In the sway of somber music.

Finally. The end., originally uploaded by reasonenoughtocelebrate.

Take me in my dreams recurring,
Cheerful as a childhood dance.
Into one more taste of freedom,
One more longing backward glance.
--AIDA

Arizona has always been my Nubia.
And today I graduated. Again.

Because my parents felt they helped pay for an out-of-state college and flew all the way out here for graduation -- I (like many of my friends) had to sit through two graduations. The one yesterday -- downtown -- and then the huge ceremony at McKale on campus.

The best part about this graduation though was that I got to sit next to my friends, since there wasn't assigned seating like Friday's ceremony. You just had to stay with your college, sit with your college and stand up with your college.

I sat next to Nicole, Amanda, Anthony and Anna... as well as Holly who was right next to me the entire time.

Which was fitting -- since she was my very first friend in Arizona.

I'll never forget the first day of class freshman year when I was wandering through Harvill, trying to find my first English 101 class. Harvill is a HORRIFICALLY confusing building for freshman because the halls and rooms are so messed up, with even numbered rooms on one side of the building and odd numbered rooms on the other.

I remember this girl and I running into each other as each of us asked the other if we both knew where a certain room was... we were both running late. Which is traumatic for a college freshman.

Surprisingly enough, we were both looking for the same room. We then found that class together, walked in its doors together, sat down together and hated that entire class together.

Then we enjoyed the next four years together, before we sat next to each other at our own college graduation.

Arizona has given me so much these past four years. I could go on and on about everything I felt on Saturday and everything that ran through my mind (I felt like I wanted to puke the entire time/I wondered if I really was ready to leave Arizona.)

But I know at the end of the day, its not what I'm going to want to remember.

What I'll want to remember -- what I'll always remember -- are the friends that I have made and loved here. And the friends that are breaking my heart as I have to say goodbye.

We were just freshman -- now, we're just unemployed.