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!

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!!!

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.

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.

Spring of 2015

          After waiting over two hours to see an advisor today, the verdict is in. I will be graduating from UCF in the Spring of 2015. It stinks that it's a whole year away, but I think it's for the best. Especially, considering how poor I've been feeling. I find myself sleeping as much as I did on spring break. Except, I'm not on break, so the UCF world keeps spinning at full speed without me. I'm registered for two classes this summer and three classes this fall. I have to wait to register for my last class in the spring of 2015 until I fill out an intent to graduate form this November. 

          I think dead people in a grave have more energy than I have right now. Seriously, why am I so freaking exhausted? I'm taking my pills! I'm taking my medicine. My bowels have been treating me relatively well. I've been getting light headed and out breath by doing routine tasks. Taking a shower should not leave my heart racing and me gasping for air. I'm always sick to some degree, but am I really sick? My body needs to get with the program because I've got stuff I need to do. I don't want to go to work. I don't want to go to school. I don't want to go to the Dermatologist tomorrow. I don't want to spend time with friends and family. Although I'm glad Taylor has planned a nap into our day on Saturday. I don't even want to run anymore.  Yet, I continue to sleepwalk through my responsibilities. I get disappointed every time I wake up. No matter how much sleep I get it just doesn't seem like enough. What's wrong with me? The iron supplements were supposed to start helping.

When to Graduate, or Not to Graduate...

          I thought I had convinced myself to work hard in order to graduate in December. However, after struggling to keep afloat while taking three classes this semester, I'm thinking of not graduating until May 2015. Maybe I wouldn't be having as much trouble keeping up with school if I felt better for most of the semester, but I'm still waiting for that better feeling. I hate excuses. I hate reality. I would love to sprint towards graduation in December and jump start the next chapter of my life. Sometimes I feel ready for it and sometimes I don't. Where will I find the energy to write my next chapter? For now, I'm going to focus on the positives of graduating in May because I think it would be rejuvenating to take my time to graduate and save the sprint for my next chapter.

          As long as I pass my three classes this semester I'll only need to take six classes in order to graduate. I've registered for two classes in the summer. One in term A and one in term B, which are six weeks each. Both are senior level classes that have horrible ratings for the professors, so they will be anything but easy.  I've also registered for three classes in the Fall. That leaves only one class left, which I have to take in my graduating semester and I have to go in to have an advisor register for me. Hopefully, I'll get around to see an advisor next week. When I do, I'll see about taking the class in the fall to bring my load up to four classes (I can't even fathom taking four classes right now) and I'll see about taking it in the Spring. My trip to the advisor will decide when I'll be graduating. Now, I'm leaning towards May.

          Regardless of when I end up graduating, it's exciting to think about actually earning my undergraduate in finance. It's always seemed like an unattainable dream that I thought about giving up on more than I'd care to admit. This is a big deal to me. No matter how cool I act about it, I'm freaking out on the inside. Now, when I think of quitting, I tell myself that I've come too far to throw it away. Plus, I'm actually kind of good at this whole school thing even if I screw up a few times. The fact that I hate it most of the time doesn't seem to correlate to my progress. I've been thinking of how I want to celebrate. Who'd I'd invite to my graduation party. It likely won't be a party suited for grandma. I can't wait to be a U.C.F. alumni!