Weekend trip to UVA’s graduation reminds me that I’m growing up
19 May
I remember when my life was divided by semesters and breaks. Halloween break. Winter break. Finals. Spring break. Finals. Summer vacation. It was a cycle I adored.
When I entered the Real World, those semesters and vacations were replaced with 10 vacation days provided by Corporate America. It wasn’t an easy adjustment. I remember wondering why 365 days suddenly felt like a lifetime. But I adapted.
This weekend I went to the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., to watch my boyfriend’s kid sister graduate from college. When we pulled up to her 15-bedroom house in mid-afternoon, we were greeted by members of the football team chugging beer on the porch next door, tossing around some foamy Nerf ball and dodging traffic.
The sis kindly let us crash in her bedroom on graduation eve (apparently you must book a hotel room a year in advance for commencement day). But the constant *thump-thump-thump* of the bass from the party raging downstairs meant we would get very little sleep. But what were we thinking, going to bed at 12:30 a.m. and all?!
The next morning, the race for the shower began. A house full of graduates meant we got up crazy early for dibs on a hot shower. When we emerged downstairs, roommates donning caps and gowns were popping open bottles of champagne for their mimosa breakfasts. We opted for the nearby coffee shop.
We had fun watching the procession of graduates walking (in some cases stumbling) down the lawn. Many of them carried cartoon balloons so their families could spot them in the sea of faces and gowns.
It was fun to relive my college days. Lucky for us Triangle residents, we don’t have to travel far to embed ourselves in college culture with UNC, Duke and NCSU in our backyards. But, believe me, I was thrilled to snuggle up under the covers in my house the next night, with only the occasional meows from my cats to wake me up.
Do you remember making the adjustment from college life to Real World? Have you been back to college to relive the those fun days?
Jeremy and I recently met some friends on Franklin St. one Friday night. It was about 9:30 by the time we’d eaten dinner and were heading to our first bar. NO ONE was out and about, it was totally dead. We wondered if it was spring break, but knew that couldn’t be right. When we sat down at the West End Martini Bar with our friends, we mentioned how dead Franklin St. was. And they ever-so-politely reminded us that 9:30 was too early for the college kids to be out. Jeremy then reminded me that when we were in college, we would take a nap before heading out to Franklin St. around 11 p.m. or later.
Eventually kids started streaming in the bar, and they looked like they were in middle school. And we were exhausted by the way. That’s the first Friday night out we’ve had in awhile, and probably the last. It’s been seven years since I graduated from UNC, and I feel like an old woman sometimes.
@Andrea That’s so funny! I know what you mean. We were leaving Harris Teeter really late the other night. We had picked up some snacks and were headed home for the night. Some N.C. State kids were in the parking lot and one shouted to the other: “Are you going out tonight?” And I was thinking, going out, isn’t it too late to be making plans? And then I checked my phone, and it was midnight. A solid two hours to go before the bars closed.
i just opted to extend it by two years and go to graduate school. i also hid from the graduation crowd in cville..
Those photos remind me of my own graduation from UVa…almost 20 years ago!!
im so old, i broke my hip while reading this!
I pretty much get to relive college every day. I work with 15 interns. Sometimes I’m jealous of their responsibility-free lives, but I wouldn’t go back!
When I taught school I was still able to stay on a school calendar. Now that I’ve worked for Non-Profits for several years, my year is a fiscal year. I’ve still never really operated on a calendar year.