The Best of 2016

I know there's a lot of hate going around the internet towards 2016.  However, 2016 was a phenomenal year for me for the most part!

• I was promoted at work.
• I entered and won a lottery entry into the NYC Marathon on my first try.
• I made new friends at work.
• I started new medicine (Remicade).
• I felt the best I've felt in over a decade! I got my life back!
• I had awesome bowel movements.
• I joined a running group.
• I made great running friends.
• I trained for a marathon and regularly woke up at 4am or earlier three days a week to run.
• I joined a gym.
• I saw Halsey live in concert.
• My best friend got engaged!
• I said yes to be my best friend's Maid of Honor!
• I socialized and stepped outside of my comfort zone.
• I went to NYC on vacation with my best friend!
• I ran the NYC Marathon!
• I ran an awesome half at OUC!
• I ran my first relay and my first trail run at Ragnar!
• I camped for real!
• My sister graduated from UCF!
• I got an electric keyboard to learn how to play.

Proud Big Sister

Kim graduated Cum Laude from UCF this weekend with her BS degree in Sport and Exercise Science with a specialization in Human Performance (or something like that).  She has worked hard to get where she is at and I couldn't be happier for her. Not only has she overcome self doubt academically, but she has also narrowed in on her ambition to become a physical therapist.  While in the midst of finals she went to two doctor of physical therapy interviews. I can only image how stressful the last few weeks have been for her. She is still waiting to hear from more schools she applied to, but a huge weight has been lifted from her shoulders because she was accepted into the Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences Doctor of Physical Therapy program (this is the first DPT program she interviewed with). Murphy Deming is in Virginia, so we are anticipating her to move by the time the program starts in June.

I am beyond thrilled for her to be realizing her dreams, but I cried because I will miss her when she moves away. Out of all of my sisters, I am closest with Kim. We get each other, we are the only ones in our family that understand the whole college experience (we make it look easy, but we know it isn't), we tell each other truths that are difficult to hear, and we support each other no matter what. It's no secret that Kim is my favorite sister even though Kim and Kelly are like the ultimate twin bestfriends.  I wish my relationship with my twin could be like theirs; however that bridge is not ready to be rebuilt. I have a feeling in Kim's absence I will grow closer to Kelly. I've even joked with Kim and Kelly that I'm going to be Kelly's new bff when Kim moves away. We laugh because we all know that won't happen.

DPT school is a three year program, so by 2020 Kim will be a Physical Therapist. At the moment, I would seriously consider moving to wherever she takes her first PT job.

I'm a UCF Alumni

It finally happened! I graduated from UCF this past weekend! I even made an A- in my class this semester, so I made A's in all of my classes except in three. In those three classes I earned a B, B+, and an A-. My graduation GPA is 3.948, which makes me Summa Cum Laude!!!!! It was more than I could have hoped for. My friends and family really made it one special weekend for me. It was difficult, but I somehow made it through the weekend without crying. I definitely had to fight back some happy tears at my graduation ceremony though.  It felt great to walk across that stage and shake the College of Business Administration's Dean's hand. My lab professor, Leo, was sitting in the very front row and he shouted out to me as I was crossing the stage, "Way to go, Lauren!" I gave him a huge smile, waved, and thanked him. I received an email from another professor who was at the ceremony congratulating me on graduating and with Summa Cum Laude honors (they mention honors after they said my name at graduation). He said he was very impressed and proud of the accomplishment.  I think the weekend can best be summarized in pictures.

Taylor made the trip from Miami to celebrate my graduation. She made me a "My Adventure Book" scrap book with pages dedicated to check things off of my bucket list. The wigs and balloons represent the everlasting friendship we will share through old age like in the movie UP.


This gift was beyond better than the unicorn turd that I had originally predicted.

Savanna joined us at Sak

My sisters and I

I had an absolute blast celebrating my graduation at SAK Comedy Lab with family and friends!  I had been planning that night for 6 months and it was worth the wait!

I wouldn't have made it to graduation without these ladies!

After the Sak show, Leigha, Brittany, Taylor, and I went next door to a pub called Avenue Gastrobar. The name GASTOBAR is what drew me in! I even got a free shot from the bartender!

I did it!!!!!!

I waited all semester to take a picture of me in my cap and gown on this statue!

A graduation selfie!

My proud parents!!!

My whole family!

Taylor and I at the alumni statue!

I Won The Lottery!!!

