"For what it's worth, it was worth all the while"

Fortunately for my wallet and waistline, Ivanhoe’s addiction is not a requisite to the Taylor University experience. Although admissions counselors may claim otherwise, life in Upland does not revolve around this famous ice cream vendor. In fact, during my last four years I rarely sampled its cold confections, only discovering my favorite shake in the last semester of my senior year.

“Try the chocolate peanut butter pretzel shake with Peanut Butter Iditarod ice cream instead of the soft serve,” my friend Jess advised. “It’s orgasmic.”

And she was right.

So after four years at University of the Corn Fields, I can at last name my favorite Ivanhoe’s shake. But that’s not all.

My undergraduate career ended a week ago tomorrow on a sunny football field in north central Indiana. My family came to cheer me on and buy me lunch. My gratitude goes to them for enduring the three hour ceremony perched upon ancient bleachers which faced toward the sun. At approximately 12:45 p.m., I claimed my bachelor of arts degree and shifted my tassel to the opposite side of my cap, thereby officially joining the ranks of thousands of Taylor alumni.

It’s hard to look toward the future right now as my prospects remain hazy. Instead, I find it much more comforting to reflect on the past and know that the last four years were not a waste. No, I may never use my degree in exactly the way I thought I would in the fall of 2002, but at that time I didn’t know what I know now. My time in Upland, in Maryland, in Washington, D.C., in Hong Kong, in Ireland, in Finland/Estonia, and in Evansville produced valuable lessons that stretched, pained, and developed me into the woman I am today. The thing is, I’m still learning. I may have graduated from Taylor, but I remain enrolled University of Life.

The term “commencement” signifies new beginning. What is this new road on which I tread? Will I falter? Will I persevere? Only time will tell, but in the meantime, I’ll trade in my Ivanhoe’s spoon for a G.D. Ritzy’s cone. Their cookie dough ice cream is pretty amazing.