Updates Part 1-The Degree

After a long 5 years, relaxing at Camps Bay Beach before the 

Goldfish Submerged Summer concert

Wow, its been a whole month since I've blogged! Naughty me! Firstly, I cant believe I used the phrase 'motion in the ocean'. Secondly, there is just SO much to blog about, I just don't know where to start! Should I dedicate this post to the mad fiasco it was getting my license and buying a car the same week I had to pack up and move to Steelpoort, Mpumalanga (a rural village in the middle of nowhere!). Or should I instead tell you about the trip itself, complete with all the tears that ensued? Or maybe I should talk about why, one week late, I am in Johannesburg looking for apartments?

Okay, lets start right at the beginning: my graduation...

Rhea Gets a Degree

So I managed to get my crazy family together in Cape Town once again for my graduation ceremony. For once, things ran pretty smoothly! I had a beautiful dress, but even with the killer heels, I didn't make it to Prince Charming's shoulders! Not many of the (very few) girls wore full-length gowns, but I loved my dress. I even got my hair and make-up done. It really was my night in the spotlight and it was simply fabulous.  The gown and hood were a little ridiculous, but I really enjoyed wearing them. We all were seated in neat rows, the nervous excitement in the room was so thick you could taste it. We were all just making jokes about our lecturers on stage in front of us and trying to not laugh.  

I'm an Engineer! A real life Engineer!

When my name was called, all I could think about was not falling flat on my face on stage. I had the perfect combo for falling: long dress, high stiletto platforms, baggy gown, stairs, cameras, tons of people, the Vice-Chancellor...A real recipe for a classic 'Rhea-Disaster'.  Come to think of it, that might actually have probably been the most fitting end to this degree, knowing me...But thankfully I didn't. I tried to walk super slowly, holding my head up really high and just be graceful (a virtue I wasn't blessed with). But of course, I ended up walking too slowly and causing the guy behind me more nervous twitching than necessary.

When we all had our degrees in hand, the VC asked us all to stand and wave them at our parents and families for the sacrifices they'd made to get us to that point. Then we had to do the same for our lecturers (it got a bit lame after awhile I admit)...The guy next to me pretended his cylinder was a bazooka and 'shot it' at our least favourite lecturer (He Who Shall Not be Named)...and then it was all over.

That night, I dragged my sleepy Prince out for one last night out with a few friends on Long Street. We drank and talked long into the night, reminiscing about our classes, lecturers, assignments that almost killed us and generally good old stories from the past 4 (and in some cases 5) years. It felt surreal, it still does a little. We were engineers and could one day hope to be called 'professionals'. As one of my mentors said, "We haven't yet broken into the circle, but we had earned the right to stand on the edge and look in".

So was 5 years of blood, sweat and tears worth that right? I say definitely!