Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Graduation Day!

Yesterday was the big day!  We had a fairly quiet morning.  Daughter's best friend from undergrad days at UCLA flew in from Hawaii to be present at her graduation; she took the subway from the airport to Berkeley and daughter picked her up from the subway station and brought her back to the apartment.  They picked up doughnuts for breakfast and I cooked a roast chicken and savory rice for a late lunch.  I couldn't taste the savory rice, but the roast chicken was OK.  Weird taste buds!

After lunch, in the late afternoon, we got dressed.  Then, drove to the Hearst Greek Theatre where the event was to take place.  It's named after William Randolph Hearst, who paid for the construction.  The first graduation at the Greek Theatre took place in May 1903 while it was still under construction, with an address by President Theodore Roosevelt (we were told all this by the Dean of the School of Public Health, at last night's event).


The Greek Theater

Daughter dropped me off at one of the entrances and then, she and her friend went to park the car.  Afterwards, they joined me and there was a bit of a confusion as to exactly where to go, but we eventually found the gate through which I was supposed to enter. Then, she had to go and collect the replacement tickets we had ordered and come back, because I needed a ticket in order to go in!  After which, she had to go back to the entrance she was supposed to use as a graduating student!  Poor thing had a lot of walking (and going up and down stairs as it is a very hilly campus!) to do and she was wearing heels!



All Decorated for the Ceremony!


Initially, the weather was very pleasant and warm!  In the high 70s!  And it remained pleasant until the sun went down.  After that, it became chilly, and I was glad I had brought a sweater, a scarf, a winter coat, gloves, a blanket for my lap, etc.  I used them all and remained nice and warm.  I had also brought a knitted shawl, but I gave that to daughter's friend, as she hadn't brought as many warm things as I had and was feeling cold.
  

We were entertained with music by a live band and then, at 7 o'clock, they played "Pomp and Circumstance" and the processional started with the faculty entering the stage first and the graduating students entering the arena, below.  First the doctoral students, followed by the masters students and then, the undergraduates.

Processional
My Daughter in the Processional (2nd person to the left of the person in red shirt)

I don't have a digital camera, only my phone camera.  And I didn't remember to try to zoom in!  My daughter's friend had daughter's digital camera and took some pictures with it, until it ran out of battery power!  Still, I managed to get a picture of my daughter as she filed into place (she's the 3rd person from the right, wearing a gold stole:



Masters Students at Their Places

 Of course, there were a lot of speeches and presentations of awards!  The welcome address was by the Dean of the School of Public Health, who led us all in the campus cheer of "Go Bears!"  :D  The commencement address was by the President of the American Public Health Association.  There were 32 students who received their doctorate.  161 students who received their masters.  And 220 students who received their bachelors.

I tried to take a picture of daughter as she received her diploma, but she walked so quickly, all I got was a blur!


Daughter "Walking"


Daughter didn't want to wait for the reception, afterwards.  I think she was pretty tired and she said her feet were sore in their high heels.  So, we gave the reception a miss and came home to toast her achievement with sparkling apple cider and to have a late dinner of leftover pizza!

Finally, a picture of daughter in her sari (sorry, I cropped her head off as she didn't want her face shown).




The Purple Sari
Yesterday, I was grateful for:

- Being alive to see my daughter receive her Masters degree.
- Being able to attend the ceremony in person.
- All obstacles (forgotten tickets, etc.) were small ones, easily overcome.
- Being able to share in my daughter's achievements.
- Being able to give my daughter the gift of higher education, free of debt!

Yes, daughter has no student loans to burden her!  That is my gift to her.  I am blessed to have been able to achieve that!  I am not rich, my sole income is my salary; and furthermore, I am a single parent who has never received (nor asked for) a cent of child support (and I am proud of that, too!).  But, through careful and frugal management of my money, I paid for her tuition and other expenses through undergraduate and graduate school (and, concurrently, paid off my house, too!)  I am feeling rather proud of my achievement.   And, yes, my daughter is very grateful for all what I have done for her.  She knows that she is blessed, too.  :)
















26 comments:

  1. Hi Bless,
    You should be very proud of yourself. Those are awesome accomplishments! Congrats to your daughter. You are lucky to have each other. :-)

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  2. This is the report we have all been eager to see. I'm so glad your were able to be there. What a lovely setting, and I can imagine the emotion of seeing your daughter file in with the other graduates. So happy for her achievement and yours, financing her education by careful management! You have both done so well.
    Bushlady

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady. :) I feel so happy, so full of gratitude, so blessed.

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  3. I think that's the advantage of being an older parent. Younger parents with several children usually aren't far enough in their working history/earning ability to be able to do that.

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    1. It maybe so. However, I think money management skills also play a part. I've several relatives who are older parents, with only children, and are dual income families with their spouses, but they spend everything as soon as they earn it and have debt. They complain to me and I make suggestions, but they claim they can't do the things I suggest (spend less on buying new designer items, eating out, vacations, etc.)

