Graduation began at 1pm but the graduates needed to be in the loading docks (under the stands, basically like backstage) by 12:10. Honestly, I have no idea why they needed us there 50 minutes early because all we did was just stand around and talk AND there was no A/C in the loading docks and let me tell you, black caps & gowns get real hot real fast. Girls curls were falling out and makeup was coming off and it was borderline a disaster. It was kind of surreal to be standing there and just look around and see everyone in their caps and gowns and realize that I'm probably never going to see some of these people again. We shared a lot of laughs down in the loading docks and before we knew it they called for us to line up in alphabetical order and one by one we were sent out into the arena.
I had expected there to be a lot of people but y'all, there were SO MANY PEOPLE. Our entrance process begins with all the graduates walking out from behind the stage and once you hit that floor and come around the corner and out from behind the stage you hear the graduation music and you see all these cameras and for a split second I thought to myself, "Riley, don't trip, dear goodness gracious please don't trip."
The whole ceremony took about 90 minutes which I was shocked by because during our graduation rehearsal it took us about 90 minutes to learn the processional and get through all of our names! After the ceremony ends and all the graduates have left the arena they basically just dump us all outside on the concourse and we're left to find our friends and families to celebrate and take photos. The catch? The graduates don't have their phones because we aren't allowed to have them on the floor during graduation. And let me tell y'all, trying to find my parents, my Nana, and Ryan in the midst of 475 kids in matching black caps and gowns and hundreds upon hundreds of other family members is NOT EASY. My friends Edison & Meredith had found their parents so they let me use their phones to text and call my dad who I eventually found. It was HECTIC.
After finding my family and friends we snapped a lot of photos, and even though it was hot and humid and windy and everyone was tired and hungry, they actually turned out really well and I managed to keep my tassel on the correct side of my cap! Heads up, this post is VERY photo heavy but a day like graduation deserves to be documented!
xoxo,
