graduation day

I cannot believe this day has come. My college graduation had always seemed so far away. In third grade, my teacher told the class that we would graduate from high school in 2009, and college in 2013. It seemed ages away back then, being only 8 years old in 1999. And now it's here. WOW!

Move-in day was in late August, on my 18th birthday. Little did I know that I would meet five of my best friends that day.

September 2009. We look like babies

A few weeks later, I tried out for the Gonzaga Dance Team. Four years on dance team was so much fun and I feel blessed to have gotten to know all of the girls throughout the years.

It hits me at random moments - when I look at the calendar and see what date it is and how close it is to graduation, when I write cover letters to employers saying "I will graduate this spring" and have to change it to "I will graduate next week," and packing up my room. My room! I've lived in the same apartment for two years and it definitely feels like my home. I'm not ready to leave my home or the amazing people here. At least I still get to hang out here till next week!

xo-ally

dance team end of the year party & more senior ball [tons of photos!]

Yesterday was quite the day for end-of-the-year celebrations! First, I was at a Student Publications lunch, then a dinner for the communication honor society, which I left early to go to the Dance Team end-of-the-year party! What a day. My feet were so worn out from being in my giant 5.5 inch heels all day that by the end of the night I had to switch to my backup flip flops. :) Here are some pics!

With Lindsey wearing our honor chords! I cannot believe how close graduation is...

Tiramasu, so good. It took me back to Italy! 

Pink lemonade :) 

Then it was time for the dance team party.....with a surprise party bus! HAHA it was great.

 We were driven to an "undisclosed location" which turned out to be a dinner in Coeur d'Alene!

Those of us 21+ had drinks with dinner ;) 

Then we went back to campus and got little gifts! Love the shiny wrapping.... 

We exchanged our final "secret sister" gifts and revealed who we had all semester, watched a lovely end of the year video (oh the memories), and did fun awards. I got the "Miss Congeniality" award (YAY) and then for my fun award I got "Most likely to...own a fitness empire." Haha :)

In the shiny wrapping was a neon crop top from American Apparel! So fun. We also got mismatching socks and a DVD of the video. For my "Miss Congeniality" award I got nail polish, a mini loofah, and the quote wall decoration. Lauren, who was revealed as my secret sister, gave me the makeup bag, pink wine opener, coasters, floral earrings, a notepad, nail polish, and candy. It honestly felt like a birthday! (In fact it actually happened to be one of the girl's 22nd birthday).

One of the girls' secret sister gifts was a Guess Who board game made specifically with our dance team faces! It was so creative and hilarious and thoughtful that I had to take a pic!  

 I only have a few photos with us actually in them for now (forgot my camera and only had my phone), still waiting on Facebook and Instagram for the rest of the cute photos!

That being said, here are some more senior ball photos either from my phone or from what I've collected from a bunch of different people this past week:

With our friend Will

and again 

With Ellie (why we chose to take a photo in the bathroom of all places...) but love our sparkly dresses! 

With Alexa outside 

You can only kind of see in the photo, but I was all scratched up from the sequins from my dress! Haha 

Lauren and Patrick

Someone said something funny that made Lauren put her hand on her face, wish we could remember what it was.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend and enjoying the end of the year for those of you still in school!

xo-ally

senior night

Our last men's basketball game in the kennel (the stadium on campus) was last night. Every year, the last game is called Senior Night, where the basketball seniors are honored. There are also mentions to the dance team, cheer team, and band. I can't believe it was my last traditional Gonzaga basketball game!

Since I was an unexpected mess of emotions - bittersweet feelings, lots of crying - I completely forgot that the team gives the seniors gifts on our last game!

I LOVE these flowers! I always see them at the grocery store but never buy them for myself. I know the colors are artificial, but I don't care! I love the color they add to the kitchen.

We all got photo boards with our names on them, too. I also got a sparkly photo frame and decorative A to hang up in my room! I LOVE these gifts. The A says "don't let anyone ever dull your sparkle." These gifts were so thoughtful! And very "me." :)

We had one last "circle up" before we went out to perform. (This is where the seniors cried, haha). A photographer captured this moment so well. It's the moments we share together as a team on and off the court that make dance team so special. I will dearly miss our pre-performance pep talks!

[photos]

What a fantastic four years. I still have NCAA (we perform and cheer for the women's tournament) and a few other non-basketball performances. So it's not quite over yet! (Thank goodness, I couldn't handle that.)

xo-ally

dancing

I am currently rehearsing a my first speech in my Advanced Public Speaking class for tomorrow morning. I am talking about dance and how it has significantly contributed to the person I have become throughout my life.

I love dance. I love performing. I love every dance team I've been on, especially the lovely Gonzaga Dance Team.

I'm bringing all four dance uniforms from Gonzaga Dance Team to class tomorrow as some of my visual aids. Seeing all four dresses laid out makes me feel so nostalgic. My four years are almost up. I have had so many great performances in those dresses. I can't believe that my time with dance team is almost over. :(

No matter what, even if it is just by teaching Zumba, I really hope to keep dance part of my life in years to come.

Okay, okay! I'm not letting myself get too sappy yet! There are still two more months left :)

xo-ally

last first day of school

Chose a pink notebook for this semester! Then realized I also have pink nail polish and a pink jacket on....though I have to say I'm not surprised with myself. I'm also right-handed, not left. I guess I was trying to be cool for the photo (ha)

Today just flew by, and now I'm finally getting time to sit down and blog! I had three of my six classes today - advanced public speaking, graphic design, and my public relations capstone class. Based on the first day, all three classes are great. We have 45 students in capstone (a large class for our small Jesuit school). We're all PR majors and everyone is super chatty and awesome. I love it. Graphic design will be fun too because we get to work with InDesign and Illustrator. (Speaking of - my Photoshop is BACK! Finally.)

Tomorrow I just have journalism and marketing, and then next week I'll get into my multimedia class. This is my first semester with no core classes. I am so beyond excited to be done with biology, and if you've been following my blog for a while, will be relieved I won't complain about it anymore! ;)

I just got back from our first dance team practice of the semester, too. It is so nice to be back. All the energy of seeing everyone, the exercise (those endorphins!), and dancing just made me so happy! I also just became the Foursquare mayor of the gym on campus too. I got pretty embarrassingly stoked about that. Tonight, just like any other night after practice, I have a ton of energy. YAY.

I'm just trying not to think about how this is my last first day of school. Ever. I'm not planning on additional school, so....this is it. It is exciting and terrifying and sad and bittersweet. Any other college (or high school) seniors in the same boat as me right now?

xo-ally

pun-kin patch with dance team

Outfit: Jacket H&M Shorts Nasty Gal Boots Ralph Lauren/DSW Tank Nordstrom Bag (kind of hidden behind me!) Tory Burch (old)

xo-ally

camano island, washington

Cardigan: Madewell Headband: Lacoste Tank: Forever 21 Shorts: Rock & Republic (old) similar pair Flip flops: Havianas Sunglasses: Chanel

Dance Team retreat at Camano Island

We turned off our phones for the whole weekend

Already loving this year's team

Haha haha haha

My Dance Team initiation sashes throughout the years (and my bday one!)

xo-ally