Graduation day

So the day finally arrived. A year of meticulous preparation/planning, many applications, plenty of hard work and even a good dose of panic at times… after all that and more; I am pleased to say that I have successfully complete my MSc with the additional accolade of securing the position of the student with the highest marks within my medical year. It sounds sort of weird but I felt that everything in my life was linked to Aishi, which is true to a certain extent. I also felt that everything good that had happened was because she was with me. She was like my good luck charm and with her gone, I thought everything would come crashing down around my ears. It was a relief when that did not happen and in my mind I still feel that wherever Aishi is, she’s still looking down from above, praying and looking out for us (iA). So yes I am pleased that I was fortunate enough to reach such a level but someone who is doubly thrilled is my mother who has had a huge smile on her face (mA) since the day my marks were released. I’m pleased with my marks but I’m more pleased with fact that my mum is happy and that I am the reason for her happiness and she’s proud of me. Um, does that make sense? Lol.

On graduation day, my ceremony was a morning one, which normally would have been fine except this time, there were a number of reasons which would make it more difficult…

a) I had stayed up late last night making sure everything was ready i.e. everyone’s outfits ironed, tickets were printed etc, which is why I was a bit low on sleep. But not to worry though as the adrenaline soon kicked in!

b) Dad decided he was going to nip into work before heading over to the university, which meant that I would have to print off instructions for him. And because I was travelling in earlier I wouldn’t physically be in the car with him therefore I KNOW to except phone calls everything 15 to 20 minutes from dad informing me he was either lost or late.

c) The car journey from Yorkshire to Manchester with my mum and brother, at peak rush hour. I hate traffic plus Bilal took longer than I did getting ready (!) and because it was absolutely freezing, my car decided it would take longer to heat up. Grrr!

Despite all that, I still made it to Manchester University on time and went straight to the robing room with my mum and Bilal in tow. After making sure everything fit (my cap always feels really weird as I often think it’s about to fall off!), I took mum and Billy over to the Whitworth Hall, which was only a short walk across Oxford Road.

As you can see Whitworth Hall is a fantastic looking building

It was absolutely freezing today and as it was my graduation day I had decided that sense of style ranked higher than practical clothing. Therefore I had a smart but thin trouser suit on (which is why I was dangerously close to hypothermia!) and a lovely pair of court shoes that weren’t really made for running (or walking for that matter :P). But you know it was big day for me and I wanted to make an effort, plus once I had my gown on (thank god!) I didn’t feel as cold. Honest! Lol.

The entrance for the graduating students, where some ceremony took place before we were let in. Plus the inside of the hall is pretty spectacular too :)

After queuing up outside for what felt like an eternity, the graduating students (graduands?) were allowed into the main hall and directed to our seats. Flipping through the programmes that were on our seats, I noticed that that they were very few medics in this ceremony and soon realised we had been split into two separate batches as they were that many of us graduating. Also the ceremony that was due to start at 10.30am was delayed – a good thing for my family as it meant that my dad who was significantly late was still allowed to enter the hall. The ceremony went well (see me at [time] in this video link) and thankfully I didn’t trip up at any point – (it’s an insane fear of mine!). After the ceremony and exiting through different doors, I went to join my parents and was pleasantly surprised to find my supervisor and her post doc; Zareen, had also attended my graduation. I took a few photo’s with Maureen and Zareen and they had a little chat with my parents and cooed over what a cute boy Billy was. Ah, if only they knew him better, lol. I also met up with Chris (my fellow sidekick during my hospital placement :)), took a few pictures with Dad (who had to go to work soon after) and then I went to get some paperwork sorted whilst my family sat and chatted in Muse Cafe. I joined Bilal and mum afterwards. We took some more pictures outside and then we headed home as it was freezing!!!

Cafe Muse provided my parents with their much needed cup of tea :)

On our way home, Bilal decided he wanted to celebrate the occasion further by going out to eat, however mum didn’t feel right as Dad was at work and not able to make it. After a bit of discussion we ended up at Mumtaz and got table by the window. It was a lovely to be able to take my mum somewhere nice where she could sit and relax whilst someone else tended to her. We placed out orders and whilst waiting for the food to arrive, we saw the first few flakes of snow fall. Strangely the road outside the restaurant was rather quiet as opposed to the usual hustle and bustle we had become accustomed to in this part of town. Bilal started to panic about getting home as he felt that because my car wasn’t a huge 4X4, we would end up stranded on our way home. I tried explaining that this was highly unlikely but Billy wouldn’t have any of it and even wanted to cancel our food order. FYI, if Bilal ever rejects the opportunity to have food, you know something is seriously wrong. Mum thankfully calmed him down and they resumed their chitchat whilst I turned my attention back to the window.

From the welcome warmth of restaurant, I watched as the brilliant white flakes of snow fell against a perfect backdrop of the inky blue evening sky. I’m not an overly soppy person but it just was so beautiful. It was mesmerising watching the flecks of pure white float gracefully towards the ground. Slow at first but soon picking up the pace, the snowflakes were falling thick and fast, arranging themselves together to form a faultless white layer over everything in sight. The area surrounding the restaurant was definitely no countryside picture, but the deserted street coupled with the fresh snowfall and the dark navy sky managed to make the area outside the restaurant look picture perfect.

Our driveway being covered snow... and it's sticking! Yay!

The remainder of the evening was spent teasing Bilal, chatting with mum and enjoying our meal. Eventually we made our way home safely despite Bilal’s dire predictions (!) and I’m currently sat at my bedroom window watching the snow fall which hasn’t let up since we arrived home. The back garden is now covered a thick blanket of snow, as is the driveway and it seems a shame to disturb it at all. But it inevitably will be as everyone rushes around trying to get jobs done before the Christmas winding down begins. Hmm, looks like it will be white Christmas this year after all :)