I'M A GRADUATE!!!

OH MY FUCKING FUCKSOCKS...I DID IT!!!!!

It's taken me a couple of days to write a blog about it because I've not come down from the experience much until now. I've been floating around with a whacking great smile on my face since Friday afternoon and going through my photos about a million times a day.

I got ready for the ceremony at about 10 in the morning to do my hair and make-up (hair took forever since the hairdresser from hell got her hands on it again. She layered my fringe...WHAT THE FUCK?). I managed to get the last of the blister plasters I'd bought and stuck them all over my feet before The Mister buzzed my door.
Unfortunately I was feeling a combination of nerves and the last agonising stabbing pains of the same damn IBS attack from a couple of days before, so I felt awful before we left and during the hour car journey to Guilford.

When we got there and finally managed to park up, we had to walk to the Austin Pierce building of the university to get out tickets and don the robes. I had a grumpy sod dress me.

He shoved my robes on then yanked the hood over my head and popped the mortarboard down really fast on my head (seriously, it made a clunking noise). After that I found my parents and The Mister who proceeded to go "Awwwwwwwwww" at me and shove cameras up my nose.

After that - and after Mum bought me a graduation bear - we wandered around campus looking for the walkway to the cathedral. There were soooo many stairs and my hood kept coming off of my button and strangling me.
We all filed into the Cathedral - my parents and The Mister running to try and get front row seats - and I wandered along to my aisle where I was given a card with my name on and instructions on what to do once I get up to the stage. My parents wasted no time in standing up from their seats to take photos of me sitting down and talking to a student I'd never met before but who looked just as cacky-pants as I did.

The organist was AMAZING!!

Oh, he couldn't hit all the notes for shit but he started playing film theme tunes. We sat through a medley of Phantom of the Opera, Flight of The Navigator, Star Wars, Jurassic Park and, when all the important chancellor people were walking in and we all had to stand, the guy started playing the Superman song. I'm still saddened by the fact that he didn't play the Hogwarts theme.

The ceremony was as expected. Old people in iffy hats nagged on about how amazing we all were. Then the hand shaking thing commenced.

After that, it was time to officially put on our hats and file out of the Cathedral.
I met Radish, Sprout and Patricia outside along with all their parents (mine had wandered off and gotten lost somewhere). More photos happened of course:

Everyone else went into the tent thingy for booze after that. I, however, ran back down to the Austin thingy building with Mum to get my official photos taken as I thought I'd fucked it up and left it too late. I had ones on my own take - at first without a fringe which looked disgusting - then decided I wanted ones done with my parents and Ben so I called them and they came down to have them taken with me. Mister was soooo unusually quiet, which was odd.

After the photos it was pretty much time to give the fancy dress back which I really didn't want to do at all. After that it was back to the car and back home. My day was over far too quickly.

I can't believe I actually did it. Without falling up/down the stairs.