the end of the beginning - thankful #17

that's a wrap. the journey that began with exuberant joy about four and a half years ago with the notice of b's early-decision acceptance to columbia college concluded last week with the big graduation -- 11,000 degree applicants from the 20 schools associated with columbia university and 20,000+ folks gathered to celebrate with them.

 

by tradition, the columbia college students have carried swords to graduation, but this year, they went with these brightly colored lions. though initially a disappointment for the students, the lions ended up becoming a big hit. above, you can see the columbia college students waving their lions and cheering wildly as they are formally presented for the conferral of their degrees. b did receive a lion, but gave hers up to a friend who really wanted one but hadn't received one -- a characteristically generous move by b, but one which saddened m, who was really hoping to get a photo of the graduate with her lion.

for several days leading up to the graduation, we reconnected and celebrated with family, did a bit of sightseeing, and found fun activities and food along the way. favorite memories: hanging with grandma p and the p family, an off-broadway production of alice in wonderland, a surreal visit to the american girl place, korean barbecue at kang suh in k-town on our final night.

five-star diner in queens (indian cuisine!) on our first night

mother's day in greenwich village

walking the brooklyn bridge

b had a great run at columbia, so it was fitting that the celebration would be kind of epic. and it was fun to celebrate her and all of her accomplishments, which were many.

still, unlike my own graduation, this felt to me like a very intermediate step. b has only begun. next up: pursuing her master of divinity at princeton theological seminary. and beyond that, the target is a ph.d. in church history, with the goal of teaching in a seminary and finding an effective platform for influencing future church leaders to a whole-hearted embrace of God's justice in the world.

winston churchill once famously said, "now this is not the end. it is not even the beginning of the end. but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." so phase 1 is complete -- but it's been a great beginning.

the graduate and proud mom

celebrating with the graduate!