It has been a few days since I graduated from Wake Forest, and I finally had time today to sit down and reflect on the weekend’s festivities. I cannot thank all of my family members enough who came from San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta and Charlotte to celebrate with me. You all made this weekend so special and one that I will never forget.

Here are some of my favorite memories from the weekend:

Saturday:

My aunt and grandmother from Atlanta, and my aunt and grandfather from Boston flew in on Saturday. We went to a small reception at the golf complex hosted by my two coaches. It was so great to see them again before graduation and be able to thank them for everything that they did for me during my time at Wake. Read my post here about my time on the Wake Forest Golf Team. 

Later that night, we went to a beautiful home that my roommate Quinn and her family rented near campus for dinner. There were about 30 of us there for Carolina BBQ, great wine, champagne and of course, dancing. One thing that I love about my friend's family is that at the end of the night, you can always count on jumping up and dancing around the room to the classics. 

Sunday:

I have to say that this was hands down my favorite day of the weekend. We woke up Sunday morning and went to the graduation Baccalaureate service where Dr. Barns from Princeton gave a wonderful address to the graduating class about how our constant search for perfection is not realistic and is something that God never intended us to have. 

Later that afternoon, 15 of my family members gathered at my home for a champagne toast before we went to Forsyth Country Club for Graduation dinner. I loved showing all of my family the house that I have been living in for the past year and having them sign my huge chalkboard wall in my kitchen.

The dinner at Forsyth was truly incredible. We started out with having cocktails on the back porch of the club, and then moved inside for a long and delicious dinner. Each person made a toast or shared their favorite memory with me throughout my life so far, and there was not one dry eye at the table (well, maybe my 13 year old cousin, Ethan). 

As I looked around the table, I couldn't help but think about how lucky I am to have that many family members that I am so close with and who were all there to support me as I graduated from college.

After the dinner, we made our way to the Chi Omega Graduation Party at Graylyn, a beautiful plantation that has been turned into a hotel. We danced all night and truly loved every minute of our last night of college!

Monday:

Graduation Day was an absolute blur! I remember the moment when I was about to walk across the stage to receive my diploma holder and shake President Hatch's hand and I almost broke down. It was the moment when I realized that I was officially leaving this part of my life behind, and moving on. It was definitely bitter sweet. 

I want to say a huge Thank You to my dad and mom for everything that they have done to get me to this point in my life. They have sacrificed so much for me over the years including moving so that I could go to a better middle and high school. I can honestly say that without them, I could not have made it this far. 

GO DEACS!

XOXO,

Rachael Claire