A&T Graduation & Reunion Weekend 2019

As an usher at the coliseum, I've had the pleasure of working/attending the past ten A&T graduations.  I must say that the May 2019 graduation was by far the best.  I witnessed a young lady praise in a way that I've never seen a graduate do before.  You typically see people do a mini shout or dance for a few seconds, but this young lady really felt her praise, and I could feel it also.  She had me crying.

Here's the video...

And here's the clip from her news story...
https://myfox8.com/2019/05/17/nc-at-students-dance-of-praise-during-graduation-ceremony-goes-viral/

I knew that December of this year would celebrate my 15th year as an A&T alumna.  I had seen the emails (although I must've barely looked at them), but I didn't realize the true details of what the reunion weekend meant.   I did volunteer for the photo shoot, however, I thought it was only for the silver and gold Aggies.  Little did I know, was that the reunion weekend was for everyone who had been out of school in increments of 5 years.  In this case, for classes graduating in years ending in xxx4 and xxx9. 

I was able to actually take a class picture with the grads of 2004.  I guess others weren't aware either, and there was only 3 of us (I didn't know the other two gentlemen).

I got to see so many other people that I knew, and I had a great time.  Here's a pic with me and the other volunteers.

I look forward to actually fully participating in 5 years for my 20th reunion.

AGGIE PRIDE!!!

Grads & Grandmas (5.3-5.19.19)

May has been a month of celebrating college graduates, and of course celebrating moms/grandmas/aunts/etc.

I already did a separate post on my Lexi graduating from ECU, but I was also able to celebrate a few other college grads.  One person wishes to remain nameless on a blog, but you know who you are (if you even read this; LOL).  I was also able to celebrate Jaya's Master's graduation from Wake Forest.  I got pictures with her mom, but didn't get pics with her.  Oh well, still proud of you Jaya!

Jaya looks almost exactly like her mom, in the middle.  So just picture Kyna with long hair.  Looking forward to our Colorado shenanigans later this year.

For Mother's Day, we journeyed to Martinsville to attend church with my mom.  Afterwards, I treated everyone to Captain Tom's.  It was my first time eating there, and probably my last.

Aunt LuLu, Dee, Ma, Maya, & Me (that dress makes me look huge!!!)  The waitress photographer should've said something.  Oh well.

Lexi Did It!!! (5.3-5.4.19)

So proud of Lexi!  She graduated from ECU with her biology degree.  She's so grown up.  And no matter how hard I try, I just can't make her eat mandarin oranges any more. 😆😆

Cam & Maya

I LOVE Her!!! (5.1.19)

I've never been the hugest concert going person.  And after working part-time at the coliseum for almost 5 years, I've rarely had to pay to enjoy them.  There's always been one person that I've committed to going to see no matter the price whenever she's near.  This one woman has captured my soul with her words, and she'd probably one of the few celebrities that I'll cry over when she transitions.  She is none other than India Arie. 

And there was no better person to enjoy the show with than my fris (friend-sister), Schmanne.  We enjoyed convo over dinner at Dame's, then headed over for the show.

She is an amazing performer, and I can't wait to see her again.

Nashville Nuggets (4.25-4.28.19)

For whatever reason, Nashville has been a city on my list of places to visit.  So me and the girls packed up to head there for spring break.  The farthest I had driven in TN was to the Pigeon Forge are, so the additional 3 hours seemed a little daunting.  Fortunately, it was a pleasant and beautiful ride.  The mountain scenery just speaks to me now.

I drove with Maya in tow on a cool Thursday.  We stayed at a guest suite that my employer manages, Tapestry at Brentwood.  In my Tiffany Haddish voice, "it was NIIIICE!!!"  I didn't get pics of everything, but I loved it. 

We spent the evening shopping at nearby stores, and had dinner.  It was pouring down raining, so we couldn't do much outdoor activity.

On Friday, we rested and relaxed for most of the morning.  We finally ventured out to the outlets, Roots Beauty Supply, and the Cumberland Pedestrian Bridge park area.  I attempted to take Maya on a tour of Tennessee State University (Oprah's Alma mater), but she was highly uninterested.

We were about to be overtaken by some prom goers and their photo shoot.

We finally went back to the apartment to rest up, then we headed to the airport around 11:30pm to pick Dee up from her flight.

Saturday morning, we headed back to the Cumberland park area for hiking and bike riding.

Dee has a little bit of 'country girl' in her to be able to do this.  Maya on the other hand, wasn't having it at all.

After bike riding and being sweaty and funky, we went back to the outlets since it was just one exit up for Dee to get a chance to shop a little.  We had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, which I think is super cool.  Maya & I ate at the one in Vegas, so it was Dee's turn.

After showering and napping, we headed to the downtown area.  Unbeknownst to me at the time I planned the trip, it was NFL draft weekend.  The area was packed.  It reminded me of a country version of GHOE. 

After only a an hour or so, we realized that downtown Nashville just wasn't the place for us, so we headed back to recover from day.

Sunday morning, we got breakfast and headed back to Greensboro.

Overall, we had a good time.  I will say that the Nashville trip taught me a few things about myself.  I have all these cities on my "Dream List" to visit, but why?  I knew going into this trip that Nashville didn't seem to have a lot of things to do that interested me.  So going forward, I will put more scrutiny into the places that I visit.  I'll need an exhaustive list of things to choose from and/or will need to know someone in the city.  I'm glad that I was able to cross Nashville off the list, but I can definitely say that it isn't a place that I'll need to visit again.