A thousand a day...180 & 181

Monday, May 31, 2010
Saving the fallen flowers

Sunday, May 30, 2010
Daddy building a perfect new fence around our garden.

A thousand a day...177-179

Ya-Ya sisters many years ago...

Super Troupers! My mom and my Ya-Ya mom are the last two dancing to "Mamma Mia!'s" hit song, "Super Trouper." Now that's one heck of a graduation present!

Just a quick photo after Panera in Waldorf.

Elon will never leave me

I will never forget the late August morning in 2006, the morning of New Student Convocation at Elon University. The class of 2010 dressed up, walked among our soon-to-be professors, gathered Under the Oaks, received our acorns, and were told by President Leo Lambert that we would leave Elon someday, but Elon would never leave us. The morning of May 22, 2010, the morning of our Commencement, I realized the true meaning of that.

...Another morning, August 29, 2009, the beginning of my senior year at Elon, I was reminded of President Lambert's charge to our class. I was covering freshman convocation for the class of 2013 for The Pendulum and sat in the front row, next to Father Gerry, crying my eyes out during Phil Smith's prayer, during the singing of the Alma Mater, during President Lambert's speech. Good thing I could cover it up by looking down at the notes I was taking. I knew then that saying goodbye to Elon would be one of the hardest things I would ever have to do in my life.

This year has been a blur for me. So many incredible things have happened and I finally made time for myself and for fun. But it all went by so quickly. With all the deadlines and running against the clock moments I've experienced in journalism, nothing can compare to the ticking away of every second during the week leading up to graduation...

Sunday, May 16:
Final mass at Elon, the tears began. Singing in the CCM choir these past four years has given me an outlet for music, a driving force in my life. Choir and theater consumed my life in high school, and singing in church was my one way of continuing that. This year, Melissa and I are the only seniors.

Monday, May 17:
Rehearsal with my fellow Leadership Fellows for "Leaders of the 21st Century." We got to practice on the stage in McCrary Theatre, which is always a cool thing to do. I'll have to eventually post the video I shot and edited for our presentation with the help of Noelle Clemente, who tossed in tons of photos from the past four years...lots of fun memories with the fellows. That night, I got my first real introduction to Justin Bieber when I had dinner with my London roommates and friends for life, MoMo and Stacey.

Tuesday, May 18:
One big thing crossed off the bucket list: a trip to Biltmore!

Wednesday, May 19:
Senior Picnic and Gala, one of the greatest nights of my life because, thanks to Chris Beeson, I finally got to dance! I also learned how to drive a stick shift in 10 minutes...a real accomplishment. 

Thursday, May 20:
My final Subway date with Rachel. Our weekly life chats mean the world to me, so much so that we've decided to make them monthly in the Baltimore/D.C. area.

Friday, May 21:
The festivities begin and my family arrives. We had a really nice time at the Communications reception, Baccalaureate and Leaders of the 21st Century.

Saturday, May 22:
I woke up around 6:30 a.m. the morning of May 22 with "Defying Gravity" in my head. I've always said my life is a soundtrack - there is always some song running in my mind. A small phrase can trigger lyrics. A flicker of an experience in a day can launch into a song comparable to the moment. "Defying Gravity" seemed appropriate in my mind that morning, I suppose. Keep in mind Elphaba's situation was far more desperate than my own:

Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes: and leap! 
...
I'm through accepting limits
'cause someone says they're so
Some things I cannot change
But till I try, I'll never know!
Too long I've been afraid of
Losing love I guess I've lost
Well, if that's love
It comes at much too high a cost!
I'd sooner buy
Defying gravity
Kiss me goodbye
I'm defying gravity
And you can't pull me down.

