So I can't believe it but my Junior year is over, and I am officially a senior now. It is so crazy to me how quickly it all goes by. I have loved every minute of it and it is now just starting to feel that much more real that in just one year from now I will be graduating and then off to wherever my life takes me ( hopefully to a great graduate school!!).
So since finals ended, which went pretty well I might add, I have just been spending time with my friends and enjoying New Orleans! For the seniors graduating from my sorority we had a crawfish boil at the Levy. The Levy (called the Fly by real locals) is the closest to a beach you are going to get in New Orleans, and Tulane students love it. It is basically a grassy area next to the Mississippi River where students go to hang out and have fun. It is a short walk from campus right on the other side of Audubon park, behind the zoo! The Crawfish boil was tons of fun and it was a great way to honor our seniors.
To celebrate the end of the year a big group of my friends and I also went tubing! Basically we got a bus to take 40 of us about 2 hours north of New Orleans to this river where a company called Wayne's World rents out tubes and dropps you off upstream and you just hang out and let the river take you back down. It is tons of fun and a great way to get a tan! They also have tubes specially made for coolers so people can bring drinks and lunch since you are on the river for almost 4 hours! An all day event that definetly left me pooped but it was so much fun.
We also have had alot of birthday's to celebrate in my house! All 3 of my roomates and I are May babies! Mandy turned 22 on May 4th, Alison turned 21 on May 12th, Joan's Birthday is today the 17th and Mine is in 10 days on the 27th! So before everyone left for the summer, we have had 4 birthday cakes and birthday dinners for our housemates. Everyone got a specialized cake for their tastes. Mine was funfetti vanilla with vanilla frosting because I don't like chocolate! I KNOW, EVERYONE SAYS ITS WEIRD!!! Here is a picture of my roomate Alison on her birthday!
Yesterday was graduation and it was open to the public so a few of my friends that were still in town went to go see our friends graduate. ELLEN DEGENERES WAS THE GUEST SPEAKER! She was AMAZING. SOOO funny! I was laughing the entire time. The other speakers were amazing as well. The seniors that graduated are what we call the "Katrina Class" since they were the freshman that moved in on August 27th 2005, and were evacuated August 27th 2005 for Hurricane Katrina. All the amazing words that every speaker as well as President Cowen had to say about the graduates and what their coming back to New Orleans has meant to the University as well as the city of New Orleans. The whole ceremony made me cry becaus it made realize how lucky I am to be a student at a University in such special city. The fact that their was a jazz band playing throughout the procession, and that they had a local singer come out and sing a song called "I know what It means to miss New Orleans". Never have I ever been to a graduation ceremony that was so personal for the graduates and the people in the audience who love Tulane and New Orleans.
It wasn't just about what the students have learned from going to an amazing University and about wishing them good luck in the their future, it was about what they have learned through Tulane, New Orleans, Katrina and all of the public service work they have done in the city. When you graduate from Tulane and you go on to a job, or higher school or just back home you aren't just leaving your college behind, you are leaving behind the most amazing city and people and culture in the entire world behind, and that is something that I think you can't get anywhere else.Ok, I am off to start packing for home and Brazil! I will do a blog update from Brazil ASAP!
Have a great summer!
Kelly
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