I won two extra tickets from the extra graduation ticket lottery at UCF!  Sadly, I'm more excited than my sister, Leigha, because now she gets to attend my graduation! I'm just stoked she's actually able to join my whole family to witness this huge accomplishment. I could offer the second extra ticket I won to family or a friend, but I think I'm going to keep it as a souvenir instead.  Does that make me a bad person?

Today, I thanked Leigha for pissing me off years ago because that led me to go to college. So, without her I wouldn't have found the success I'll be celebrating this weekend. Thanks to her I know the Hell of finals week. It's disappointingly ironic that the sole reason I started going to college was to prove to Leigha that I could do things in life without her. Fast forward to today and I do practically everything in life without her. We really don't have many common interests and both of us are guilty of not compromising. I struggle to relate with her.  Although our relationship isn't near as horrible as it once was, it's just non-existent.  Sometimes I miss the relationship we used to share.  I think that's why it's important to me that she's able to come to my graduation.  After all, I wouldn't have made it to college without her.

It's Over...I'm Done....Peace Out

I failed my last final exam that I took as an undergraduate student. I scored a 66%. Honestly, I lost motivation. Plus, the fact that I worked over a 12 hours shift the day before my exam ate into most of the study time that allocated for the exam.  I'm not even mad because I sold two cars that day. I passed my final class with a B+! So, I earned an A in all of my college classes except for 3. I earned one B and 2 B+'s.  By my calculations, my overall graduating GPA is 3.932! That's high enough for me to graduate Summa Cum Laude, which means I'm graduating in the top 2.5% of the College of Business Administration. Reality of finally being finished comes in emotional waves. Is it weird that I'm so proud of myself that I cry?

I had a meeting with my favorite professor at UCF, Christopher Leo, after my final exam. He was my lab instructor this semester and it was the third class I've taken with him. He does magic tricks... that's how awesome he is. He was also my professor for a class I took my very first semester at UCF when I had a bad flare. When I was seriously considering quitting school, he gave me kind words of encouragement and showed understanding. If it weren't for him, I'm not sure I would have stayed in school. He is one of the very few professor's at UCF that took the time to learn my name. He always made time to talk with me after class. He had confidence that I could make it and that ultimately helped me decide to stick with school through my health issues. We talked about my current position at Classic Mazda and my future with the company. We also talked about a potential plan B for my career. We talked about graduate school. We talked about my strengths, which he considers my biggest strengths to be my interpersonal skills and my drive to do my best at everything I do. He even gave me his cell phone number and said I could call him anytime if I need advice with my career or graduate school. He is also allowing me to use him as a reference. He has confidence that I will find success where ever I go. I awarded him with a certificate of appreciation that I made especially for him. It said:

Be it Known that
Christopher Leo
during the course of my study, through personal sacrifice, selflessness, and without material reward, bestowed the support and understanding without which my graduation would not have been possible. This certificate is hereby conferred to honor and recognize the confidence, guidance, wisdom and assistance freely given in helping me attain this important milestone in my life!

He was so honored to receive this appreciation from me. I wish you could have seen his eyes light up!  He is one fantastic professor and I wanted him to know that someone appreciated his passion to teach.

"Don't Sell Yourself Short"

Since graduation is right around the corner I've been reminiscing about my journey through college. I took English Comp I as one of my very first classes at Valencia. If it wasn't for my Comp I professor, I'm not certain I would have continued my college education. When I started going to Valencia in the Spring of 2009, I went to prove to my twin that I could do things and succeed without her. So, I didn't really have any definite intentions on graduating with my A.A. and I certainly didn't believe I would transfer to UCF to get my undergraduate degree. Well, in one of my conversations with my Comp I professor she gave me advice that certainly led me down the path I'm on today. "Don't sell yourself short" and "Keep your options open" are the two pieces of advice that stuck with me from Professor Sebacher. My first step was switching my major at Valencia from an A.S degree to an A.A. General Studies degree to keep the option of transferring to UCF open, if I decided that was what I wanted to do. When I switched to an A.A., I still had no real intention of actually going to UCF.

