plus, my dad taped over my stage combat fight.
I showed up at the Pacific Amphitheater at 4pm on Saturday, I put my cap and gown on, I checked in and got my name card, and then I went to stand in line with all the other theater graduates. I was really excited, we were all laughing and joking around. Someone suggested we do one last "whether the weather" which is one of those weird theater warm ups that gets your vocal chords loose and helps you channel energy (or maybe it doesn't do either one of those things...maybe it's just one of those weird things theater people do to get attention). So we did, and everybody looked at us funny, which is the ultimate goal, I suppose. It was a blast. Then we walked in together to the band playing Pomp and Circumstance, and there was cheering and fun and excitement and I felt great. It was awesome to walk accross the stage and shake a bunch of hands belonging to people I don't know, get my diploma holder, go back and sit down, throw/dodge tortillas...and then it was over and we all shuffled out to the parking lot where we met our families and continued to laugh and hug and take pictures and smile and have a great time. And then...I walked away from it all. Went out to dinner with my family. And I guess it hit me when I walked away...it feels like I'm walking away from everything I've had for the last six years. Is that too emo? I mean it felt like I had been stripped of my identity. And all of a sudden, I'm just a lazy pile with three retarded jobs and a diploma holder.
I was driving to Jeremy Peterson's Eagle Scout ceremony on Sunday and I took Woodruff all the way to some little park in Bellflower or somewhere. But along the way I drove by Parkcrest church and I was surprised that it looked so familiar at first and then as I got closer all these memories came rushing back and filled my head. I kept thinking of Petey and of us almost dying repeatedly in Sarah's taurus...and then I thought of how I felt at that point in my life. That band was my identity. I felt like if I ever lost what I had with that group of people in that band, I wouldn't know what to do. I didn't think that life could get any better. I was really happy then. And then I realized that even though Awestruck is not the same band anymore and I'm not going to lunch every saturday and nobody is wearing that sweet afro wig and some of us are not as close as we used to be...life is still good. I'm still really happy. I'm still just where I need to be and that just because one phase ends that doesn't mean that everything ends. Something else is just beginning. And it's ok to let go of the old and embrace the new.
Boy, I'm glad I took Woodruff.
Anyway, having said all that, if you are reading this blog, you are invited to my graduation party to help me celebrate my accomplishment and mourn my loss. It's this Sunday, May 14th between 2 and 5pm. Yes, I know, it's mother's day, but that's why we're partying it up between lunch and dinner...so you can still come. it's at my house, and you can e-mail me if you need directions at amy@theburn.com. I hope to see you there!
I was driving to Jeremy Peterson's Eagle Scout ceremony on Sunday and I took Woodruff all the way to some little park in Bellflower or somewhere. But along the way I drove by Parkcrest church and I was surprised that it looked so familiar at first and then as I got closer all these memories came rushing back and filled my head. I kept thinking of Petey and of us almost dying repeatedly in Sarah's taurus...and then I thought of how I felt at that point in my life. That band was my identity. I felt like if I ever lost what I had with that group of people in that band, I wouldn't know what to do. I didn't think that life could get any better. I was really happy then. And then I realized that even though Awestruck is not the same band anymore and I'm not going to lunch every saturday and nobody is wearing that sweet afro wig and some of us are not as close as we used to be...life is still good. I'm still really happy. I'm still just where I need to be and that just because one phase ends that doesn't mean that everything ends. Something else is just beginning. And it's ok to let go of the old and embrace the new.
Boy, I'm glad I took Woodruff.
Anyway, having said all that, if you are reading this blog, you are invited to my graduation party to help me celebrate my accomplishment and mourn my loss. It's this Sunday, May 14th between 2 and 5pm. Yes, I know, it's mother's day, but that's why we're partying it up between lunch and dinner...so you can still come. it's at my house, and you can e-mail me if you need directions at amy@theburn.com. I hope to see you there!
posted by Amy at 1:18 AM
6 Comments:
Let me tell you the perspective of a 32 year old who never graduated. I feel like I HAVEN'T crossed the adulthood threshold and some days that eats at me. So you get to get over a transition and maybe some sad sentimental feelings it might brong. I get to wish I had that transition and feel inferior to all my friends.
So take it for what it is... a great acomplishment. You earned it. We're proud of you.
Congratulations, Amy!
At least when you're in school you've got a sense of purpose and identity. People tell you what classes to take, when to show up, etc. Then you graduate and all of a sudden life is yours. I coped with my college graduation transition by going to grad school. I plan to officially leave behind my formal education and become an adult at approximately age 28. Let me know if you want help filling out applications for a Ph.D. program in theater.
Glad you've got a handle on both aspects of a significant transition time/rite of passage. That's as it should be. Getting married feels the same way-happy and sad tears. Sounds like a very holistic experience for you.
Why don't you just post your address on the blog!
Congrats! =D
no joke! hey kurtis! nice to hear from you! i hope you're aware that you have been in the "dead blarg" section for a whiiiiile now. what's up with that? anyway, it's nice to know you're still around, and thanks for the comment :-)
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