I have officially graduated, and this post is super late, but here we go.

I, along with my best friend Misty, got to be a part of the 100th commencement for the University of Memphis!
I earned a B.S.Ed in Society Services, with a minor in Spanish, and was awarded the honor of cum laude.
I took me 4.5 years and lots of wine, but I made it, so it was a wonderful day to celebrate the accomplishment with my equally accomplished friend, and my happy happy family!

We started off in Alfred's on Beale street to get a little "pre-graduating" (as Carlos called it) in-- I'm in the white and Misty is in the blue, and we are both exemplifying class by chasing shots of Crown Royal with Amarettos..

Four drinks later..

We arrived back at my car to pick up our caps and gowns, at which point I was drunk and suspiciously tanner than before.

After the brief, hap-hazard, and Memphis-esque ceremony, we got a picture in our gowns and regalia.. it's as though we somehow knew the professional shots would come out looking ridiculous (they did.)

While the ceremony was rather boring and all around me I could see peoples' caps tilted down-- because let's be real, it's 2012 and all of us were on our smartphones-- it did serve as a great opportunity to sober up before celebrating with our families.

From there, dearest Misty and I parted ways with our respective families to giant lunch-dinners and gifts.

So we hit up Spaghetti Warehouse with 12 of my family members and had a big lunch to celebrate the graduation of the girl they didn't think was even going to graduate high school (that's a true story).
This is my favorite picture of the entire day-- it's of the Laycook family and it's 4 generations-- My Grandmother, her son (my father) and his wife (my mother), myself and my sister, and my adorably giant nephew.

Overall it was an amazing day to celebrate all the work I put in for my undergrad, and I'm glad I was able to spend it with the people that I love so much.
Carlos was even able to watch the livestream from in Chile, and I was g-chatting him the entire ceremony, so it almost felt like he was there with me. (Almost.)

My only real regret is that I neglected to send the following text message to my beloved Misty: "CONGRATS!  Finished it how we started it-- with a glimmer in our eyes and crown royal in our bloodstreams!"

But hey, the whole day can't be perfect.