I had no real intention to go to UCF until I met Taylor in the Fall of 2011. She also had the 'don't sell yourself short' mentality and she made me believe that I could succeed at UCF. In fact, I registered for 5 classes in the Spring of 2012 at Valencia so that I could graduate from Valencia with her in May 2012 and transfer to UCF in the Fall of 2012. Taylor gave me the reassurance I needed to transfer to UCF with confidence instead of fear and uncertainty.  If you would have told me in the Spring of 2009 that I would graduate with my A.A. in General Studies with a 4.0 GPA, I would have called bullshit! I am so glad I listened to that wise professor and kept my options open and now that I'll be graduating from UCF Summa Cum Laude (top 2.5% in the College of Business) I can proudly say I didn't sell myself short. I overcame tons of health issues while still finding success in the classroom. I overcame tons of self doubt to get to where I am today. Heck, at one point I even overcame depression! I never claim to be smart, but I do pride myself in being a hard worker.

I had a customer today that got his undergraduate degree in finance at UCF a few years ago and is now getting ready to take the GMAT to apply for graduate schools. I mentioned my 3.9 GPA and he is convinced that I should take the GMAT and apply to ivy league schools for my Masters. He thinks as long as I score high on the GMAT I'll get in because my GPA is ridiculously high. I don't even know if it's possible or even reasonable to think I could get accepted to an ivy league school. How crazy awesome would that be? It got me thinking... Will I be "selling myself short" if I don't look into this nonsense to see if it's something that I should be considering?

Captured Moments

Below are a few of my favorite captured moments from my graduation photo shoot! I am so freaking close to graduating!

 



Last Minute Lauren: The Finale

Procrastination has a firm grip on me. My team didn't finish our strategic analysis report until two hours before it was due last week. I believe that was my first "all nighter" in college. I finished my part by 3am and had to wake up at 6am to make sure my teammates were finishing their sections as well.  Honestly, I don't know what grade to expect on it. We worked our asses off on the first report before spring break and only got an 83%, so since we weren't as organized with this one I don't have high expectations.  I'll gladly take a 66%

Today my team had a 12 minute presentation to highlight our strategic recommendation listed in our report. We met at school at 8am, made our power point slides (which was pretty easy because it was just information we covered in the report), we practiced three times, and then I ran to the library to print our slides at 9:15am. Class and presentations started at 9:30am. Thankfully, we were the last team to go, so we were able to step out of class and practice one more time.  The presentation went surprisingly well. I was a little nervous because our CEO (our online professor) said that if the financial analysis section doesn't fully support the recommendation, the highest grade my in-class professor is allowed to give is a C. Since I was responsible for the financial analysis section I felt a lot of pressure to give my team any chance at a decent grade on the presentation.   After the presentation, my professor asked about five follow up questions to clarify certain aspects in our presentation and he didn't ask one question about the financial analysis section. I'm hoping that means I fully supported our recommendation with my financial analysis. The questions he did ask were answered with confidence by my teammates. I think we effectively bull shitted with outstanding confidence.

Now, I'm waiting for my professor to announce which team is going to The Great Capstone Competition. If my team gets selected, I don't have to take the final exam. However, if my team is not selected, then I'll have to take the final exam. I am three lectures behind on the video lectures and I'm four chapters behind in the book. I also have not watched any of the 5 "off the books" videos that will be covered on the exam. Obviously, I'm hoping to get invited to the competition so that I don't have to play catch to study for the final exam.

By the way, I'm impatiently waiting to get the grades on my team's strategic analysis report and presentation so that I'll know how bad I can do on the final, if I have to take it, in order to get at least a B in the class. 

Plans Change and I'm Okay With That

Today, I met up with a girl I played basketball with in high school to have her take my senior/graduation pictures at UCF. I already blogged about my ideal plan of locations and even outfits for the photo shoot. While I was getting my outfits ready today before I realized it was going to rain, I happened to find the dress I wore for my high school graduation. My sister had the brilliant idea of recreating the photo since the dress still fit. Apparently, the older I get, the paler I become.  These were taken  about 9 years apart. I think I look so much healthier in the older photo on the left.

2006 to 2015

It rained today during the shoot, so we were limited to indoors and sheltered areas. The rain certainly changed my original photo shoot plans and I'm okay with that. I think we made it work. I didn't get many photos taken on the Pegasus sitting behind Knightro, but by golly I was finally able to climb up there, even though it was in the rain, for a few quick pictures. Thankfully, my sister Kim was there to snap the shot below with my cell phone.

CHARGE!!!

Absolutely Amaze-Balls

Someone pinch me! Graduation is in 37 days!!!  Yes, I am counting down the days! It is finally starting to seem real even though about half of the possible points in my class are still up for grabs. I have placed my order to rent my cap and gown. I have scheduled a graduation/senior photo shoot. I just received the class ring that I custom designed back in February and it is absolutely amaze-balls!

