On Saturday May 13, I graduated! It’s hard to believe that four years of Bryn Mawr have gone by so fast. Sadly, it rained on graduation, but the ceremony was still held outside under the tent on Merion Green and all 332 of us undergrad seniors graduated.

The day started with my parents, maternal grandmother, and maternal aunt arriving at Bryn Mawr for brunch in Erdman Dining Hall. We all got the made-to-order omelettes. After brunch, I returned to my dorm room to get dressed for graduation. There really was no point in wearing anything too fancy since it was cold and wet. I wore my original dress but put on leggings and a fleece sweater. I had initially wanted to wear heels but opted for boots instead. I also wore my Asian Students Association red and gold stole on top of my regalia. Each of my roommates were all busy taking care of their families, but Friend and I managed to get a quick photoshoot in the Denbigh dance studio. Then, it was time to get in our places for the procession. Graduates usually line up on Taylor Drive, but we lined up in Thomas Great Hall because of the rain.

Graduates lined up by major in alphabetical order and by last name in reverse alphabetical order. The physics majors managed to get a picture together!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUGLx9wFabA/

Graduation took about 2 and a half hours. President Cassidy spoke, President Benston of Haverford gave a speech, and our commencement speaker was journalist Maria Hinojosa. Select faculty were also recognized in the ceremony. The program order for degrees was PhDs, Masters, Masters in Social Service, and finally, the Bachelors. At the end, the fresh graduates sang the Sophias in Ancient Greek and anassed.

After graduation are garden parties. Garden parties are typically held on Erdman Green, and we even had to rush to claim spots on the Thursday before graduation. However, the rain call was made on Friday and rain spots were assigned in Erdman, New Dorm Dining Hall, Rhoads Dining Hall, Hepburn Theater, and Thomas Great Hall. I had planned ahead and reserved the Denbigh TV Room for a joint garden party with 2 other friends. Garden party is a time for snacking on some cookies and tea sandwiches provided by Dining Services, meeting each other’s families and friends, and taking lots of photos. I even had surprise visits by three of my physics professors and my Arts Office supervisor!

My garden party wrapped up, and my family and 3 garden party girls went out to Penang in Chinatown for dinner. I was happy that my family got to meet 3 of my close underclassmen friends. We got bubble tea after dinner, of course. I will miss Philadelphia Chinatown and all the memories I had eating out with friends. My parents drove us back to Bryn Mawr, and I slept in my dorm room one last time before moving out on Sunday. Sunday’s weather was actually very nice. My family ate brunch at Turning Point in Bryn Mawr town and took photos around campus in the sun. We drove back to New Jersey that day, and now I have officially finished Bryn Mawr.

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Which leads me to the end of this blog…

Being a Banter Blogger has kinda been my pride in blog form for Bryn Mawr. I can’t think of a better student job on campus that incentivizes me to attend as many interesting events/activities as I can and write about and share it with others. I hope my blog has inspired future Mawrters to attend Bryn Mawr, current Mawrters to seek out new opportunities and resources Bryn Mawr has to offer, and alums to reminisce about the good college years. I enjoyed reading the occasional feedback and comments I received on this blog. Thank you for a wonderful 2 years as a Banter Blogger!

As for what’s next in life… I am still applying for postgrad research assistant jobs.