Campbell Alumnus... say whaaaat?! :)

This week was one of those weeks that you want to hit rewind and replay over and over again, just to make sure it is etched in your mind. It was Campbell's graduation weekend, and my first week as a Campbell alumnus, and it was wonderful to spend time with family and friends.



On Friday, my mom, dad, brother Kevin, Uncle Mac, and Aunt Debbie came,and the graduation festivities began. We spent about two hours walking around the campus, and even got to see some of the pharmacy graduation. We all went out to eat at Blessed Restaurant, and my buddies who had been there last time were there. The little old man was trying to set me up with one of the young men who was eating in there. Clearly, neither one of us was interested. It was cute though. And the food was scrumptious!



The baccalaureate service was on Saturday morning at 10. Only three Social Work majors showed up, which wasn't too much of a surprise. It was actually kind of nice to have a more intimate service. Provost Greene gave the message, and it was great. He talked a lot about the life and teachings of Jesus, and he is certainly a scholar when it comes to that topic. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and wish I had a tape recorder to record what he said.



After that service, Wee, Travis, and Pawan came over to hang out at my apartment. Wee had come to see some of us graduate all the way from New York City! Talk about a dedicated friend! It was so so fun to see him and catch up.



After that, I made my way over for graduation. Before we all walked into the convocation center, we were in the McCall practice gym area. Hand sanitizer was provided for everyone to prevent spreadage of the swine flu, but no water. Kind of ironic, haha. However, the time inside the gym was so wonderful. I saw people that I haven't seen in over a year, simply because our paths haven't crossed. I also got to sit with all of the Social Work majors, which was fun. Amanda Haynes, my roommate from my freshman year, was sitting right beside me. She was with me my first day at Campbell, and she was with me on my last. We came up with an ode to the class of 2009, and Luke Morales was sitting in front of us, so he taped us reciting it. We also did some crazy dance moves and made a few funny jokes. I'll never forget that-so fun!



The graduation service itself was long (almost 4 hours), and there was quite a bit of speaking, but it was at least interesting. I didn't pick up my diploma because I had received honors, but it is in the mail, and my name is spelled correctly. In the program I was Diane Elziabeth McClary. How do you misspell Elizabeth? Oh well. The important part is that I graduated and I got to see my friends walk across the stage!



It was also fun to take pictures with friends outside of the Convocation center after graduation! I got a picture with Alicia Jones. I was the first person she met when she came to Campbell and we worked at Mundo Vista together and have become great friends this past year.



After graduation, I went to dinner with my mom, dad, Kevin, Uncle Mac, and Aunt Debbie at Sagebrush. We had a blast! I am so thankful they were able to come up and see me graduate. Their support and love mean more to me than I could ever express.

After dinner, I went to a party at the Patty Tate that Luke, Donald, and Graham hosted. It was so much fun! We had a bonfire and roasted marshmallows and just hung out with each other without a care in the world. I can't say that I am especially close to some of the people who are there, but it made for even more interesting conversation. I love meeting new people!

Sunday was Mother's Day, so I went out with my family to celebrate. The morning of, Abigail, Luke, and I went to church together. Luke and I also went to home fellowship at Grace, and it was so great! There were only 6 of us, so we had a more intimate conversation and I really learned a lot from everyone's perspective. Those kind of discussions make me even more excited about starting divinity school! :)



Monday, I got a Macbook for graduation. The guy at the Apple store was a hoot. He spent an hour giving me a tutorial. When I told him that I hope he got a bonus for all of the help he had given me, he said "Nope, we don't get commission. I just wanted to help you out. It makes it a much nicer place to work, believe me." I also had a chance to go grocery shopping with Robyn and hang out at the Happy House for a bit before heading back to the Creek. I am going to miss her so much this summer.

Tuesday, my mom came to help me move more stuff out of my apartment. I have determined that I own way too much stuff and it is time to seriously weed out the unused items. Yet another summer project. :) Thankfully, my friends Ben and Jesse came again to help me move some things out. It was so nice of them to do that! I am so so thankful to have great guy friends like them.

Today, I had the opportunity to go over to the Carrie Rich Memorial library and just read. I also found most of the books that I will need for my first semester of divinity school, and checked them all out. Summer reading, here I come! I also downloaded the new Sandra McCraken CD today. It is brilliant! I have been listening to it all day. She really is such a talented musician. I can only hope to be half as good as her one day.

