2 Graduation

By ~HeXin~

2

Graduation

Posted in

First of the long list of plastered smiles

With Family

And Daniel

Ceremony starts at 11 in the morning, and as I need to queue up for an extra ticket into the graduation (Butterworth) hall for my gran, I was up and about in my dress very early in the morning.

Turned out I was not the earliest to queue for the extra tickets. Quite a number of students, especially international students like me, were so desperate for the extra tickets that they arrived an hour before to ensure that they get spots for their families. Immediately after, I rushed over to another booth to put on my graduation hood and the mortar board. Now this was the tricky part, and I spent the next hour in the toilet with other girls trying to figure out how to pin down the hood without making the shirt that we pinned it on slide upwards by the drag of the unexpectedly heavy hood. Yes, sometimes graduates can still be dumbass at these sort of things. Only after we had decided to pin the hood to the shirt, and then the shirt to our trousers that some realised they couldn't go to the toilet without removing everything anymore. Opps, no visits to the loos!

The ceremony itself was, to say the least, brief. Started with a sweetening speech by the chancellor, the graduates were invited on stage to receive our degree certificates, with some special awards given out in between. Peter Corvi won the lecturer award, which was not much of a surprise as he is probably the only lecturer teaching our business school with an appreciation/fan page on facebook. Oh yes, I am a huge fan as well. The party moved to the piazza afterwards for a class photo session, and with the hundreds of WBS grads, it took quite a few shots before we were let go by the photographer. A buffet lunch was served, and it was surprisingly fantastic, given the horrid reputation of business school with freebies/ luncheons.

Everything followed was a blur. Photos everywhere with everyone you could grab, and then the goodbye hugs and the constant worry about our parents going missing on campus. And all of a sudden, everything was over and you are left with a camera with a completely run down battery in one hand, and a very important piece of paper in the other.

Yay!!!

Farewell Warwick, the famous Russell Group university, and the notorious, money drying machine more commonly known as Warwick University Ltd.

1 Results

By ~HeXin~

1

Results

Posted in

Results came out today, while I was in Pisa, Italy with Daniel.

The trip was pretty crazy. Met some nice people, some rude and moody ones, got 'robbed' off our change, saw one of the 7 wonders of the world, and survived the very very hot weather in Italy without air cond.

Then on the last day, we got nervous waiting for our results. Not sure why, but the results was scheduled to be published at 3pm. Odd timing. We were still in Pisa, and because I didn't want the horrible wait by the phone to hear the news, I did not ask any of my friends to look up the results for me.

Oh well, at least I got to enjoy my last bit of the holiday.

Turns out I didn't have to worry about my results. Or Daniel's borderline-employment-at-risk grades. We got a lift from Dan's dad from the airport, and headed straight to the university house where they posted up the results for students to view. That's the first time I got my results in this traditional way- Look it up on the board.

And yep! I got my 1st class honours! Yiipeee.... Omg, such a bloodshed for that. Still haven't got over the fact that I did so well in my 3rd year. And as for Dan, he got his 2.1 so... our job is secured =) (provided I get my work permit and now THAT, is a huge problem for me) Anyhow, fantastic full stop for my student life.

0 Leavers 2010

By ~HeXin~

0

Leavers 2010

Posted in

Everything is going in slow motion... The mad exam revision rush, the congregation arrangements (hey, where are you 'putting' your parents for graduation? Why are we referring to our parents like they are objects?!), the first proper house-hunting (to rent or to buy) for the coming year (now we pay income tax, council tax, NIC etc), the last minute Europe touring before some leaves UK for good... and before you know it, it's time to leave the place we now call home.

I still remember what the term 'home' means in our first year. No matter how much inconvenience it caused, we never fail to distinguish the place we STAY (ie: our current accommodation) and what we used to call HOME (the 6000 miles away paradise). Gradually, the distinction became less important, as the line blurred even in our own mind, and by the time we realised the perception changes we went through, we already started referring to what we used to think of as the temporarily place we stay, as HOME. And what of the 6000 miles away paradise? That is Home-home. Real home. Perhaps its the feeling of being united with the little family we gathered for ourselves away from our real ones. Whatever it is, this place bears a lot more meaning to us than it did when we first stepped onto the Warwick grounds.

It's a natural process in life. You go to a new place, you meet new people, and then after the common goals are accomplished, you leave. That is the way. What's saddening is perhaps the fact that most of the people you laugh, cry, struggle, sing, dance with, your path will never cross ever again in the future. We will now scatter all over Earth like tiny peasants. What's depressing is you are leaving the life of being a student you know so well, that you have perfected, stepping into a completely new world, and that there is no turning back from now, whether you like it or not. What's exciting is- it is a race of life from now. We came to university for different reasons, some to get a job in the highly competitive job market, some for an international experience, most to gain skills in preparation of taking over family empires, and a handful just for the sake of getting a degree. Whatever it was, we shared a common challenge, albeit a colourful one. Now, the clock starts ticking, and you have a limited time to get out of this maze of life, whichever direction you choose to, at the pace you desire.

It didn't matter who you were, we were all students; it didn't matter how rich your family was, we all shared the same chasing after the 12 or unibus experience. But now, armed with various degree of knowledge/qualification, depending on how you did over the last 3 years, we are now all thrown back out of 'The Bubble'- the term Warwick is well known for. This is a dedication to all my fellow leavers of 2010. Looking back at the photos over the last 3 years, it is visible how much we have grown. Together. It is now time. Time to pack up and run. Now, let's run, babies, run.