Guys, I did it! Friday night was amazing. It’ll definitely be a night I never forget. Thank you for following along! You all are the best.
Before we left town Friday, I showered and curled my hair. Anyone else get a kick out of their curled hair before they brush it out? I always do. Poodle status.
I’m still learning how to curl my short hair. I feel like I had just gotten good at curling my long hair when I chopped it off.
I had a quick lunch of cheese and spinach roll-ups and finished grading finals for two of my classes.
I dropped Lu off at the kennel for the weekend, then headed to my parents’ house. My Mom made a bunch of signs for my graduation party on Sunday. She’s cute.
Mimosas!
Car trip essentials. I get super car sick any time I travel. My Dad also got us some motion sickness arm bands. I think they really helped, too! I have to take the non-drowsy Dramamine because if I don’t, I pass out for HOURS. It really knocks me out.
We checked into the hotel and got ready for the graduation ceremony. I couldn’t decide which shoes to wear. I ended up going with the booties because they were much more comfortable, but I liked the look of the other ones better.
My Dad and my advisor/head of my dissertation committee, got to co-hood me on Friday night. Having my Dad there with me made everything that much more special. This picture is at the reception before we went to dinner (and before the ceremony).
I got Dr. Baker a little notepad with her initial on it.
I showed my Mom and Piper the room where I defended my dissertation and took a bunch of classes when I would go to campus for class.
After the reception, we grabbed dinner before the ceremony. How awesome is this menu?? Thank you, Coley’s! If you’re ever in Columbia, try Coley’s. It’s amazing.
They were featuring a delicious winter sangria.
My sister and I shared pesto tortellini. It was incredible.
Here’s the whole group! I felt SO blessed to have all of my favorite people there with me to celebrate.
My Dad, Dr. Baker, and I had to be at the ceremony site an hour before it started to get checked in. These are the cards they gave us for when they introduced us on stage.
We hung out in line for awhile and just chatted.
Then it was time to go!
There’s my family!!
Getting ready to process across the stage. My Dad’s lilac regalia (for dentistry) stood out really well, so it was easy to spot him.
My sister took this picture and said she loved it. My Dad had his hand on my shoulder before we walked up on stage.
One of the coolest moments!
And just like that, it was all over!
After the ceremony, we took lots of pictures. I couldn’t have done any of this without this guy by my side.
My parents. I don’t even have the words to thank them.
Jake’s parents. They’re the best in-laws I could have ever hoped for! <3
My grandparents. (Dad’s side.) They came all the way from Florida to celebrate with me!
My birth-mom, Dawn. Thank you for giving me the best life! <3
I loved learning about the different regalia. The royal blue on my hood stands for PhD. Different areas of emphasis have different colors. The inside of the hood, where mine is black and gold, is for Mizzou. Each institution has their own colors in that spot.
My sister-in-law was working, so she couldn’t come up on Friday. We missed her!!
After the ceremony and pictures, we went to see the Magic Tree, then we met up at TGI Fridays and had celebratory drinks.
Brunch Saturday morning was at another one of my favorite places in Columbia – Broadway Brewery. I had a BBQ pulled pork grilled cheese. It was amazing.
There’s a tradition at Mizzou. When you’re an incoming freshman, you walk through the columns, toward the university. Then, on graduation day, you walk through them the opposite way, away from the university. Since I went to Mizzou my freshmen year, I had already walked through the columns one direction. I transferred to Drury University after my sophomore year at Mizzou because I missed being in Springfield. Since I didn’t graduate from Mizzou, I didn’t get to walk back through the columns. After brunch Saturday morning, we went to the columns so I could walk through them!
We got back into town Saturday night and headed to a Dirty Santa Christmas party. I failed to get any pictures other than the delicious food! 
Sunday morning I woke up to breakfast from Jake. He’s the best.
Someone was glad to be home from the kennel.
We had my graduation party on Sunday, so Jake and I went to a new brewery by us before we went to the party. It’s called Great Escape Beer Works and it’s awesome. We loved their beer!
I’ll share all about my party tomorrow since this post is already long. I subbed today in a kindergarten classroom, so I am EXHAUSTED. Can’t wait to share more about the amazing weekend with you guys! Thank you for your kind words over the weekend – I’m so lucky to have the BEST readers. <3
Happy Monday, friends!
So fun! Congrats again 🙂 It looks like you had an amazing time with all the best people in your life <3 I’m graduating with my doctorate in May and I cannot wait!
PS – your hair looks AMAZING! Love it!
So proud to watch your journey!
Big congratulations!!
[…] THIS will always be one of my favorite memories. I always get choked up thinking about my doctoral graduation. Two years ago yesterday my Dad got to co-hood me as I walked across the stage at graduation. It was the BEST. Now I have my dream job – feeling extra thankful today. […]
[…] I get to wear my graduation regalia this weekend! I haven’t put any of this on since December 2018, so I’m excited to wear it again. That’s one cool thing about academia…you get to relive your own graduation each year. I am volunteering with our undergraduate graduation on Saturday, so I will definitely be reliving one of my favorite days – my doctoral graduation (you can read about that HERE). […]