I graduated!

Just over a week ago I graduated from university with a 2.1 in English Literature. Graduation day was a mixture of emotions, part of me was extremely proud that I achieved the grade division that I did, as at points in my university life, I did not think it was possible to get a 2.1 overall. But in reality the day was mostly a sweaty, stressful mess. July graduations sound fantastic, a day of celebration in the glorious summer sunshine- until you meet the reality of wearing a fancy robe and cap in the middle of a 30 degree heatwave.

Not only did we get stuck straight away on the M2 with an already long, 3 hour journey ahead of us and a tight schedule, but when we finally arrived in Bath, we had to immediately get onto a baking hot Park and Ride bus which was effectively a greenhouse. Once we were finally in the centre of Bath and I was able to collect my graduation robes and mortarboard, I could finally relax as we were bang on schedule.

My favourite part of the day was most definitely the actual ceremony itself, nothing will beat the sound of a Brass Quintet filling the space of an old Art Deco theatre. It was a lot more emotional that I thought it would be, a combination of the music, the traditions maintained from graduation ceremonies across several hundreds of years, and the overall celebration of everybody in the room, definitely gave me goosebumps throughout- my family who attended tell me there was also a lot of crying going on in the parent seating. I was also pretty pleased to have not fallen over whilst crossing the stage and shaking the Deputy Vice Chancellor's hand, especially since I was wearing heels- which I don't usually do!

Despite the initial stress of my graduation day, I did enjoy celebrating my time at university and will definitely treasure the photos and memories of the day that I have with my family and boyfriend. Now onto the next thing... whatever that may be!