Another Day, Another Destiny

I graduated yesterday! I am officially a Master! You may now call me Master, thank you very much (though I'll still respond to Ms. or even Abigail). It's so odd, being a graduate of William and Mary twice over. Two years ago as I received my B.A., and I knew I was going to start the M.A. program, what happened yesterday seemed so far away. To think, I didn't even know who David Douglass was then! I certainly hadn't heard of the Hallams, the London Company of Comedians, or the American Company! Theater in Jamaica and the colonies? Who would've thought!? I've come so far. And I had never heard of the PhD program at UW that I'm going to be starting in the fall. Two years ago Seattle wasn't even on the radar of possible places I might one day live. Life does take strange turns.

And now, I'm done with Williamsburg. The house is cleaned, my clothes are packed. I bought non-perishables from Trader Joe's to take with me, since there isn't a Trader Joe's anywhere near where I'll be living this summer. Hopefully Zan will be kind enough to re-stock my Jaipur Vegetable supplies when he visits. I almost cried today, packing. I probably will cry when the time comes for me to actually leave. I'm so nostalgic, all the time. Five years of memories in this house, six plus years of memories in Williamsburg. For goodness sake, I played with a hoop and stick on Duke of Gloucester Street when I was but a wee lass of eight!

(Me and Thomas Jefferson; yeah, we're cool)

I know I'll be back here. I'll visit during this summer, live here for another week or two in August, perhaps. I'll come back for Christmas break, maybe spring break. I might need to do research here for my dissertation (though, who knows what time will bring).

But this is it, really. The end of an era. For six years I've been a student here, and now... I'm not. Tomorrow I begin my new life, first as a dramaturgy intern, then as a PhD student in a brand new big city on the West Coast. It's scary and stressful, but I'm excited. As Zan said last night, we may not know what will happen but he thinks it will be great. We're starting out on the rest of our lives now. Here I am, on the road to new experiences. Out there live new friends waiting to be made, and a million adventures just waiting to happen!

(Me and Zan, off to start our lives in the Great World!)

(Also, today was my grandpa's memorial service, but being in New Mexico, half a country away, the day after graduation and the day before I move, I couldn't attend. But he has been in my thoughts and prayers all day. Last time I saw Dzadek he told me I should drop everything in life and run off and join an acting troupe and be a vagabond. My friend Mike pointed out that by moving to Staunton to work for the ASC I'm actually doing exactly what my dzadek wanted. It's a nice thought-- the day of his memorial I packed up all of my things to run off and join an acting troupe, just as he would have wanted.)