After 4 years of the greatest memories of my life. It has finally ended.  I was reading this article recently about the 5 must-have experiences before you graduate from college… and it’s not just about all the parties.

• Take a class you’re interested in, not because you need it to graduate: 

I was really intrigued by religion when I first entered college.  Probably because I played the Xenosaga series… I took 2 religious studies classes, then I realized that religion is just a way to help guide your life in the right direction.  I loved learning about the stories.  Then I started loving European culture, so I took 2 European lituature class, one generic one and one in French Fantastic works, and a Italian Cinema class.  I also audited a French class for 1 week… I still can’t speak French

• Travel

• Be a part of something greater than yourself

This is all I did in college… in my free time.  I was involved in many student organizations, something I never did in the past.  It was definitely a different part of me that came out.  Met the greatest friends that I ever had in my lifetime, and made so many friends that I would never thought I could.  I used to be a shy, passive person before college, but being involved in these student organizations had created me leader and a more confident person, and I’m grateful for that

• Make friends outside your circle

From all the student organizations I had been involved in, I had made so many different types of friends.  I no longer had a circle.

• Experience at least 1 meaningful relationship

Let’s just say I’m currently walking down roads that I never thought existed.

Anyways… Graduation came and went.  I always thought it was some spectacular life-changing event that I’ll didn’t think I’ll get to any time soon.  But I was wrong, it was the events leading up to it that was life changing… and I made it.  Those times and memories were there happiest moments of my life which I treasure every day of my life.  It was all the people I met that created my memories, and I’m happy to have met you.  If I were to do it again… I wouldn’t (an electrical engineering degree isn’t exactly a nice walk in the park), but I wouldn’t change anything that happened.  It’s my story to tell, Act V: The College Saga. 

So here’s how graduation went:
My last final ended on Thursday June 9th, 2011, I had to turn in a take home final at 5pm.  4 of my electrical engineering classmates and I went to Dargans (an Irish pub in Santa Barbara) to celebrate.  The last time I was at Dargans was on my 21st birthday… and boy that was back in November!  They were playing some live Irish music, and after dinner me and one of the EE girls eating with us wanted to go bar hopping downtown, while the rest of the EE boys went home.  Kinda funny cuz we were dancing at Sharkies, and ran into the rest of all the senior engineering students partying it up there.  I practically knew everyone at that pub.  I had good time that night.

Next day was senior send off.  They gave out awards, served food… etc. I wasn’t very happy with the senior gift this year… it was just a robot 2GB flash drive.  Don’t worry I requested a engineering license frame to put on my car from the undergrad dean, and I’m gonna put it on my new car when I buy it.  But here’s the entire engineering graduating class of 2011:

I went out to another Senior event… where they served free wine…then I went out to dinner with the SACNAS officer board. haha, lets just say my day was interesting….

The next day Saturday June 11, 2011, graduation.  My family members came to throw a BBQ for me!  But it was complete hell, since I was running back and forth, losing my cap, not eating alot, looking for my photographer…etc. But anyways… I got to sit up on stage!

I tried out for the commencement speaker position but I didn’t get it, so the undergrad dean gave me a constellation prize for announcing the senior class gift (which was just an announcement to donate to UCSB).  It was fun.  I’ll post the video on the blog when I can, but I can post the video from my practice session (which wasn’t that great… I’m not sure how the real one turned out…):

Well here’s a graduation photo to end this chapter in my life… as a new beginning of a chapter continues on as Act VI: Dreams and Reality Collides