I have officially graduated! All of my family and friends have now left, and overall, I think my graduation and the party afterward were perfect and how I wanted them to go. I now have a second bachelor's degree! I am 23 years old and have two bachelor's degrees. I graduated summa cum laude in the first and magna cum laude in the second (missed it by a hundredth of a point!). I worked hard, and I'm proud. Perhaps I am going to be a degree collector? I don't know exactly where I'm going in life, but I always want to be learning new things EVERY day.

I sang the national anthem at graduation, and although I didn't get a starting note, I think it went really well! That song can be killer if you start too high...anyway, my classmates cheered for me when I went up there, and that meant a lot to me. I don't know how I would have gotten through this year of crazy fast nursing school without them. They kept me sane for sure. This was the first time a lot of them had heard me sing, and it meant a lot to me that they said I gave them goosebumps. It makes me glad I didn't get a music degree in vain ;) So now I can say I have sung at Powell Hall (thought maybe not for the occasion I had envisioned, haha. I'll leave that part out). The decorations there were so pretty and Christmas-y. Weddings have obviously been on my mind lately, and I was thinking it would be such a gorgeous space to have a wedding. I don't think they do that sort of thing there, though. I'll look into it.

We had lots of food and stuff afterward, but I was really excited about the cake. It was my graduation, but I felt like I was stealing Dad's thunder because it was his birthday as well. So we got a cake that said Congratulations Emily/Happy birthday, Neil. He was definitely surprised. The cake was good, too!

I bought my closest nursey friends (that's what I like to call them) books that are supposed to encourage you through your first year of nursing. I got some really nice cards from my family and Matt's family. I felt really loved. :) My parents also bought me a watch I've been wanting, so I'm pretty excited to wear it. It's so bling-y. I'm going out tonight to hang out with some old friends from high school. I haven't seen them since I've gotten engaged, so it will be nice to catch up.

Also, tickets to Chicago to see Darein and Carlie are officially bought! I canNOT wait. This will be a blast...and also one of the last holidays I will probably see as the lowest nurse on the totem pole...fantastic!