I'VE GRADUATED!

As I mentioned in my post on Tuesday I graduated this week and had my 21st birthday on the same day. The sun was shining and we all had such a wonderful day. My mum, dad, brother and sister in law all came up to Leeds to celebrate with me and the ceremony was held at the beautiful Great Hall at Leeds University. I graduated with a 2:1 Journalism degree and graduation was a lovely opportunity for all of my course to get back together and have a little reunion.

Onto the fashion: I wore a Kimchi Blue, cream dress that is stocked in Urban Outfitters. The dress had amazing lace detail across the arms and the front and a button up sheer panel at the back. Unfortunately, it was covered by the gown for most of the day. The gown was a nightmare to wear and I was roasting in the sunshine all day; so thankful to get it off after about a hundred pictures. The shoes were from New Look and although I loved them, they killed my feet and I haven't been out of flip flops since because of all the blistery damage my feet endured that day.

Now that graduation is over, it really feels like I'm in the real world and the hunt for a job is becoming more pressured than ever. University was an amazing experience and I wouldn't have changed a thing about my 3 years. I found some wonderful friends that I know I will still have in years to come. I found love and then lost it again and I have so many incredible memories that the mountain of student debt all seems worth it.

I've not got my rose tinted glasses on, as there definitely were hard times. Living with friends is always a challenge and despite all the fun we've had living together it does change a friendship being with someone 24/7 and having to worry about bills and rent etc. Third year was a definite struggle for me, solely for the amount of work that we had to do. The work load ramped up considerably from second year and I found it hard to organise my time and to not stress out. In the end, I realised how important it was to concentrate on my uni work and broke up with my boyfriend at the time to make sure that my energy was being expended in the right areas.

University was a great experience but, as I've seen over the years, it isn't for everyone. I'm glad that I made the most of my 3 years and have a degree to show at the end of it as well as many drunken, embarrassing photos that I'll look back at and smile.

N.