Around the black onyx it says "University of Central Florida." On the right side of the ring is "BS" for Bachelor of Science degree and it also says "Finance" on a ribbon next the symbol for business. On the left side of the ring is my school's crest above "15" which stands for 2015, the year I'm graduating. I had my full name engraved on the inside of the ring. My mom questioned why I had my last name engraved. To which I responded that it will be the name on my diploma and I have no intention to ever get married, so it made sense to put my full name on the ring. 

It's my first real piece of jewelry. It's 10K gold. Honestly, I'm not sure what that means... I just chose that gold because it was the cheapest. Even though I'm not that into regular jewelry, I am so proud to be earning the degree engraved on the ring! I selected the black onyx stone because my school colors are black and gold and since the ring is gold, it made sense to have a black stone to compliment it. I am very happy I decided to reward myself for all of my hard work in school by buying the ring.

I don't think it's bad luck to start wearing the ring before I graduate, so I've already started wearing it as encouragement to finish strong. 

Help, I Have Senioritis!

It's been two weeks since spring break and all I've been doing is the bare minimum to get by. I don't know where my motivation went to finish strong. My team's final project is suppose to be underway, but I have not even touched it yet. I'm to the point where I calculated my current points against all of the available points in the class to see if I could pass the class without doing anything else. I can't. I currently have 491 points out of a possible 1000 points, so I only have a 49% and that's not good enough to graduate. The good news is that so far only 520 points of the 1000 points have been up for grabs, so I'm making a 94%, which is an A!

I should be inspired to keep up my hard work to maintain the A, but I'm over it. Mostly because I just want to focus on work and getting promoted.  I've diagnosed myself with a severe case of senioritis. Help! How do I get over this feeling of school no longer being important? It's so bad that I even thought about skipping class today. If it wasn't for my team meeting after class, I probably wouldn't have went.

Preparing for My Senior Photo Shoot

Sure, I've always been somewhat of a ham for the camera. However, I've rarely had any photo shoots of me since I've entered into adulthood. Honestly, I'm a little nervous. I hope I look healthy on the day we decide to schedule the photo shoot. I'm excited to have a photographer lined up to take my senior pictures at UCF with "two outfit changes." Does that mean I get to change twice for a total of three outfits, or does that mean I'll only be getting photographed in two outfits? I'll ask once we set the date.

I already have locations on campus in mind for the shoot. I want my photo taken with me sitting behind the knight in the statue of the picture below. The statue is right outside of the football stadium.

I also want my picture taken in front of the reflection pond that's in front of the campus library.

As far as photo shoot outfits I'm not very fashionable, so here is what I've come up with so far. A yellow polka-dotted 50's style skirt with a black sleeveless top. Polished off with a hat I love that brings the whole outfit together.

It's slowly starting to sink in that graduation is right around the corner. =)

My Fear of Failing Has Disappeared

When I first registered for College and began taking my first classes in the spring of 2009, I had a huge fear of failing. I thought: What if I'm not smart enough? What if I don't pass? What if I don't do well? Looking back it was an irrational fear to have and I'm glad it didn't stop me from trying. Throughout my college education I've consistently been at the top of my classes. Early on I had a very wise professor explain that the only way you can fail college is to quit and stop trying.  Somewhere along the way my fear of failing turned into a fear of getting less than an A on an assignment or in the course overall. Suddenly, I not only did not want to fail, but I also didn't want to get anything less than the very best possible grades. I put wicked pressure on myself to work hard and be the best.

I try to be a role model for the people in my life. Recently I've noticed that other people in my life have their own fears. With my graduation from UCF imminent, I've been reflecting on how much I've grown during my college education. I don't know that I am smarter. However, I certainly know that I am better prepared to take on the world. My fear of failure has been replaced with a fear of not trying. Now, I think: What if I don't try? What if  I don't seek new opportunities? If I don't try and if I don't seek new opportunities, I'm afraid my college education will go to waste.

I'll be graduating with more confidence than when I started. I'll be graduating with a sense of hunger to seek opportunities. Fear will not hold me back because I no longer have a fear of failing. I know I will not quit and I will not stop trying. If I can make it through this whole higher education circuit, then I feel anyone can. I don't have a super brain. I just work hard.

