Graduation Celebrations

Monday July 14^th I officially graduated from university. I gained a 2:1 in my degree and now hold a BSc (Hons) Medical Genetics.

Graduation is something I have been looking forward to since I knew I wanted to go to university. Neither of my parents went to uni and so it was a big thing for my family. Knowing the day has been and gone makes me realise just how quickly time can pass.

What I didn’t realise was just how busy graduation would end up being. My ceremony started at 10 o’clock and we were advised to turn up an hour and a half early to pick up our cap and gown. Waking up at 6 and getting myself sorted was a slightly painful experience before heading down to the university and meeting up with friends to get our clothing for the day.

No matter how many smiles are in those pictures let it be known that the cap and gown are actually very uncomfortable. I was surprised when my head started to hurt during the ceremony because of the weight of the mortarboard.

Regardless of how uncomfortable it felt it was pretty awesome to be dressed in a way that Harry Potter must be accustomed to. Falling to pieces from laughter with friends over just how ridiculous it all seemed made it worth it.


Official photographs done and alumni hoodie bought we made our way to the hall ready for the ceremony. Three separate languages, Welsh, English and Latin, a lot of clapping and shaking hands with the vice chancellor made up a two hour ceremony were there were a lot of cheers and tears. We doffed out caps for the alumni address and made our way outside so that we could celebrate being graduates.

The rest of the afternoon was a whirlwind of photographs for the local paper, my college and for friends and family. Tossing caps in the air is actually quite a dangerous but hilarious practice and we got some successful shots. The one thing I am glad about is how close the university is to the beach so we went down onto the sands to get in some pictures at the place where revision, barbeques and friendly games of football occurred.

I got home by two in the afternoon and got straight into pyjamas after having a hectic day. I was surprised by my sister presenting me with a bag full of gifts including crayons and a colouring book, face masks, photo frames and an assortment of other things. I know I am blessed to have a family like mine and would never swap them for anything in the world.

Later in the evening my whole family got together to break fast (as it was Ramadan) and we shared what must have been a ridiculous amount of food and ice cream cake. By the time I crawled into bed I was just grateful to have my head hit the pillow.

So graduation is done and dusted. My undergraduate university career is over and honestly I am a little scared about the future. Right now, I’m just taking each day as it comes.