Graduation Shout Outs

Guess what I did? I graduated today. Soooo cool!

There's only one problem. Now I can't sleep. It's 2 in the morning and I am wide awake. I've been packing my room and haven't stopped simply because I am wide awake. What about graduating turned me into a proverbial caffeine pill? Seriously, I have very little left to do, and I feel like I should go to bed. The problem, though, is that I can't. I'm sure if I tried that I would struggle with it for at least 30 minutes and then be in and out all night long. I'm tempted to pull an all-nighter. Why not? I'm wide awake, and while in college I never did do that. Probably a bad idea.

Well, in the meantime, while I can't sleep and have no more motivation to pack, let me do the shout-outs to those who made a difference in my undergrad college life, since I guess that's over now. Weird...

* Dr. Kristin Matthews: As a 32 year old single female, she was probably the person who opened my eyes the most both in my field of study and to life. She was such a breath of fresh air and always had such faith in me and my skills. Without her, I would have had a very boring education and not felt like any of my teachers really cared. She showed me why I want to teach and what a good teacher can do at a time in my educational career when I'd forgotten that. I wish I could describe her assistance to me in greater detail, but it is 2:15 am, so sorry, but that's as good as it'll get.

* My parents: Like I could do a list without putting them in. I should put them first, but frankly, I'm too lazy to cut and paste. Anyway, who else gives the realistic support and advice that parents do? I'm lucky enough to have parents who helped me pay for my schooling so that I was able to graduate debt free. Yay! Between the fights I had and the tender moments, I always knew they cared and would do anything to help me accomplish my dream rather than try to fit into their mold for me. They let me grow while still loving me which, let's be honest, probably wasn't the easiest thing ever. And of course, my sibs, too.

* Jennifer Kerner: The best boss I've ever had, this woman inspired me to be strong and take charge, which is not my nature. She gave me responsibility and, as it turns out, I succeeded like no one would believe. She helped me discover that I can be a great leader who gets things done but who has a good time with everyone around while doing the job. From trying to help staff members to calling 911 for real, I experienced everything and learned that I love to lead and to work. And without her total trust and faith in me, I'd have never had that opportunity.

* Doug and Becky Pimentel: Seriously, if anyone has become like family to me, it has been these two. I have never felt such camradere or acceptance from two people. If I had a superfan club, they would be fighting for presidentship. I love those two (and of course their little darling Tiara) to death. When I hit rock bottom and my dreams were dashed, they immediately called to make sure I was okay - from Japan. They have just loved and supported me so much that if I didn't do a shout out to them, I'd be a jerk face. If I could adopt a couple as siblings, it'd totally be them in a heartbeat.

* Mike Morris: From laughing at each others' stupid jokes to sharing in each others' successes to comforting each others' extreme heartbreaks, who knew two people could be such good friends. If I needed anything (including probably a kidney transplant), Mike would find a way to get me what I need. He also helped me by letting me help him, which he will never know how much that helped me. And he wasn't afraid to tell me how I'd helped him, which did so much for me. All it takes is a little recognition, and faith in ones self comes through in flying colors. From Mike's faith in me and my spiritual skills, I started to develop faith in myself.

I know there's probably about a million other people I should put in there, but honestly people, it's 2:30 in the morning. So when I'm thinking clearly, I'll do a part 2 and recongize all the other peeps who showed me who I could be and helped me realize that I am a pretty cool gal.