So Much To Do, So Little Time = Life

To say that my life is crazy busy seems like an understatement.  Between work and school I really don't have much time for myself or anyone else for that matter. Taylor and I cancelled her visit last weekend. I can't even remember the last time I took a nap.

I'm still loving Mazda! I'm learning tons of stuff every day! I'm officially Mazda certified, which is pretty awesome! I'm still learning how to tell all of the different trim levels apart at first glance though. Plus, I'm still learning all the technology offered: BSM, MRCC, RCTC, LDWS, etc... I pretty much know the different engines, horse powers, torques, wheel sizes, and cloth or leather that comes on each trim level. It's just the technology and some safety features that are tripping me up when I'm asked to explain them. This week I'm learning the sales process. So far, I know our greeting and concept statement that we share with each customer. I should be ready to hit the sales floor in two weeks! I'm so grateful that I found a company willing to invest in me.  I plan to work my butt off to reward their investment.

As for school, I kind of want to quit so that I can focus on work. I know I'm only taking one class, but it's a monster of a class! I turned in my first big project today, my 10-K report. I only got it to 12 pages because I just ran out of time to work on it. I'd love to get an 80%; however, I'd settle for a 70% since I know I could have done better if I had more time. This morning in class, we were assigned our first team project and it's due in three weeks. Everyone in class is freaking out because we have a 15-20 page industry analysis report to write about the retail grocery industry, we have a 10 minute presentation to give about our industry analysis, and we have our mid-term exam all due in the same week. February 24th is going to be a week from Hell. This week my team is focusing on researching the industry since we have use a minimum of 10 sources in our analysis. Next week, we will split the project up and give everyone on the team a portion to write. Hopefully, writing the report won't take too long since we'll already have most of the research completed, and then we'll need to put together a presentation and practice delivering it flawlessly! Oh yeah, and in our spare time we should study for the mid-term! HA! We'll see how that goes.

Also, I finally have the official date I will be graduating as long as I can pass this class! The big day will be Saturday, May 9th, 2015 at 9AM! Even though I know the date, it still doesn't seem real yet. Perhaps it's because I'm not yet certain I'll pass this class.

I have no clue how I'm going to get everything done to get to where I want to go with work and school, but I know I'm working my butt off to get there. Kim keeps reminding me that I will be rewarded in May for all of my hard work in school.

I'll Likely Be Graduating with High Honors

UCF distinguishes top academic performers at graduation in the commencement program with asterisks and on official transcripts. Hopefully, I'll have some special cords and stoles to wear at graduation, too!

• Summa Cum Laude for those students in the upper 2.5 percent.
• Magna Cum Laude for those students in the upper 5 percent, but not in the upper 2.5 percent.
• Cum Laude for those students in the upper 10 percent, but not in the upper 5 percent.

UCF uses the average GPA over the past two years in the College of Business Administration (CBA) to calculate the top 2.5%, top 5%, and top 10 % of GPAs in the CBA. I currently have an overall GPA of 3.955, which qualifies me for Summa Cum Laude honors because it's higher than 3.911 cut off. As long as I can pass my last class next semester with an A or B, I'll graduate Summa Cum Laude in the top 2.5% of students in the College of Business Administration. Heck, even if I pass my last class with a C, I'll graduate Magna Cum Laude in the top 5%! As of October 2014 the CBA had 7,765 undergraduate students. Below is how I rank among my peers. Pretty damn impressive if you ask me.

Running and School

I ran the Space Coast Half Marathon on Sunday. I knew going into it that it wasn't going to be a good race for me. My period graced me with its annoying presence the day before the race and my stomach was not in the mood for 13.1 miles. Though I will avoid porta potties when I can, they actually are life savers and don't really gross me out anymore. The hardest thing was squatting with fatigued legs to avoid contact with every surface. My training got derailed by my wicked stomach pain a few weeks ago, so my longest run before the race was 6 miles. I used the race as a training run and ran the first 7 miles straight with only walking at water stops. I did three and one intervals from mile 7 to mile 9 and then I walked the last 4 miles to finish in 2 hours and 54 minutes. The course was beautiful, but my race was anything but pretty. I'm looking at it as a solid 9 mile training run. The space shuttle bling was out of this world! I'm looking forward to the OUC half marathon this weekend and hope to have a solid 11 miles during the race. The following weekends will prove tricky to find time to train because I'll be visiting Taylor, be at Disney celebrating my sisters' birthday, and then I'll be in Texas. My focus is still on the Disney full marathon in 39 days, so I'll be packing my running gear, and saying no to alcohol, going to bed early, and waking up early to get my mileage in.