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  4. You have both awesome ladies. Good for you to have paid off your house and to be in a position where you could pay for her education as well. Obviously your daughter recognizes your efforts and isn't entitled at all. I think your relationship is beautiful :)

    And speaking of beautiful, the purple and silver sari is breathtaking! Thank you so much for sharing it with us. I'm glad your daughter's BFF was able to join her for this momentous occasion and so happy for you both that you were able to be there as well (the site of the ceremony is much nicer than the basketball arena at my son's graduation, ha!).

    Congrats, again! Have a safe trip home!

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    1. Thank you, Nathalie. Actually, her graduation at UCLA was held in Pauley Pavilion, which is their basketball arena! :D

      There was a lot of budgeting and sacrifices over the years to make things possible. For example, I have not gone away on vacation in almost 25 years (since I bought the house). When daughter went to UCLA, we decided that she will live at home and commute, in order to save the $15,000 per year room and board to live on campus (or off-campus housing near the campus). It meant a 2 hr. drive for me every morning and another 2 hr. drive in the evening (I dropped her off on campus and drove to the office and reversed the journey in the evening); we'd leave the house before 6:30 a.m. and come home after 7:30 p.m. :)

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  5. Congrats to you both! You've both worked so hard and it's wonderful your daughter is able to begin her adult life debt free. Such an accomplishment!

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  6. What a wonderful day,what a wonderful daugther you have.I have few words to say what i would want.I am happy for you both.
    Thank you for the sari picture.
    I wish you à good road of return

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    1. Thank you, Vegevi. Appreciate your well wishes. I am happy to see you commenting. English is not my first language and I know how hard it is. But you are doing quite well. :)

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  7. Congrats. And very wonderful you were able to accomplish everything financially. I know a lot of people with so much student loans they spend so many years trying to pay them down. It's a wonderful gift from you and I'm sure your daughter is extremely grateful.

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    1. Thank you, Jess. Yes, daughter is very grateful and appreciative. :)

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  8. It looks a wonderful day and in such a beautiful venue as well. Thank you for sharing with us. The sari is gorgeous as I'm sure your daughter is :)

    I'd be feeling pretty proud of myself as well if I'd managed to get my daughter through her education with no debt to her name. That really is some achievement. And as you say your daughter is blessed to have been given such a gift, but from what I've read about her I imagine she fully appreciates everything you have done for her. Well done to both of you. xx

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  9. Daughter's sari is beautiful. Know she looked beautiful. I am so happy for her, and so happy you and her friend were able to attend. How very nice
    I am very proud of you and know you much feel so very proud of her and The lady she has become.
    BLess, the fact that you were frugal and was able to pay for daughters education is something to be very proud of..I know she is very proud of you and thankful to you.. She shows what a good job you did with her, by the way she takes care of you , now that you have needed her..
    Have a blessed time with your daughter, and take care of yourself. hugs.

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  10. Bless is a good name for you, your daughter is blessed. I also think your daughter shows intelligence and grace, and those are precious jewels. I'm glad you managed to stay warm. x

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    1. Thank you! My name started out as "Bless My Mess" when I joined an organizing forum! Because I had a messy house which I blessed each night as part of my nightly prayers. And I liked how it rhymed! Over the years, forum members began to refer to me as Bless and I became Bless! :)

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  11. I'm so glad you could be there for this special occasion! I agree that an outdoor, evening ceremony seems odd. Here most universities use either their own Great Hall, or sometimes a large building in the nearest city - e.g. a cathedral. And the ceremonies are in the daytime so that people can relax afterwards, go for lunch, say goodbyes to friends and professors etc. etc.

    The sari is beautiful. I have only worn a sari twice. My aunt draped it for me so I could take a photo, but I didn't go anywhere wearing it. I have one, and a blouse, in the house but I don't know if I could manage to drape it myself!

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    1. Thank you, Lady Ella. My daughter was very stressed by the fact that I was there (I was immuno-compromised due to chemo, at the time), but, the oncologist thought it would be OK and I wanted to be there!

      That particular sari was bought in England on a long ago visit! My daughter wore one of my mother's blouses with it, because we didn't have a blouse for her! Lots of "how to" videos online if you want to practice draping the sari, or, perhaps your mother could show you?

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    2. That's funny - a Sri Lankan coming to England and buying a sari!

      Yes, Mum can drape a sari. She always claims it's hard doing it on someone else (she does this weird thing with her fingers to make the pleats) but funnily enough, a few years ago when my drama group needed someone to teach some of the ladies how to dress in a sari, she did it and everyone was able to dress themselves for the show! They still mention it sometimes!

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    3. Yes, getting the pleats right takes a bit of practice. These days, in the Indian sari shops here, in southern California (there is a place called Little India in a city called Artesia that has several miles of Indian stores and restaurants), one can buy "made up" saris that are all pleated and sewn onto an adjustable waistband with hooks to fit around the waist just like a skirt! The piece that goes over the shoulder (which we call the 'palu') is also attached to the skirt and one just puts it over the shoulder! I am you'll be able to find them there in England, too. :)

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    4. CHEAT! But maybe I should get the sari out and start practising while I still can. (I also have a salvar kameez, which I have worn a few times here - once to an Indian party and once when some form of "Eastern" dress was required in a concert or play.) As I never grew up wearing these things, it is always fun where there is an excuse to do so and feels more like exotic fancy dress ... but authentic!

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