make sure and then it is off to the bank. Here is to hopefully having a car by the end of the month!!!!

 

More to come soon! The rest of the weekend included hanging out with my parent's and Max the cat, a bit of shopping for work clothes, and eatings lots of great food.

What did your weekend entail?

 

Peace and Blessings,

jDl