One Fine Day

Happy birthday mom! Sidenote: I wanted to post more pics of her but she didn't like how they turned out haha)

This past Thursday, May 24th, was my mom's birthday, and we wanted to do something special and different for the day. Our original plan was to eat brunch in Santa Monica at a great spot called Shutters, ride bikes around Venice, shop, and see the new Solo movie. It wound up being a rainy day with a high of about 60, so that plan flopped. We settled on a day trip to Palm Springs because it was 93 degrees over there and we've only ever driven through there!

Red Polka Dot Dress (On sale for $12!!) Similar here / Denim Jacket / Adidas Sneakers / Leather Crossbody / Rose Gold Minnie Ears

I am sooo excited to write this post! I can't wait to gush about my mini vacay graduation gift. We only got to stay one night - I also wanted to have a graduation party, and since the hotel is expensive, we opted for one night at the hotel and a party.



As I mentioned at the end of my graduation post (read it here), we left for the hotel the afternoon following my graduation. We didn't get to check in until 6pm between traffic and errands. Nonetheless, we checked in, loveddd the room, and hung out for a bit. One thing I just loved is when you walk into the room, the TV is on and playing various instrumental Disney songs; I think Peter Pan was playing at first. There's a special channel the TV has that lists activities going on in the hotel, in the parks, park hours, the parks schedules, etc. Also, our room had a really nice view of the pool area and the rest of the resort. I wish I had remembered to take photos of inside the room! :(




Something really cool this hotel has is personalized room keys for each guest. We all 4 got one, and they also give you access to the park early on the days you stay at the hotel (more on that further down)

After we settled in, we ventured to Downtown Disney for some beignets - Jazz Kitchen Express has the best bite size ones! If you're not familiar with Disneyland, Downtown Disney is a shopping district just outside of the park. The Grand Californian has direct access to it, as well as to California Adventure. So we had a great time going in and out of the hotel & parks with ease in a matter of minutes. 

Well - it's officially over! My B.A. is complete!! It still hasn't really sunken in that I am totally done with school. I've been thinking about and planning graduation for the past several months, it's too weird for me to wrap my head around the fact that it came and went as quickly as it did. It was such a wonderful day and unlike what I had imagined it to be. For starters, it ended up being cold and drizzling rather than warm and sunny. I was afraid we would all be sweltering outside, but we got all wet instead, lol!

CSUN had 7 total graduations. Mine wound up being on a Monday at 8am...which meant I had to arrive no later than 7am....yikes!! Yep - this night owl had to get up and get ready at 5:30 in the morning. It was honestly painful, haha. I got to school in my full regalia - two stoles, a set of cords, my honor society pin, my honors medallion, and a double orchid lei - and had to stand in heels in the grass for an hour in line. Notttt that comfortable haha. All graduates had to wait outside of the seating area, which accommodated 10,000 grads & guests, prior to the beginning. Even though it was cold and damp out, I ran into a bunch of friends and professors, and it was so nice to catch up and congratulate each other. The picture below is where we were standing before the ceremony began.



The ceremony itself lasted about 2.5 hours. It felt as long as it sounds! Haha. They started off with an introduction/congratulatory speech from the campus president, next they recognized a few students for special honors, and a few other things happened before the graduates were called to the stage. I was in the college of Health & Human Development, which includes 5 different schools. I think there were about 2,500 of us grads all together. My school was second to go up, and they had us go to the stage row by row. I started getting super nervous, and my classmates all around me started saying they were suddenly getting nervous, too! I heard, "Will the department of Child and Adolescent Development please stand" and in my head I was like, "Here we go! It's happening!!".

We walked toward the stage, and we were each handed a degree folder before going up. They practically shoved us on stage - no wait...they literally shoved us on stage! They had people pushing us from each spot to the next to keep the line going as fast as possible. All I remember is they kept yelling at us, "KEEP MOVING!!" as we stopped for a split second to have our pictures taken in three different spots. I handed my phonetic name card to the announcer, shook someone's hand (a school official of some sort), heard my full name on the loud speaker & family screaming from the stands, shook the president's hand, shook the chancellor's hand, and hugged one of my professors on the way back to my seat. And just like that, I graduated!

