The Graduate Diaries

Well, it's all over. I'm officially an alumna of Cardinal O'Hara High School.

Last night I celebrated my Baccalaureate Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul (and jumped in the fountain afterwards, see below), and today, I had Commencement Exercises at Villanova University.

Words cannot describe the weirdness of it all. For a while, I said to myself, I'm ready. I've done all I wanted to with high school. I'm ready to move on to bigger things. I'm ready for college. Heck, I can't wait for summer vacation.  But suddenly, now that high school is a memory, I think, Wait, no! I'd like more time, please! Of course, as these things go, I won't get more time.

I wore the cap and gown, I got the diploma, I sang the alma mater for the last time. I walked into the Pavilion as a high schooler, and I left as a high school graduate. It's true that today is probably the last time that I will see some of my classmates, and that's sad. I wish we had more time to know each other. But the bright side is this: I am certain that those people who mean so much to me - friends and teachers and acquaintances - are people that I will meet again.

I'll need some time to sort out all the memories and emotions and experiences of the last few days. I want to think everything over carefully before I write my last love letter to O'Hara.  I want to do the place - and, most of all, the people - justice.

In the meantime, I have plenty going for me. I leave for Disney World (AHHH YAY!!!) in 3 days, 8 hours, 12 minutes, and 11 seconds at the time of this writing. And beyond that, I have two months to relax, read some good books, and rest my mind before Notre Dame. I plan to enjoy every square inch of summer vacation. I figure it's the best way to honor my hard work for the past four years, you know.

L-R, Christina, me, Caitlin, Fiona, and Jen. Best friends
splashing around in the Swann Memorial Fountain!

In other news, today I had the honor of being a guest blogger on Ms. Mary Ann Fiebert's awesome blog, Delco Daily Top 10. I penned a list of my Top 10 of Senior Year, which you can check out right here! Please check it out, and do yourself a favor and peruse Ms. Fiebert's blog because it's pretty great. A huge thanks to her for featuring me!

The Dome Away from Home

It is with great pride (and almost uncontrollable excitement) that I can announce to you, dear reader, the result of many months of researching, writing, checking and double-checking, mailman-hunting, and general hard work: my college decision.

I am thrilled to tell you that I will be attending the University of Notre Dame in the fall! GO IRISH!

I am confident that joining the ranks of the Fighting Irish is going to prove to be one of my best decisions ever. I'm so happy to continue my education at a school with such a rich feeling of tradition, scholarship, and community. Not many people can say that they're going to their dream school, and I count myself incredibly fortunate in that regard.

On a rather humorous note, I'm already handsomely outfitted with a variety of t-shirts, sweatshirts, and sweatpants from the Hammes Bookstore, but just for good measure, various members of my family have gifted me with car magnets, flags, flip-flops, and socks. Were I to layer all the Notre Dame clothes I have (and keep in mind I haven't even started there yet) I would be wearing approximately nine layers.

I can't wait to arrive in South Bend, Indiana in....approximately 81 days! I'm looking forward to a few weeks of summer vacation, but beyond that I'm jazzed for football weekends, trips to the Grotto, walking around St. Mary's Lake and St. Joseph's Lake, trudging through the snow to class, studying in the Hesburgh Library, chilling out in LaFortune Student Center, and just living life as a Notre Dame student.

My future home

I would love to continue my blogging at Notre Dame as a Delco emissary (if you will have me, Mr. Heron). But! In the meantime, I still have 12 days of high school to finish and plenty of other exciting stuff in the meantime! Stay tuned, folks.

Senior Prom!

Here is an abbreviated list of things that one cannot do well while wearing acrylic nail tips: one cannot button shirts, zip zippers, scratch itches, pick up small, thin objects like bobby pins, braid hair, flip the volume switch on the iPhone, open lobster clasps, or put one's fingers remotely close to one's eyes. I now know from experience, because I got acrylic nail tips for my senior prom. I mean, sure, my nails looked quite spiffy, but I haven't been able to use my fingers in any delicate capacity since Wednesday. When I complained to my brother about this, he reminded me that "beauty is pain." Wise fool, indeed.

But despite the acrylic nails (and the teetering high heels, and the necklace that was kind of chokey, and the 57 - I counted - bobby pins used to hold my elaborate hairdo in place), I had a blast at prom!  I got to wear a very pretty dress, and I got  gorgeous flowers from my good friend and prom date, Jim, and I  hung out with my friends, and I danced even though I have two left feet, and there was an ice cream bar! Major thumbs-up to the O'Hara faculty, the senior prom committee, and the Drexelbrook for making it a night to remember fondly.

Me, pre-prom

On another subject, today is, obviously, Mother's Day. There's not really much to say except that I have the best mom ever and I'm glad to celebrate her today! (Safe to say that hosting 40 people for a "picture party" before prom wouldn't have happened without her. Of course, that's not the only reason I like her. She's a really good cook, too.) So, happy Mother's Day! Especially to my mom!

Oh, and one last thing. This is a shout-out to my wonderful, awesome, crazily smart friend Caitlin, because she wanted one! Hey, Caitlin!

An Update

Things have just been a bit crazy (in the best possible way) in the last month or so, between Pippin and Easter break and school and everything. I haven't updated my blog as much as I wanted to, but I have a lot coming up so expect frequent updates! Here's the nuts-and-bolts of  what I've been up to (and have coming up).