Oh, hey, it's finals week already. That came out of nowhere. I took two finals today. The grade for Supply Chain was muted, so I don't know what I got on my Supply Chain final yet and I got a 90 on my Real Estate final, which means I passed Real Estate with an A!  Today, I took a final for the last time in the main campus, college of business testing lab. That was a bitter sweet moment walking out of there knowing I'll never have to take an exam in the that testing lab again. I have an in class final on Monday at 1pm, and then my semester will be over!  Next semester my class is at Valencia West campus, so Monday will be my last time on the main campus for class. I remember being intimidated by the thought of going to main campus. It's huge. It's where students go to graduate. What if I can't? My fears were quickly calmed. I will be walking out of my final exam on Monday with a new found confidence. I can do anything I put my mind to. My peers are not necessarily better than me. I out performed them during most of my college career. I don't know if I'm still one of the top 20 finance students at UCF, but I was in that ranking at some point. In fact, I will no longer underestimate myself.  Hard work pays off and it's a liberating feeling to see the fruits of my labor. Now, my mindset is: What if I can? I can and I will!

UCF Graduation Planning

At the beginning of the week, I filed my ITG (intent to graduate) for the Spring of 2015!  I will be graduating from The University of Central Florida with my B.S.B.A. (Bachelor's of Science in Business Administration) in Finance. I'm not sure of the exact date and time yet, but I do know the College of Business commencement will be held sometime May 7th, 2015 to May 9th, 2015. Registration opens for my last class in the Spring Monday, November 24th.  I'm sure after I register for that final class it will sink in that I'm actually going to do this.  

I’ll get five graduation tickets for family and friends to attend my graduation ceremony, and I also plan on entering the lottery to get more tickets for my other fans. Taylor plans to come up from South Florida to attend, which I’m already excited for. Veronica is willing to fly from Austin, TX just to see and celebrate my graduation, and that means the world to me! My mom, dad and Kim get the dibs on the other three guaranteed tickets. I wish I had another guaranteed ticket for Brittany. Nonetheless, I’m going to enter the lottery to win graduation tickets for Brittany, Leigha, Kelly and my Uncle Len. It sucks because I’m not guaranteed those tickets. If Veronica can’t get off work to attend, I’m going to give her graduation ticket to Brittany.

I have huge tentative plans for celebrating this amazing achievement with anyone that wants to celebrate it with me. As soon as Sak Comedy releases its schedule for May 2015 I'm going to purchase a Slice of Life during their Duel of Fools Improv show Friday night on May 8^th, 2015. Once I get the Slice of Life reserved, I'll send out invites to all my family and friends to come enjoy the show to celebrate with me.  For the Slice of Life, I’ll have my family and friends fill out a questionnaire with gathered stories and information about me, and then the improvisers will make me the star of the show by reading what my family and friends wrote before they improvise a musical about my life.  

The fun doesn’t stop there. The next activities on my agenda are more difficult to plan because I won’t know which day my graduation will actually fall on until January. I’m going to invite my sisters and Brittany, Taylor and Veronica to celebrate with me at Magic Kingdom. I want to celebrate at the Magic Kingdom by making reservations at Cinderella’s Royal Table inside the castle for lunch and making reservations at the Be Our Guest Restaurant for dinner. The ideal day to celebrate at Magic Kingdom would be Saturday, May 9^th because Taylor and possibly Veronica will still be in town. However, my graduation ceremony might be that Saturday. In which case, we won’t be going to Magic Kingdom. The safest day to plan Magic Kingdom would be Sunday, May 10^th, but by that time Taylor and Veronica will be heading home later in the day on Sunday, so it wouldn’t be worth it for them. My tentative plan is to get a head count of who would be interested in going each day, and then I’ll make reservations when they become available the beginning of November for Saturday, May 9^th, and I’ll get one of my sisters to make reservations for Sunday, May 10^th. That way when I find out in January which day my graduation is going to be on, we can cancel one of the reservations since we’ll still have another reservation active.  I know it’s expensive, but with advance planning I can get discounted Disney tickets at UCF. Even so, I’ll understand if it’s too expensive for everyone to join. I’m hoping with advance notice it will allow adequate time for those that want to join to save up for it.