From there, I waited about another 45 minutes for the rest of the graduates to go up. Lots of sitting! Luckily I was sitting right next to someone who brought their dog, haha! I don't wanna go into much detail, but another one of my classmates had gotten drunk that morning and spent the whole first part of the ceremony screaming at the top of her lungs, followed by throwing up the rest of the time. So while I was sitting there all that time, a few of us were trying to help her clean up and feel better. Not what I anticipated, but hey it was graduation day and I was still pumped!

We have a tradition of throwing a rose to the Matador statue after completing a big step/event

Our department chair, Dr. Wakefield, snuck up behind us while we were taking a picture, and then we took a pic all together!

Dr. Williams - Family & Consumer Sciences (it was almost my minor - I was short by 2 classes!)

After lots and lotsss of pictures and visiting with my teachers, I stopped by to see my grandma, who lives in a board-and-care, in my full ensemble. I always wanted her to be at my graduation, but since she couldn't make it I brought it to her :D We went to lunch after, and then we headed home to change and load up the car for the Grand Californian Hotel!!!

You can't see my dress in any of the pictures, but I wore this Aqua fit-and-flare dress in the color "medium purple". I just love the lavender color, and it fits like a glove. My shoes are here in the color "taupe", and they look so much like these Steve Madden ones but are $25 compared to $80!

Be sure to check out my next post on my stay at the Grand Californian <3 thanks for reading!

Here is yet another post about school - I really meant it when I said school has taken over my life this month, haha! If you're sick of only seeing academic content by now, never fret. This will be the last school-related post, aside from my big post about graduation (and my Disney trip following the ceremony...stay tuned!)

Moving on - this past Tuesday, I was so, so honored to be recognized as one of the top 10% of my major's graduating class. It came as a complete and total surprise - it's an award you are nominated for by faculty from your major. I got to know a few of my professors during my three years at Cal State Northridge, and they've become a real source of support for me. I still can't believe they thought of me when they were reviewing the student body and deciding who to choose! As silly as it sounds, I didn't realize I made enough of an impression to be considered an outstanding CADV student. I can't adequately describe how much this nomination means to me...I'm going to be glowing about it for a while!!






I wasn't quite sure what to expect of the ceremony. For starters, I had no idea how many of us were being awarded; would it be a small group of 10, or a large group of 100?? Was it going to be formal or informal? It turned out to be one of the most special, intimate events I've ever been to. It was in our University's Student Union, which is a newly remodeled area of campus that has several grand conference rooms. The room this was in, the Grand Salon, accommodated about 100-200 people, so it was a good size but wasn't overwhelmingly large. About 30 of us students were being recognized. We were allowed to bring two guests, so I brought my mom and sister (my dad had to work).

When we first walked in, there was a red carpet leading to the tables that were decorated nicely with tablecloths and centerpieces. They had some really delicious sandwiches, salad, cheeses, and fruit, and also some strawberry lemonade that was so tasty! Two of my favorite teachers hosted the ceremony, and different alumni from my department came back and shared their success stories - really inspiring. After that, each Exceptional Senior was called up to receive a CADV stole, a certificate, and shake hands with the department chair (Dr. Wakefield is the best!) There was a small raffle later, which I lost (lol), but we were all given a beautiful customized portfolio case that I will definitely make use of when I enter the work force.

Dr. Russell

Dr. Grote

Dr. Moschetti

Afterwards, I took tonssss of photos with friends and teachers, and my mom and I wound up talking to one of my professors, Dr. Grote, for like 45 mins - she is such a doll! Haha. It was such a great night - it totally exceeded all my expectations, and it's an end-of-school memory I'm going to hold very close to my heart.

PS - can't find a link to my dress anymore. It's from A&F and is a year old.

Graduation is just 4 days away...in the words of the Grinch, "It's practically here!!"....have a wonderful weekend <3 <3 <3