It's Really Official Now...

In December I completed my application to graduate with excitement and joy.  I also mailed out over 100 Save the Date post cards to family and friends back east so that they could make arrangements to attend well in advance.  In my mind, 2015 was shaping up to be a FANTASTIC year and it hadn't even started.

January greeted me with immense joy that quickly transitioned into gut wrenching anguish. Due to a financial aid issue, I was told that I would not be able to participate in commencement activities because I had too many credits that still needed to be completed.  I followed any and every avenue I knew to take to create a different outcome, but to no avail there was no different resolution.  At the time, there were no words I knew within my vocabulary to clearly communicate the ache my heart felt.  Honestly, the ache reached all the way to my soul.  The pain was intense because I knew I did my part and have been working so hard.  I had to share with my family who begun making plans to come to Tulsa to cancel those plans but I couldn't do it without tears.  Still not happy with the decision, I started the process of internally coming to terms with things and creating new plans.

One conversation lead to another conversation and a special petition was submitted by my department head and signed off on by a special committee; so, after two months of an emotional roller coaster, it is official, #iamgraduating!  I will have to take two summer school classes that begin and end in May, so I won't be officially completed my undergrad program until then but I'm ok with that.  May 1st and 2nd will be days of celebration, joy and reflection.  You have been a part of this  journey with me and I hope that you are able to participate in the festivities in some capacity.