Graduation

Joslyn:

Master Devin completed his masters degree and defended his thesis in December in Nuclear Engineering. He spent much of the past few years in this building conducting his research and going to classes. It's not much to look at (although Devin is :)), but this building was his second home the past few years. I'm so proud of him and his hard work ethic to be working with some of the most brilliant minds in his field.

Devin:

I'm not really a sentimental person but, this graduation represented to so much for me. As of last Monday, I wasn't planning on walking or anything. The Masters isn't my end goal and I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. By Wednesday, I had my cap, gown and hood purchased. I just felt that I needed to do this. Thursday, the details of my transfer to the U of U are finalized and we decide to take the chance. Saturday, I'm walking and feel so much closure and peace about our life in NC and our decision to move to Utah. In some sense, it was like a graduation from North Carolina. We have learned and grown so much out here. Not only have I been in a master's program, but so has my whole family. 

This also represented to me 7 years of my life. I went straight from BYU to NC State in a matter of weeks after the fall semester in 2010. So, I wasn't around in the spring to walk for my Bachelors. I finally let the full feeling of accomplishment soak in. I'm not gonna lie; it felt good. It felt even better seeing Joslyn's and the girls' beaming faces in the crowd and afterwards. Oddly enough, both Cambry and Vienna seemed to grasp the importance of the occasion. Being in that cap and gown and hugging my loved ones felt so good.

Lastly, graduation represented days, months and years that Joslyn spent at home changing exploded diaper, listening to choirs of screaming children and waking up in the middle of the night to soothe a crying babe. It represented living in tiny apartments that are in sketchy parts of town where the police are frequently visiting and sometimes pounding on your neighbors door at 3 am, where neighbors are having dance parties late into the night. This represents sometimes only eating spaghetti for dinner and before getting married, sometimes nothing at all just to make ends meet. This represents all things, trips and time that was sacrificed. And you know what? It was worth it.