This weekend was the official start of....Graduation Party Season. It's kind of like the debutante season without the fancy gowns and with a lot more cake. I attended three lovely graduation parties, and have have received approximately 22 more invitations. I shall valiantly try to attend them all!

Today was a graduation of sorts. Here's the story: In eighth grade, I won one of 50 Neumann Scholarships, a four-year full academic scholarship from the Connelly Foundation. Way back then, there was a lovely induction ceremony to welcome the new class of 2012. Today, we all came back together to celebrate with a Mass and a reception before we all part ways for college and beyond. I had the honor of giving a reflection speech during the Mass. I spoke about how important being a Neumann Scholar has been in my life - really important - which was awesome. And I met up with some old friends from Notre Dame Summer Scholars there, too! I missed those rascals. 

This week is (sigh) AP Exam week. I have four exams for my Advanced Placement classes in chemistry, psychology, calculus, and English literature. Sitting for AP Exams is kind of like sitting for the SATs several days in a row - and equally tiring. They're a necessary evil, though. If I get good marks, I might be able to earn college credit! Hooray for more electives and free time in college!

And as a reward for my hard-fought week of exams, I have my senior prom on Friday!! Expect pictures. 

Also, I graduate one month from today. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!

We've Got Magic to Do

So, there is a reason that I haven't been able to write in a while, and that reason is called Pippin.

Yes, folks, it's that time of year again: Showtime. If you've driven by O'Hara in the last two weeks or so, you might have seen a sign that looks kind of like this:

It's cool, right? Yes! It's advertising our spring production of the musical Pippin!

For the last week or so, my life has basically been consumed by Pippin rehearsals. Not that I mind at all, because a) I love being in the show, b) I love going to show practice, and c) I love Pippin.

Our story begins with a jovial trope of actors putting on a play about the life and times of young Prince Pippin of the Holy Roman Empire. Pippin believes he is destined for greatness, and led by the crafty Leading Players, goes on an exciting quest to find his destiny. After a few hilarious and horrifying wrong turns, the young prince finds fulfillment in the most unexpected of places.

Pippin has it all: A fantastic score by Stephen Schwartz (of Godspell and Wicked fame, and my favorite composer), plenty of laughs, clever dialogue, amazing dancing in the style of Bob Fosse, and a magnificent set created by our stage crew. I don't mean to brag, but if you've ever been to an O'Hara show, you know they're always a treat. So be there. For goodness' sake, people, I made a tutu specifically for this occasion. You can't miss this one. 

You can catch Pippin at O'Hara on Friday, March 23 and Saturday, March 24 at 8:00 PM, Sunday, March 25 at 2:00 PM, and Friday, March 30 and Saturday, March 31 at 8:00 PM! Tickets are $12 each ($10 for the Sunday matinee). Seating is assigned, so get your tickets now!!!! for the best seats!

If you're interested in buying tickets to see Pippin (and of course you are), you can buy them online here, or at O'Hara! If you want more information about our production of Pippin, click here!

"We've got magic to do just for you..."

A Quarter of a Year

You know what's scary?

Realizing that there are only three short months until you graduate.

That's right, folks. Three months from today, my high school years will be over. I only have one quarter of a year left! I know, when you look at it that way, it seems like a long time. But three months is a very short interval.

To put some of this in perspective, here are the major events happening during the rest of my high school career: Two weekends of Pippin at O'Hara (more on that soon), receiving college decision letters, Easter break, actually deciding where I'm going to college, AP exams, Senior Prom, final exams, Baccalaureate Mass, and then, graduation. That's all, folks. Talk about surreal.

I'm trying to find that balance between seizing the last days of high school and just relaxing and enjoying the ride. I don't want to look back and have any regrets - not that I'm planning to. The past four years have been the best of my life, and I will miss them dearly. But as the time winds down ever closer to June 6th, I get a feeling that grows every day - the feeling that I am finally ready to move on to the next part of my life. In one way, it's unsettling and uncertain and scary, but in another, it's completely awesome.

A Milestone Weekend

Another milestone of my senior year has come to pass.

That Fashion Show was quite a party, I tell ya. I had a grand old time dancing and singing and running up and down that runway, and I think my classmates has a pretty swell time as well. I'll be honest - I'm going to miss singing "The Chain," and I'm going to miss Wawa runs between practices, and I might even miss slipping around on the hardwood floor of the dance studio where we practiced.

I have some great memories from Fashion Show. Not only do I have choreographed dances to "Time Warp" and "Mambo #5" in my back pocket should the need ever arise, but I also have a great sense of camaraderie and friendship with those folks I spent so many hours with. You can't fall flat on your bum in front of a lot of people without becoming their friend. As the saying goes, the family that dances together stays together (I think).

And yet another landmark occasion came and went this morning: during first period, the seniors celebrated 112 days until graduation (though I have been informed that there are only - gasp - 106 days until that dreaded hour). It was fun to gather in the cafeteria, eat doughnuts, dance, and catch up. But in a way, it was kind of bittersweet. It's a reminder of the impending end of my high school career, a part of my life that I have loved and do love so dearly. It's a little scary to think that in less than 106 days, I'll be officially done with high school, I'll know where I'm going to college, and I will have gathered with all of my classmates together for the last time.

But now is certainly not the time to think about that. There's plenty ahead of me yet!