Des talons hauts

Yesterday, i put on my heels at 7 am. It was 10pm when i took them off.

It was the commencement day. This time i didn't have to don my regalia, neither did i hood the students or walk the line in cap and gown, but in a way it was more mine than when i walked as a student or a faculty.

It was a day full of walking on heels, sans insignes, in tow with the crowd and the cool breeze. A multitude of ceremonies, speeches and receptions, leis and bouquets, parents and grandparents. Two squishy babies happily drooling on their dads' shoulders, campus police patrolling on futuristic two-wheelers, one lone girl immersed in her story book forgetting the surroundings.

I always look forward to the commencement address. Often i find something in there to carry with me. Yesterday was no expectation. In addition, it was rather amusing. Who woulda thunk? The actor politician can actually speak and hold my attention for an hour. Hmm! He offered six rules of success to the graduates, illustrating each one with his life's experiences. Trust yourself, break rules, ignore naysayers, don't be afraid to fail, work like hell and give back. Good job, Dr. S., :-P i think you summed it up rather well and i loved the fact you have a pretty decent sense of humor and not afraid to make fun of yourself. The accent of course was the cherry on top. Hehe.

I went to two satellite ceremonies, each followed by a reception. English and Film. It never ceases to amaze me how colleges can drastically mismatch in resources, within the same university. While the extremely well-endowed Film school held its ceremony at the prestigious S-auditorium, quoique sans le tapis rouge, but with great pomp nevertheless, Arts and Letters had it in a hangar on the field. Sigh.

All in all, it was a good day. One to hold onto. Even though my heels pinched me numb at times, i am glad that i did not take them off throughout this journey.

All twenty-two years of it.