Weekly Inspiration 5.25.14

Tomorrow is Memorial Day.  All around people are talking about how excited they are that it's the beginning of the summer season, how they're so glad to have a three-day weekend, etc.  

I'm excited for all of those things too, but sometimes I think that we forget the true reason behind many holidays and that Memorial Day is a biggie.  It's not just a day for picnics, but a day for is to pause and be grateful for those who died so we could have our freedoms. Now I'm not trying to get all preachy, I just think it's nice to pause and reflect and be thankful.  Happy Memorial Day!

Smile because it happened...

Well, I did it!

I am officially a graduate of THE Pennsylvania State University!

This is such an unbelievably strange feeling.  Part of me feels like it's just an ordinary summer and that I'll be going back in August for the fall semester.  Another part of me already feels like graduation was ages ago!

The Thursday before graduation, Nannerhead and I decided to of take some nice graduation photos in our caps and gowns.  It was a gorgeous day, and while we only had iPhone's to use, I must say the pictures turned out pretty great!

This girl is my very best friend.  Sometimes people enter your life seemingly insignificant and turn out to be forever friends.   The story of our friendship is fairly comical.  It was the very first day of classes my freshman year and,  as fate would have it, I was running 15 minutes late for my 8 AM bio lab.  I snuck into class and took the only available seat which, as you guessed it, was next to Nannerhead!  We were assigned as lab partners and had to work together a lot in and out of class.  We became friends and realized that we had so much in common.  We were both majoring in elementary education and had nearly identical schedules.  We were also both from Pittsburgh and went to neighboring schools.  We had many mutual friends and even took dance lessons together as children!  How weird is that?!?!  Throughout freshman year, we became very close friends, decided to live together for the next three years, take all of the same classes, and the rest is history! 

 I have no doubt in my mind that we are kindred spirits and are meant to be lifelong friends.  She is the Lucy to my Ethel and the peanut to my butter.  I have no idea how I would've made it through college without her!  I'm going to miss not being able to just walk up the stairs of our near-campus house to see my best friend.  Just typing this is making me teary!  I'm so grateful to have her in my life and cannot wait to be her maid of honor at her wedding in November!  Love you, Nannerhead!

Commencement was held on Saturday, May 10th.  It was an exciting and fun-filled day.  My Mom, Dad, Step-Mom, Siblings, and two uncles all came to Altoona for the day and it was a great time!

(Nannerhead and I, of course)

(The Elementary Ed Grads!  Love these ladies!)

(Can't resist taking a selfie during commencement!  We snuck in line next to each other for seating purposes.  It's preposterous that they should try to separate us during graduation!)

(The Rotondo siblings- Christopher, Cidney, me, Caylin, and Chloe)

I still can't believe my four years at Penn State are over!  It's sad, yet exciting.  As sad as I am to see it go I am so, so grateful that I was able to call myself a Nittany Lion and have such a great experience.  We Are!

Weekly Inspiration 5.4.14

So I'm going to try out this "weekly inspiration" thing.  Each Sunday (hopefully) I'm going to post a quote that's either particularly inspiring overall or is currently speaking to me as extra motivation for the week ahead.  Quotes are some of my favorite things and can actually be life changing.  I'm so excited to share some of my favorites! :)

And without further ado, here is Weekly Inspiration Number One:

a healthy reminder that not everything we want happens immediately and that some things are worth waiting for

PS:  May the Fourth be with you :)

The end is near...

disclaimer:  this post is very personal and not sunshine-and-rainbows.  to some, it might seem complain-y.  but i'm trying my best to "keep it real" on this blog.  this is a part of my life that i'm going to want to look back on and remember, so that in the future i can tell myself "i did it!"

Sometimes God sends you little things that are exactly what you need exactly when you need them.

Today, I read an article entitled The REAL Reason You're So Afraid To Graduate. 

(Here's the link right here http://totalsororitymove.com/the-real-reason-youre-so-afraid-to-graduate/ .  Yes, I realize it's from a sorority blogsite, but that is not the point.)

And let me tell you, the writer hit the nail right on the head with this one.

For the past few months, I've had the biggest pit in my stomach that just seems to get bigger and bigger the closer it gets to graduation day.  Last week, I realized I am truly dreading graduation with a passion... which is really, REALLY confusing.  Why am I dreading it?

Graduation is supposed to be this exciting, momentous occasion that you look forward to since before you're even in college.  It's the big hurrah to end "the best four years of your life"- it should be one big party!  Now that it's looming closer, why am I dreading it so much?  It's certainly not because I'm going to miss the classes or homework, and definitely not because of the student apartment I live in that is located in the worst section of town ever... so what is it? And even worse, why do I seem like the only person feeling this way?  Everyone else is so ready to be done.  They are going to have in-demand degrees and have had job offers since Christmas, or they have fiancés or houses or other exciting life happenings when they're finished.  So what's wrong with me?

Those are literally the thoughts that have been swirling around in my head for weeks and have caused many tearful nights.  I am so so grateful that I happened to stumble across this seemingly silly article exactly when I needed it.

The author sums up the expected reasons why people might be afraid to graduate... no more partying, having to get a real job, etc.  But she continues to say:

"It’s not the real reason the word 'graduation' seems to be synonymous with 'death.'  You knew you’d stop partying someday. You knew you’d have to get a job someday. And you knew that getting a job might be really, really hard.  What you weren’t prepared for was this unshakable feeling that you don’t belong anywhere."

BAM!  There are the exact words I couldn't put together to describe this feeling.  I have no idea what exactly is coming next.  While I've done some interviews, schools don't really open up the hiring process until mid-to-late summer, which means I have no real job at the moment.  Scary.  I also don't know where I might be living once I do get a real job, which means I'm going back to my parents'... Scariest.  There are very few things in life that make your self-esteem take a huge hit like having to move back in with your parents.

While reading the article didn't make stoked for graduation, it made me feel a little bit better realizing that I'm not the only person who feels so unsure. I'm still so grateful and thankful that I was able to go to college and graduate.  I know I'm lucky and that this is a huge blessing.

With that being said...