Commencement was beautiful. It went so quickly for being a three-hour ceremony. I clung to every word that was spoken, I cheesed it up as I received my diploma (did my pre-planned dance down the ramp) - mostly to hide the part of me that wanted to cry, I watched proudly and smiled and waved as my friends passed by me to line up on stage for their diplomas (gotta love being a "B" and sitting in the front row), and I sang the Alma Mater, one of my favorite songs in my life soundtrack. And as President Lambert shouted "Long Live Elon," the lump in my throat allowed me to repeat it, something I've been looking forward to since I first shouted it that August morning in 2006.

Sharing that moment with my family and friends could not have been more perfect, especially since our prayers (and Father Gerry's) worked and the rain held out until the very end. So much love...
 

For Leadership Fellows this year we've had several "capstone dinners" where we gather to reflect on certain things and to listen to a speaker. Phil Smith, Associate Chaplain and Director of Religious Life, and one of my favorite people at Elon, spoke twice - once in the fall and once in the spring. His dinners will always remain my favorite. In the fall, he talked about the inspirational and humble leadership of Dean Smith, retired head coach of the Tar Heels men's basketball team, of which Phil is an avid fan. The second time, Phil had us think about who at Elon has had the greatest impact on us. To whom would we have a hard time saying goodbye? Wow. My list was long. And I had to hold back tears at my dinner table. (If you're seeing a theme of tears and bittersweet sorrow here, you have caught on to my life's theme this year.) It was then that Phil quoted lyrics from "Closing Time." As he recited them, not only did I finally let a tear go, but I was stunned at how appropriate the song is to our challenge of having to leave Elon:

Closing time - open all the doors and let you out into the world.
Closing time - turn all of the lights on over every boy and every girl.
Closing time - one last call for alcohol, so finish your whiskey or beer.
Closing time - you don't have to go home but you can't stay here.
...
Closing time - time for you to go out to the places you will be from.
Closing time - this room won't be open 'til your brothers or your sisters come.
So gather up your jackets, and move it to the exits - I hope you have found a friend.
Closing time - every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

The sunset and sky on the Sunday after Commencement were picture perfect. I cannot imagine leaving Elon any other way. I know who I want to take me home, but as we've been told, and as I now fully understand, we will leave Elon someday, but Elon will never leave us. What a blessing.

*Thanks again to Corey Groom for some of his marvelous Gala and Graduation photos!

A thousand a day...176

A thousand a day...174 & 175

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Monday, May 24, 2010
One of my most incredible graduation gifts...my mom cross stitched this phoenix for the cover of a scrapbook filled with photos of my time at Elon. My entire family helped with it.

My first of many photo adventures

On Sunday, May 16, Justine and I set out on a photoshoot adventure. We had no idea where we were going to go, but Justine had a hunch. And we took it. Driving about 10-15 minutes off campus, we found this incredible abandoned house.

It was remarkable to see how beautiful the home is and how many interesting features it has. We had to wonder why the family left the home. Did they choose to? Or did they have to?

The outside was so interesting - plants and flowers were still in bloom, a bird bath was left crumbling, a swingset remained standing but without swings. We guessed there may have been a fire since a charcoal smell hung in the air in some parts of the backyard.

Couches on an outside patio were torn apart, springs visible, wires poking out, cushions flaking up every which way.

The stars all over the cinder block walls were curious enough until we discovered the indoor walls were starred as well. Yes, we were brave enough to go inside the house. A roll of paper towels was on the floor, spider webs clung around the window corners. The bathroom was eerily dark despite the sunshine forcing its way through an aged-over window.

Outside the front door, we even heard an animal creepily scamper above us. We questioned who or what lived in this house at different points of its abandonment.

It would have been amazing to explore the house even more...maybe even climbing the winding staircase to see what was on the second floor. But we needed a little more bravery to do that. And, we decided, perhaps a boy to go first. ;-)

We left our abandoned house and drove to a street in Gibsonville. We found some cute new shops and some really old shops. Justine and I learned there is quite a contrast in architecture and life style in Gibsonville and we determined it's incredible what you learn when you drive just a few minutes off campus and away from the botanical garden that is Elon. It's something we should do more often.

A few other favorites from the abandoned house...

