I finally submitted my Master's dissertation on the 6th of August 2012, almost 2 years on from commencing the course; I then awaited the results, which finally came through by e-mail at the end of October. I must have sat looking at the message, with the cursor hovering over the attachment for 10 minutes or more, not daring to open it and praying that it would say the word "distinction"; I told myself, during that anxious wait, that just a pass would do, but I knew in my heart what I really wanted. As I clicked, I closed my eyes and slowly opened them again, only to see the beautiful word I'd been praying for. I think I almost collapsed with relief; my hands shook as I picked up the phone to call my mum and then I cried!
Last
Thursday, graduation day finally arrived and I had the absolute pleasure of
sharing the day with my friends Vivi Victory and Tracy, also my gym buddy and
training partner. The day got off to a fabulous
start, with Tracy arriving to pick me up, bringing with her the most exquisite
& exotic hand tied bouquet I’ve ever seen, such kindness, thank you.
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| Beautiful flowers to start the day, thank you. |
The train was on time and we were off, with me
carrying my shirt and a jacket, (which later Tracy ended up carrying and
cursing me for taking in almost 30 degrees heat and which I never wore!), but as
I explained, one mustn’t travel without the full attire!
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| Don't forget the jacket Tracy! |
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| Le Jacket! |
Arrive Manchester and get in a taxi to The
Bridgewater Hall to await the arrival of the fabulous, colourful and vivacious
Vivi! We were a little early, so decided
to go across to the Midland Hotel for morning tea to await her arrival - how deliciously
civilised.
When
Vivi arrived, she instantly lit up the proceedings and we progressed to tea-cakes
and Earl Grey and interrupted the meeting of some very serious looking executives
at the next table to take our photograph and capture the moment.
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| Disturbing a very important meeting to have our photo taken! |
Close to midday I donned the shirt (not the
jacket I hasten to add) and we proceeded to The Bridgwater Hall to collect the guest
tickets and then back to The Midland to be gowned and photographed.
The photography session was hilarious; both
Tracy and Vivi thought I should be photographed by the most handsome photographer,
which they decided was No 4, but No 1 wouldn’t hear of it and said he was indeed
the best, although he would “find it impossible to improve upon perfection” – don’t
you just love a bit of cheesy flattery!
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| Numero uno photographer! |
Back to
The Bridgewater for the ceremony which I found incredibly moving and
meaningful, perhaps due to the effort and sacrifice it had taken to get there;
I don’t think I shall ever forget how I felt throughout. Many times I glanced up to see Vivi looking back
at me, as a power point presentation revealed pictures of the labs and lecture
theatres where we had studied together as undergraduates; happy times, sad
times, stressful times & transformational times were shared in that Toast Rack building!
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| Time to celebrate! |
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| One last photo before the gown must be returned |
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| Time to de-robe ... |
When I
look back on the time spent studying over the last ten years, I wonder
sometimes just what kept me pushing on through and the only answer I have is
that when you find your passion, and nutrition is undoubtedly mine, you can literally
overcome anything to pursue your aspirations.
Vivi gave me a gift of the most beautiful picture by artist Kelly Rae
Roberts whilst we sat having tea in the Midland; at its centre, it asks the
question “what does your heart say?”
There wasn’t time to read the notes upon the back about the artist, but
this is exactly what I did when I got home after this perfect day; Kelly Rae
Roberts says “my hope is that my work invokes a sense of clarity and peace
inside of you as you walk your own path in life, and that it inspires you to
discover your own limitlessness” – Vivi, you couldn’t have chosen a more
perfect gift with such poignant and beautiful words, thank you.
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| Follow your passion! |
Consequently, what commenced in
2010 is now finally complete in 2013, so where to next? Well, all I can say for now is – watch this limitless
space!
I shall never forget this day, it was absolutely magical x
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