These Are The Days: May 2012

It is that time of year again that all of my favorite t.v. shows are ending. Castle, Modern Family, and Grey's Anatomy. Although, Modern Family's season finale doesn't air until Wednesday, I can't imagine that it will end any better then Castle's. The fact that Beckett and Castle FINALLY got together would be reason enough to make it my favorite finale. However, Alexis' speech is what really makes the episode. And here it is:

I LOVE her speech! I seriously don't think they could have written it any better. This episode aired merely two days after I graduated so maybe her speech speaks more to me because I was/still am a little nostalgic. But I definitely think we can all relate to it at some point in our lives. "We're moving on. But just because we're leaving, and that hurts, there's some people who are so much a part of us, they'll be with us no matter what. They are our solid ground. Our North Star. And the small clear voices in our hearts that will be with us...Always." That being said... My mission papers have now been submitted to my bishop. Along with the stake president he will review them and make necessary corrections and add their recommendations. I should receive my call the beginning of June. So crazy! I alternate between being excited and being so scared out of my mind... I usually just feel scared :) I'm moving on and it definitely hurts but luckily I know that I have those people in my life that are my solid ground. My North Star. And the small clear voices in my heart that will be with me always. It makes my decision to serve that much easier.

When I first started this blog I was finishing up my sophomore year of college. It was a year I knew I would never want to forget. So, I ditched a full day of classes and began my blog. The title "These Are The Days" comes from a song by Keith Urban.

Life's for livin, child can't you see? These are the days we will remember, these are the times that won't come again. The highest of flames becomes an ember and you gotta live 'em while you can... So take 'em by the hand, they're yours and mine. Take 'em by the hand and live your life. Take 'em by the hand don't let 'em all fly by

This song made me want to live my life to the fullest and enjoy every minute of my college years. Four years seems like a long time when you are first starting out but it goes so quickly. Now, here I am a college graduate. My college years are over? What? How did that happen? Can you believe it? I still have a hard time wrapping my head around it. I have definitely been nostalgic about the whole thing. Senior year went by so unbelievably fast. Classes, homework, and work all but consumed my life. We made time to play but nothing quite like the years before (Oh also most of my friends being married probably had something to do with my lack of social life. haha). So, we decided to go out with a bang and devote our final, finals week to playing. Hence why I didn't end up posting every day of finals week like the original plan. Also, who studies anyway? Alright fine we did but only on Monday. In advance we planned out our 'week of fun' to be sure that we made time for everything.
Monday: Was really hectic and in order to be able to have graduation off of work, I had to work a 16 hour shift. So, we just went to Chick-fila but it was still better then nothing and it was a nice break.
Tuesday: Taco Tuesday of course! Rob, Ali, Kassie, Katie, Marz, and I all went and it was just like old times. There were a few times that I almost started crying. We have been faithful Taco Tuesday worshipers for most of our college careers and it was sad to see it end. Later that night the roomies went to the movie and saw The Lucky One. It was really good and Leah got us in for free so it was definitely a win-win. Marz, Katie, and I decided that we were all still wired and wanted to do something crazy. We turned to our senior bucket list for ideas and decided to break into the stadium. Sadly, they had barbed-wired up the hole in the fence. We roamed over to the Merlin Olsen statue and became True Merlin Olsens' (You just have to kiss him) and finally we ended up on the quad. We laid on the grass, looked up at Old Main and The A, and made predictions.
Wednesday: We went country dancing and I'm sad to say that it was a little disappointing. It wasn't very eventful and there seemed to be a lot of weirdos. However, the line dances were really fun and it was fun to go for ol' times sake.
Thursday: We headed to Bear Lake for raspberry shakes. It is so pretty up there and the drive was nice. It's still too cold to get in the water but we enjoyed playing on the beach and skipping rocks. We went roller-skating at the fun park and stared at all of the beautiful firemen that were there doing drills in the soft play place. We picked a good time to go :) After we had spa night and did facials.
Friday: All of our families were coming into town for graduation the next morning; I spent most of my day with my Grandma Patterson. I had to pick her up in Brigham City so she treated us to Maddox. I had never been there before but everyone raves about how good it is and it definitely lives up to it's praise. Later that night I invited Marz and Katie to go hot tubing with us at the parent's hotel. It was a nice way to relax before the big day.
Saturday: Graduation day had finally arrived! I walked at both ceremonies and I was so glad I did. The first ceremony was for all of the undergraduate students graduating from Utah State. We went on a final walk through campus and then it ended at The Spectrum. The speaker was so amazing, crazy right? Usually graduations are so boring and you can't wait for the speaker to be done. His speech was short and sweet and to the point all while giving us great advice. After we headed to Firehouse for some delicious pizza. My college/department graduation wasn't until 4 p.m. but it was nice to have a little bit of time in between to not rush everything. Marsha, Aleesha, Britt and the kids had all arrived and they met us for lunch. It was so great of them to all come. It meant a lot! Randy and Julie were also able to make it to my 4 p.m. graduation. That was really sweet of them. And so great that Grandma was able to ride with them as well. I was all smiles receiving my diploma and after I sat down Jen and Orie gave me flowers delivered by Jaylin. It was so sweet and I loved it! Following graduation we took several pictures starting with posing with Kassie and Marz. Ahh I love these girls so much and I'm going to miss them terribly. But it's okay because we are going to be friends FOREVER :) After we departed ways I received a text from Kass aka my Secret Lover that read "Thanks for being the bestest friends a girl could ask for! I'm so glad we all became such good friends and stayed through these last four years! I love you all so much and we all better keep in touch! I will miss you all! XOXO" I almost started crying when I read that. Kass and I met the first day of orientation (Connections) and have been best friends ever since. We have been through a lot together and I just love her. My college years have been so amazing and it's sad to see it all end. It really hit me when I was sitting at graduation and we did The Scotsman. Wow! It was such a cool feeling to see everyone stand up and do it. It definitely brought back some great memories! Utah State is such a great school and I will definitely be participating as alumni, and who knows maybe I will get my Master's here after my mission. One thing is for certain though; Once an Aggie, Always an Aggie!