After four years of writing essays and spending long nights in the campus libraries, my degree is officially just one tassel turn away. I’m proud to say that I’m graduating from UCLA with my Bachelor’s degree in English, with a minor in Creative Writing. When I reflect on my journey to the graduation stage, a lyric from Taylor Swift’s “You’re On Your Own, Kid” comes to mind that describes it better than I ever could: “I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this.”
My time in college took a lot of hard work and self-trust, especially during times that I had doubts about the path I was on. I spent two years in community college, going the extra mile on every assignment and exam to strengthen my chances of transferring to a top university. My hard work paid off when I was admitted into UCLA, my dream school, but I still had a long two years ahead. There were times I felt too burnt out to keep going. There were also times I felt lost about my career aspirations, and I wondered if I was falling behind my peers who seemed to have their post-grad futures more figured out.
But now that my cap and gown are hanging from the back of my bedroom door, ready to be worn, I can feel all of that turbulence fading into the background. Sure, college was a lot of stressful nights studying and doubting myself. But it was also winning a creative writing award from the English department and finishing my major capstone project. It was writing for Her Campus at UCLA and realizing I wanted to be a journalist. It was making new friends, trying new things, and getting the writing degree I’ve wanted since I was a little kid.
Now, it’s graduation day, and I don’t feel sad about leaving college behind or scared for what’s coming next. I’ve proven to myself these past four years just how resilient I can be, and I’m so excited to finally get my degree.
So, spend the day with me as I go from college student to UCLA graduate.
8:30 A.M.: Wake Up
After ignoring the alarm I optimistically set for 7:00 a.m. the night before, I finally woke up at 8:30. I was surprisingly so nervous for the grad ceremony that I couldn’t sleep, so that extra hour was much needed. Once awake, I lingered in bed for a while, googling Taylor Swift lyrics to use as Instagram captions for the grad photos I wanted to post.
9:00 A.M.: Matcha & Breakfast
My favorite part of every morning is making my own matcha latte, and today was no exception. Today’s delicious combo? Matcha, oat milk, and raspberry syrup over ice! My mom also made eggs and fried rice for breakfast, aka every Filipino’s favorite breakfast meal.
9:30 A.M.: ‘Gilmore Girls’ & Get Ready
Getting ready in the morning is my favorite form of self-care. Doing my hair and makeup is fun and relaxing, and it gives me time alone to charge up my very introverted social battery before a big event. I always get ready with music or a show playing, and today, I decided to watch both of Rory Gilmore’s graduation episodes from Gilmore Girls. It’s my favorite show ever, and revisiting these episodes felt like a full-circle moment because I owe much of my teenage self’s confidence in pursuing an English degree to Rory. I’ve seen the show so many times that I quoted most of Rory’s valedictorian speech along with her while I did my eyeshadow.
12:00 P.M.: Family Arrives
At noon, my family, who flew in from San Francisco and Seattle for my graduation, arrived at my apartment. With them there, our cousin girl group (we honestly feel more like sisters) was complete. We love traveling together and meeting up at family events as much as possible, but the fact that they all showed up for me today felt extra special.
2:30 P.M.: Arrive at Graduation
After a long and chaotic drive through LA traffic, my family and I arrived on campus for the commencement ceremony. I stood in line with my fellow graduates outside of Pauley Pavilion, UCLA’s basketball arena, where the ceremony was being held.
3:30 P.M.: Ceremony Time
We graduates filed into Pauley Pavilion as a group for a formal processional. The arena was packed: Graduates filled the floor and first level of the arena while friends and family crowded the upper levels. The energy in the room was electric, with everyone beyond thrilled to finally graduate. It all felt surreal to me. This was the moment I had worked and waited years for, and now that it was here, I couldn’t believe it was happening. It almost felt like I was watching a movie (or maybe an episode of Gilmore Girls?). As the ceremony started, the JumboTron panned around the arena, showing live reactions of the graduates who smiled, screamed, and posed when they realized they were on camera.
4:00 P.M.: Guest Speaker Sara Bareilles
After faculty and student speeches, it was time for our alumni guest speaker. Our guest speaker was announced weeks ago, but I decided not to read the announcement and so I could be surprised on the day of. I was so pleased when Sara Bareilles stepped up to the mic and delivered a beautiful, touching, and hilarious speech about how life as a new grad is both scary and wonderful. It was a perfect graduation speech and was exactly what I needed to hear at the moment.
4:45 P.M.: Tassel Turning
UCLA’s College of Letters and Sciences commencement ceremonies are so big that they don’t call each graduate’s name as they walk the stage. (They save individual names for our smaller departmental ceremonies.) Instead, they list off academic departments and majors, and invite everyone from those divisions to stand and receive a group round of applause. I stood when they announced the division of humanities and the English major, and felt so important and recognized in that moment, even though I was just one person in a ceremony of thousands. After the department and major announcements, we all stood together to turn our tassels from right to left, signifying our official graduation from UCLA.
5:00 P.M.: Reunite with Family
After the ceremony, I found my family in the crowd outside of Pauley, waving giant cardboard cutouts they had made of me. (I was equally flattered and embarrassed.) They presented me with tons of flowers and leis, and we shared many hugs before making our way back to the cars to head off to dinner.
7:30 P.M.: Celebration Dinner
The night ended at a sushi restaurant, where we met up with even more family. Quality time with my favorite people, especially the ones who supported me through college and every other phase of my life, was the best way to end the night — especially over hot green tea and tempura rolls.