The Graduate

In the build up to Graduation Day I was haunted by mental images of me tripping and falling while walking across the stage. I could just picture myself sprawled in front of the Vice Chancellor and all the deans with my dress over my head. Now, this wasn't my first rodeo and my undergraduate graduation last year went by without a hitch, BUT my fears were completely validated because my track record for embarrassing myself at important events is pretty impressive. Allow me to illustrate with three stand out examples.

1.) When I was in primary school I sang in the choir. I was tall for my age (although I seem to have stopped growing since) and I was in the top row on the choir stand. We were singing at some celebration of excellence of some sort and there were a lot of teachers, parents and students as witnesses. I really don't know how it happened because you are supposed to be standing still, but somehow I fell off the choir stand. The choir had to stop singing and wait for me to climb back up onto the stand. I swear these things only happen to me.

2.) In junior school I played the recorder. Okay, so it's not the most bad ass instrument but I was very good at it and eventually redeemed myself by moving on to the piano which is much cooler. (And also, Jethro Tull are really awesome and their music is all about the flute, which is basically an upgrade of the recorder, so there). Anyway, because I was very talented at playing the recorder, my music teacher arranged for me to play a solo at yet another celebration of excellence or prize-giving or some event where everyone was serious, dressed smartly and there were a lot of witnesses. So there I was, one of the shyest, nerdiest kids you could ever imagine, playing a solo piece in front of this massive (well, it probably wasn't that big, but in my mind it was the size of the Super Bowl) audience. And then a gust of wind (which I have no idea where it came from because we were indoors) blew my sheet music off the stand and onto the floor. I had to stop playing mid-song and retrieve my book off the floor, relocate the page the song was on, and start again. Floor swallow me up now.

3.) I decided to join the ballroom dancing society in high school. It was a lot of fun and every year, all the schools in town that offered ballroom dancing got together to plan a Ballroom Ball. It was all very exciting. We dressed up in these big ball gowns, had our hair and make up professionally done and slipped our feet into the most gorgeous heels (the girls, not the boys). Anyway, it was a very glamorous and elegant affair. One year the ball was held at one of the other schools which had a massive foyer with a considerable sized flight of stairs leading into the hall. So when we entered the hall we had to walk down these stairs in front of everyone else either entering or milling around the foyer. And let me tell you, it was packed when I walked in. There I am, entering the foyer and walking down the stairs in my beautiful puffy dress, and then I slip. And slide, yes slide, down the remaining stairs. My dress?? Over my head. And so I'm lying at the bottom of the stairs with my dress over my head and everyone is completely silent and staring at me. I have two options. I can either laugh, or cry. I decided to laugh, at which point I think I heard an audible sigh of relief from the on lookers and someone came over to help me up. Inside I was crying with humiliation.

So, as you can see, I had perfectly good reason for being nervous about walking across the stage at Honours Graduation. And the shoes I wore didn't exactly help because they are pretty high and very uncomfortable (by the time it was turn to be capped I couldn't feel my toes anymore) but they were the only ones I could find to match my beautiful vintage dress so I sucked it up. But, to my pleasant surprise, everything proceeded without a hitch and it was an amazing feeling to hear them call my name. I guess hard work does pay off after all and I now have my Honours degree. Now just to get through Masters...and then try to change the world :)

What is your proudest achievement?? :)

Love & light,
M xx

P.S. Lovely photos of my friends and I taken by my equally lovely dad :)