I've been waiting for this moment for a long, long time. Ever since primary school in fact when a teacher told my mum that me and my sister could go to University.
Since then it's kind of been a one way ticket to Graduation. Having completed my degree in the summer, getting a modest class degree in what people appear to think is a weird subject for me to do (Criminology with Psychology), I feel pretty darn proud I must say.
And the best part was the day. One of those few days when it feels like it's all about you. For normal people, this is every single birthday, however, being a twin this has never really been the case. It's always OUR birthday, and always will be, so that ones out of the picture.
Only this day I got to share it with my fellow coursemates and friends, and my family, and had a lot of fun.
So, the outfit. That's what people want to know about, right? And whether I tripped. I can tell you that I DID NOT trip, surprising as that may be.
This is what I wore:
On knowing that the gown had purple on it, I went and clashed it with my bright yellow dress. Well, you have to stand out don't you? (However you can barely see the yellow, which is probably a good thing as it could easily blind you.)
A tip would definitely be to wear something that goes with the colour of your graduation gown. Most people wore the basic black and white, or both, but some wore blue which worked really well.
However others wore red and burgundy (Oxblood) and it just looked terrible.
I think the picture shows that stage and amount of people watching rather well too. My heart was beating ridiculously fast.
So here are the tips for Ace-ing Graduation:
1. Bring safety pins and hair clips. You'll probably need them to keep the gown and hat on. Most people did.
2. Give yourself plenty of time to get there. Because it's bound to be busy, especially in a city like mine. Also, time to get your gown and make it to the venue. We left 3 hours before the start of the ceremony and I think we probably should have left a little earlier (that is including 30-40 odd minutes to get there though).
3. Don't worry. You'll be told everything beforehand, so you'll be fine. I'm a worrier anyway though, so even on stage I was worried about my handshake.
4. Don't forget your camera! Take loads of pictures, because this may be the only time you graduate. I don't think I want to go back to education any time soon. I didn't get nearly enough pictures of my day.
Do the hat toss. I didn't and I am slightly disappointed in myself for it.
5. If you're a woman, don't wear shoes you can't walk in (and/or that don't fit properly) because you will regret it. For my sisters I wore shoes that rub a little. Not good when you're walking and standing up a lot.
6. Have fun! or, if everything is going completely wrong, which it most likely won't, keep smiling.