GRADUATION: THE END OF AN ERA


The CHEN FAMILY


The cousins

4 wonderful years concluded yesterday. Officially, officially, @ the end of June when I finish one more summer school class. Yesterday was a big big day not only because it was my graduation, but it marked the first time the Chen Family was physically together in over 20 months. 20 months! Almost 2 years! I hadn't seen my mom in 19 months! My cousins Albert and Liberty also came to the festivities and I was very happy we were all together to celebrate this event. Lining up before the main ceremony @ 8 am was nostalgic. I lined up with Mell, Grace,Cin, Annette, Amy, Annie, and the guys, in the BIOLOGY line, all so we could sit together....near the front. We took a gazillion pictures in line and all these memories came flying back in my head:I had met these particular friends the 1st week of school 4 years ago.... most of them at rush or in my dorm room. The different ways we all met, how we met, where we met, why we met come together to form a fascinating story and saga for our lives.

Mell: I met in line during APASS Orientation, and she was also in my Group, and it was then that she decided she wasn't gonna like me cuz I said I came to SC cuz I didn't get into UCLA.
Grace: she lived 3 doors down from me in the North Residential Dorms.
Cin: while gathering outside of EVK before a Rush event, I found out she was from Metairre, Louisiana and that she was friends with our mutual friend, Yvonne.
Annette, Annie, Amy: Either @ APASS Orientation or @ our 1st Pledge Meeting to elect our cabinet. Annette and her broken sandal from Macys. She was so pissed about it.

From those lil moments, incredible friendships have been built over the course of 4 years with many memories to come. Ahh, I thank these wonderful people for letting me be part of their lives, and them being a part of mine. The times for Tea, Dinner, Shopping, Brunch, prepping for Xmas Dinner, 7-hour Jell-o, Seung's Tan 4-Runner that we managed to pawn from him to let us use, pledging, dp-ing, X-mas Dinner I have to mention again, Cin's mad case of stubborness, Drunken Dialing, past/present bf's, UV, Elegance, the list continues forever. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. xoxo.

The ceremonies themselves were wonderful as the tuition money we've paid has paid off into a wonderful greek food reception, a big white nice tent to have our ceremony under, newly planted flower beds all over campus, and just a beautiful campus in general. The speeches, the presidential address, everything. Thanks mom and dad for paying my valued tuition of $120,000 (thank god for financial aid), thank you to my siblings for taking this journey with me, the friends who have made the past 4 years the best 4 years of my life, and I thank myself, for choosing to come to SC, and for letting the past 4 years unfold in the most amazing way. I am truly truly truly blessed. Full steam ahead into the next chapter of the wonderful life of Jess. You with me?