Tomorrow, I have a meeting with the Residence Life Staff about freshman programming for next year. Should be fun! Then I will be heading over to a press conference at the convocation center. Campbell is making the old switcheroo back to the Big South Conference after almost twenty years of being in the Atlantic Sun conference.

I can't believe the past four years are over. My friend Dusty posted this on her facebook status today, and I thought it was fitting and want to share it: "Don't cry because it is over. Smile because it happened." :) The culmination of activities, conversations, and thoughts in the past four weeks have been the PERFECT end to those four amazing, fantastic years. Seriously, I could write a book about it. Every day something else happens and I think "Yes, another chapter in the book!" I am going to work on writing out those thoughts soon.

For now, I just have to reiterate how thankful I am to have graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Social Work degree from a wonderful university, and to be able to say that it was not myself that accomplished those things, but rather the Lord working through me. He deserves all of the praise, for sure!

Fun at Duke!

Yesterday Lydia and I went on a road trip to Durham to visit Duke University and to have dinner with my friend Bobby. He was my creative writing teacher in high school, and better known as Mr. Rackley at that time. It has taken me a while to get used to calling him Bobby.



First I picked Lydia up at her house in Fuquay-Varina, and I was able to meet her mom and talk to her for a while. She is such a sweetheart, and prayed for us before we set out on the road. We arrived at the campus not knowing what we were going to do, and ended up at the Sarah P. Duke gardens. All I can say is WOW. Gorgeous. We got some amazing pictures, which are all posted up on facebook.



After we explored around the gardens, we drove around the campus for a while looking for the chapel. Must to our dismay, we could not find it, so we decided to head on to the restaurant. We met Bobby and Red Lobster and enjoyed a great seafood meal together, complete with iced tea and cheddar bay biscuits. The discussion we had was phenomenal. We were mostly talking about future plans and theological education, but Lydia and I asked Bobby a lot of questions about Duke and found out some interesting answers. It was so good to catch up with him. I had not seen him in about five years, so that in and of itself was a treat!



After that, we went back to the campus to look for the chapel. On the way, we realized that we had taken no pictures with Bobby, which is a no-no in my book! I texted him and asked if he could meet up with us again, so he came to the chapel and we took a slew of pictures! Probably enough to fill an entire photo album. The chapel was truly mesmerizing. I have seen it before and been inside, but there is something about being there at night that is special. I will never forget that small snippet of time.



Lydia and I headed back towards Raleigh, and when we got back we caught the tail end of the Biggest Loser. Some friends of the family were at her house, and there was a little girl named Jessica who was bursting full of energy. She decided she wanted to teach me some dance moves, and she ended up teaching me all of the moves to a Hannah Montana's Hoedown Throwdown. Lydia got the whole thing on video. It was quite amusing!

I absolutely love this week-being out of school and waiting until graduation with no super pressing plans and plenty of time to hang out with friends. I am going to miss being in the Creek this summer and being around close friends. Hopefully I will be able to make several road trips back here and other various places to visit the friends who are most important to me. I am so excited about being done with undergrad, but at the same time I don't want it to end! I am so thankful I will be back here for graduate school. I'm not ready to say goodbye to this place for good; it has become my second home.

Abigail and Diane's Adventure

Yesterday Abigail and I set out for the adventure of a lifetime (or maybe just of the week). After church we spent the afternoon at Raven Rock, a state park near Campbell. We had a picnic, complete with turkey sandwiches and fruit. Then we hiked for quite some time, and walked around the trails and beside the gargantuan rocks while we talked about life and the future. I love that word, gargantuan. People should use it more often. We also went to the overlook and Abigail read some poetry out loud in her teacher voice. It was so amazing.







On our way back, we passed by a strawberry farm, so we stopped to pick strawberries! We had a little over a pound, and they were so plump and juicy!



Then, we went over to the Patty Tate and jumped on the trampoline for a bit. I can't remember the last time I bounced that high on a trampoline! We were definitely flying. I felt like a little kid again, and it was so freeing.

After bouncing for a bit, we took showers and cooked dinner at my apartment. We made chicken tacos, and I'm pretty sure we had about 6 each. I guess we were just so hungry after all of that walking! They were so tasty though.

After dinner, we watched the movie Pleasantville and ate cupcakes and strawberries dipped in powdered sugar for dessert. Both of us fell asleep before the movie was over, with our heads at opposite ends of my bed. I wish someone had been there to take a picture! I'm sure it was cute. We did take plenty of pictures of our excursion though, and they will be posted soon. The entire day was such a treat, and probably one of my most favorite days at Campbell. I will never ever forget it!