And a few from our little street in Gibsonville...

A thousand a day...169-173

Sunday, May 23, 2010
Goodbye Elon. For now.

Saturday, May 22, 2010
Too many wonderful photos were taken before, during and after Commencement...none of which I actually took. But I pick this family photo hands down because I love it SO much. It's one of the best ones we've ever taken together.

Friday, May 21, 2010
My parents arrived at lunchtime on Friday for a Communications reception and Leaders of the 21st Century where all the fellows were recognized. After that, my mom took today's photo of the day - a beautiful swan in Lake Mary Nell.

Thursday, May 20, 2010
Every week, usually on Tuesdays, Rachel and I would have a Subway date. We'd catch up on life, talk about our job hunts, and just bond over stories of love, drama and gossip. I will never forget those lunch dates...they helped me get through my week.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Chris playing and singing "February Song" in Holt Chapel...

A thousand a day...167-168

An amazing day at Biltmore (more photos to come)...which is why I skipped Monday's photo - I knew I would have too many to pick from today!

22. Not that bad after all...

Thanks to my incredible family and friends, this birthday was a truly marvelous one. And I'm pretty much STILL celebrating 15 days later. I still think 22 is a scary age, an age where you have to be a "real person" so to speak, but it's not so bad when you're surrounded by the people you love most in life. And then those people make me feel truly loved, which makes a birthday so much more than could be expected. So much more.

1. Dinner with Rebecca, April 28
Rebecca gave me just the pep talk I needed to realize 22 is not the end of a life of fun. It's just an age and it just makes me a real person. And there are SO many wonderful memories and opportunities ahead.
 

2. Nerdy Journalism Movie Night, April 29
After a half-hour of sleep the night before, and a full day of FutureWeb conference, I was not feeling human. But it was Nerdy Journalism Movie Night, where a dozen of my favorite people in the universe gather at my apartment for a journalism movie. We're all just sitting around my living room waiting to start "State of Play" and all of a sudden, Rebecca emerges from the hallway with a cake all lit up in HAPPY BIRTHDAY candles. It was wondrous. And I had no idea what was coming...I even let her, Sunshine, Pam and Gabby in the door when they were carrying the cake!

3. Big surprise from Amalexa, awesome show, pre-birthday greatness, May 1 
The day before my birthday began with me getting blindfolded and carted off to a surprise destination with Amanda and Alexa. Let's just say that was a cultural experience. ;-) Then, we went to see "i.d.," a show written, directed and produced by our friend Christopher Staskel. It was part of his honors thesis and lumen prize and it was absolutely breath-taking. I had goosebumps the entire time not just because of how incredible the play was but because of the thought that one of our classmates envisioned and WROTE the show.


4. The Big Day, May 2
I began my day by doing two things I love - shooting video and helping a friend. I helped Justine shoot her music video for class and had so much fun. The lighting was perfect for her movie that morning and her video turned out GREAT!! She did such a good job on the lyrics and her vision for it!

My family came down and we got to walk around campus and bond all day long. We went to Iron Gate for a wine tasting - they just had to experience my favorite winery on the planet. We had a wonderful lunch at Mellow Mushroom and dinner at Red Bowl, two of favorite restaurants. 

At church, everyone sang Happy Birthday to me, something I was not expecting...and probably blushed.

That night, Justine came by and surprised me with the most delicious marble cake with chocolate icing. SO good. She is wonderful.

5. Surprise Dinner, May 7 
After going to Target and Barnes & Noble and the post office with Pam, I arrived back at my apartment to find my incredible friends and the table set for a surprise birthday dinner. And then I realize I was being distracted and stalled from returning to my apartment. I just couldn't believe my birthday could get more magical. Sunshine made reallllly yummy sour cream chicken enchiladas, and Jack, Rebecca, Pam, Laura and I had a wonderful dinner together. I LOVE my friends.


In conclusion
I have the most incredible family and friends ANYONE could ask for. So many blessings.