I'm A High School Graduate!

So there I was, sitting in the Patriot Center with the Herndon High School Class of 2011. All of the speeches had been made, the awards had been given, and now it was time for the presentation of the diplomas to begin. I sat in my seat as the students with last names A-E were read off. Before I knew it, my guidance counselor motioned for my row to stand up. As I walked up to the stage, it still hadn't hit me that I was really...GRADUATING. As the last names beginning with F continued to be read, I was closer and closer to approaching the front of the stage. Then finally, it was my turn. "Sarah Nicole Freeman" my counselor read. I walked across the stage and received my diploma as my family and friends cheered for me! It was a truly exhilarating moment! After I shook my principal's hand, I embarked on the long walk back to my seat. It was on that walk back that it really hit me. I MADE IT! I felt a sudden weird mixture of emotions: mostly excitement mixed in with a little bit of sadness. The rest of the names were read, and then came my personal favorite part of graduation. We all threw our caps up into the air and shared in the joy and feeling of accomplishment! Mine only lasted for a few seconds until I realized that I had thrown my cap really far back and it was nowhere to be found. After a brief moment of panic, I found another cap on the ground near me. I decided I would just "borrow it." Luckily I had taken my tassels off before throwing the cap, but this unfortunate person had not. So I had three tassels instead of the two I had started with. Sorry whoever you are! After I found a cap, I joined in the celebration once more! It was incredible and truly overwhelming! It felt so good to be done! After the ceremony was one of those times when I felt really glad that I have such a big family. Us graduates were released into a throng of people outside of the Patriot Center. It wasn't long before I spotted my sisters running towards me with the rest of my family not far behind. We took every single combination of pictures possible! Literally. Every combination. It was a big day that needed to be documented! Over and over and over again.

After finding my grandpa, who had disappeared for a solid half an hour without a cell phone on hand, we headed back to Grandma and Grandpa's house to eat some Chinese takeout for dinner, my personal favorite! Another favorite graduation day moment was when my whole family and Aunt Becky fist pumped to "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga in the car on the way home. It was beautiful. Before dinner, Matthew and I got to open our graduation presents from Grandma and Grandpa Shipp: A NEW LAPTOP! I named her Adele and we have since been inseparable.

I then went home and relaxed for a couple of hours in preparation for All Night Grad. It was SO MUCH FUN! I went with my best friends Hannah and Christine, and we met up with our friend Ian there. We played Black Jack (with chips of course) that we were able to cash in for prizes, jousted in an inflatable ring, played all of the other inflatable games they had, got tattoos (washable glitter ones of course), got MASSAGES (this was a life changing experience, if you haven't had a massage get one), talked, laughed, saw a mind blowing performance by a magician at 3 in the morning, and had SO much fun!

The next day Matthew and I had our Grad Party at our grandparents house! When I walked in, my jaw dropped to the floor when I saw all of the decorations and food that my mom and aunt Julie had prepared for us! It was incredible! So many of my friends and family came and I had an AMAZING time! After all of the guests had left, I sat in my grandparents' living room and opened all of my cards and presents! I was overwhelmed by the generosity of my friends and loved ones! As I read each letter, I noticed a common theme. Many of them contained a variation of the sentence: "This is only the beginning of your life." That thought is exhilirating and terrifying at the same time. This seems ironic, but over my four years in high school, Herndon High felt like a safe place. I had choir, I had my friends, I had a strict schedule of classes, there were many rules that had to be followed, and so on. There were no surprises and I kind of liked that in a way. Now, I'm going to college, where I am literally on my own. The world is mine to explore. It is so exciting, yet terrifying! GAHHH so many emotions! I keep telling myself two things: one, everyone else is feeling the exact same way. Two: many many people have gone through the transition from high school to college and not only survived, but loved every minute of it. I know that I can too! So anyways, I spent about 2 hours this morning writing thank you notes and still have many more to write! That's just a testament to the number of amazing people that I have in my life! After my party, I went home and crashed for a solid 12 hours! This was an incredible weekend that I will never ever forget! Thanks to all of those who shared it with me!