Tonight the adventure continues-we are having a sleepover at my apartment! Being out of school is just too much fun. I've always imagined what college would be like without classes, and it's nice to have a small foretaste of that and to be able to spend large amounts of time with a dear friend.

College has come and gone...

I haven't written here in about a month, mostly because I have been super busy finishing up things in my last month of school and trying to hang out with friends every chance I get! I read through Meredith's blog, and it inspired me to come and write in my own. If you are reading this, thanks for everything you shared, Mere. It made me laugh [the picture of us dressed up like music stars!] and cry [talking about missing people and all.] I can't believe it is all over, but yet just the beginning of new things and great adventures.

In the past month, so many amazing things have happened in my life that have made me have to catch my breath. I have called my mom almost every day with something new and exciting to share. I finished my internship at the Salvation Army, gave my senior presentation, took my last undergraduate exam, said goodbye to my Social Work family, decided I am going to attend the Campbell Divinity School, found out that I will be the Resident Director of Hedgpeth dorm, was offered another job on campus, found out about some great scholarships, had coffee with some amazing people, saw my girl crush at a coffee shop, spoke at the Honors Banquet at Campbell, started running consistently with my friend Lori, read through my senior yearbook, played guitar at Monday Night Bible Study and Erwin First Baptist Church, went to the beach, and had all kinds of fun in between! These things have been the ideal end to my senior year of college. Things have not always been easy, but I have completed this book and I am ready to move on to the next one. Even though these four years are over, I am able to look back and see how the Lord has worked it all out and I didn't even have to do anything. He is the one who brought me to where I am now. He has been so faithful all along, and I can't wait to see what else He has in store for me!





This whole month has been one great conversation after another. Today was no exception. I went to have lunch with Jilene and Terry, two of my friends here at Campbell. We had a really encouraging conversation about strengths that we each see in each other, and some of the things they said were so inspiring to me. They said things about me that I wouldn't have noticed about myself. This evening, I was able to hang out with some of my dearest friends. Abigail, Sara, Meredith, Virginia, Jilene and I all watched The Secret Life of Bees together and spent time telling fun stories about things that have recently happened in our lives. Meredith also played a song she had written on her guitar, and it was absolutely beautiful. She has inspired me to practice up this summer. I can't wait until I buy my own guitar with my graduation money! It was one of my last girly nights with these beautiful women, and what a night it was. I will never, ever forget it.



I know I tend to talk about my friends a lot, but they really are what has made all of the studying and paper writing make more sense. I have been so blessed with so many amazing friends here at Campbell! I don't have enough fingers and toes to count how many great things have come about as a result of these wonderful people. Most of them are people I want to keep up with as I graduate and want to continue to enjoy life with. They are all so unique and special. I know that the Lord brought us together for a reason. Each person has helped to shape me into the woman I am now, and I hope I have had an impact on their lives too. So many things have changed for me in the past few years, but one thing that has been constant is the friendship I have shared with these people. They all remain nameless in my blog, but they will always be on my mind. I have grown especially close to many girls, from the girls I lived with in Hedgpeth and had crazy parties with to the girls I live with now at Faculty Memorial. So many wonderful memories are to be had here, and they will only continue for years to come! Saying goodbye to these people is one of the hardest things I will ever have to do. I don't know what I am going to do without them. I have shed several tears thinking about what a strange transition it will be to go from seeing friends on a weekly basis to not seeing them at all. Thankfully, I will still have several close friends in the area, and tons of memories to keep with me for as long as my busy brain remembers them. Things will never be the same, but I am learning to embrace the change and be thankful for it! God's plans are so much greater than my own desires.

I came across a verse this morning during my devotion time that really encouraged me. "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ." 2 Corinthians 1:20. It iss so cool to remember that through Christ God's promises are made complete.

I begin this new chapter of my life with excitement and enthusiasm. Whenever I think about new beginnings, I always wear my butterfly shirt-I think I might just have to do that tomorrow. Even though this is "the end", it is really just the beginning! God is so good.

The Commencement of Holy Week

Yet another wonderful weekend!

Relay for Life was Friday night and it was SO much fun. The Social Work Club raised about $400 for the American Cancer Society. We also ended up winning the "Best Campsite" award for our Castaway themed booth. I was so proud of Amy Brookshire and all of the hard work she put into the booth. Really, it was a joint effort from everyone on our team. We also had a blast dancing to a bunch of old school music, which reminded me of middle school... the Macarena, Cupid Shuffle, and Electric Slide. I have to say that the Campbell Social Work majors are something else. :)



Then Saturday we had the day of service on campus called Operation Inasmuch. I was a team leader and my team made a meal for the Moody family. Cali hasn't been doing well this week, and they were up at Duke all weekend, but it was great that they were able to come down to Campbell for Relay for Life. I was able to deliver it tonight to Chad, and he had Bella and Jazlyn with him at the house. I just love those girls. I noticed that Bella's manners were exceptional tonight, and I commented on that. Chad said "Diane, I don't care what your mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, or best friend tell you. When you have kids of your own, make sure you teach them manners and have a lot of expectations for them at a young age. People may think you are being too harsh, but you will be thankful as they get older." I thought that was pretty sound advice-I might just have to use it. :) He has three amazing little girls, so he certainly knows what he is talking about. I really need to write down all of the things I have learned from Chad and Sara and other married couples like them in my journal-I don't want to forget any of it. The Moody's are such a precious family and I am so thankful to know them.



So begins my favorite week of the year... Holy Week. I don't know what it is about this week, but I just love celebrating the days leading up to Easter. Lent, Palm Sunday, Spy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday... I love it all! It's so cool to transition from a time of fasting to a time of commemorating the last week of the earthly life of Jesus Christ. It's so cool to celebrate the incarnation. I haven't always been diligent in cherishing every day of the week, but it is a week that I always want to emphasize and honor. Easter Sunday is also the day my wonderful grandfather, Daddy Mac, passed away. Easter was always his favorite holiday, which was fitting because he was a Methodist minister and loved celebrating and preaching on Easter. I am definitely looking forward to spending time with my family next weekend. Hopefully I can go to the Maundy Thursday service at Grace too.

This morning the service at Grace was absolutely amazing. Pastor Brad's sermon was about tongues and the Holy Spirit's work in Acts, from Acts 2. He referred to the Pentecost, when people were sharing he gospel in a tongue that couldn't be understood. The Holy Spirit came in very obvious power, and God wanted to establish a new covenant where salvation does no depend on the law but rather believing in Jesus. The manifestation of tongues in the Holy Spirit is confirmation that Jesus is the only way, and the Holy Spirit's role is to magnify Jesus. Just like God provided a way for salvation to come to the Gentiles, God uses the gift of tongues today for the building up of His people. Brad brought it all back to the importance of a personal relationship with God, which is available to all who trust Jesus as their Savior. I really want to study more Scripture that talks about this idea. It is a lot to take in in one day, and is a bit of a mystery to me, just like the Trinity. I thrive on that kind of mystery. It truly is fascinating, and something I don't think about enough.

After church, I had some friends over to the apartment for lunch. Luke and his brother Daniel and sister Laura came, as did Rachael Traylor and Kiki Long. We made a potluck style lunch of Spanish rice, fruit, guacamole and chips, hummus and pita chips, corn, eggs, salad, biscuits, and a few other random things that we scrounged up. Very similar to the time the New York City team came over for a breakfast for dinner meal. It was delicious, and so good to sit in a circle and talk about random things while eating random items of food. I will never forget that memory.

This afternoon I had coffee with Alexa. It was so so good to talk-I haven't hung out with her in ages! She is one of those friends that I could go months without talking to and we will always be able to pick up where we left off. We had such a great conversation about relationships and things we have learned from them, and we talked about what God is doing in our lives and how He has changed our focus, and how He has closed some doors but opened other ones. For example, I have recently been thinking a lot about doing hospital chaplaincy, which is something I never would have considered a few years ago. I am not a medically minded person, and I have never thought about working in a hospital. However, I have really been praying about it for the past several weeks, and wondering if it's something I should pursue. Also, Alexa said that she has recently decided that she wants to pursue pre-medicine and be a pediatrician, and that she is going to do ROTC. I can so see her doing that-she is so great with kids! I was just so happy to hear that God has placed that on her heart and that she is following His leading. It was just so good to catch up with her and hear about all of he things that have been going on in her life.

Tomorrow I will be heading up to Chapel Hill for a Social Work Career Day with my class. Should be fun! Maybe I will be able to network with some potential employers for the future. And maybe I will even get over my dislike of Tarheels. Hehe just kidding folks. :)

Alright, I have rambled on enough for the night... just had some things to share with anyone who cares to read! :)