Dr. Chi!

Hi Guys. Happy Monday!

How was your weekend?

Mine wasn’t too shabby. As of Saturday I’m officially “Dr. Chi” now. Crazy, huh?!In the days leading up to graduation I was stressing myself out about all the little details – traffic, parking, and whether or not some of my family members who were driving separately would be able to figure out where to go.In the end, the day went by quite smoothly. There was a little congestion but no major traffic, parking was a breeze, and all family members made it to the arena with plenty of time to spare. Lesson: Don’t sweat the small stuff.

The day also went by incredibly fast. I remember thinking that a 3:30pm ceremony was so late, but before you know I was rushing to retouch my lipstick as my row was being asked to rise.

Here’s a breakdown of my day:

I got up around 6:30 and went for a run. After that I took a walk around my neighborhood listening to music that, with the exception of the past month, I hadn’t listened to since my freshman year in college. Side note: I love re-discovering old music. I couldn’t help but think about where I was then (and how little I knew about where my life was headed) and where I am now.

I came back got showered, had breakfast, laughed and hung out with my sisters, and then started getting ready to go.

We ended up leaving over an hour later than I wanted to but since traffic and parking weren’t anywhere near as bad as I had expected, I still got there early enough to joke around and take pics with friends and some faculty members before the ceremony began.The way seating works, they have the graduates sit by their advisor, and then the pair of you walk on stage together and he/she hoods you. I actually liked sitting next to my advisor because we got to chat a little during the name-calling portion of the ceremony.We even took some selfies (pre- and post- hooding). Honestly, I’m so grateful for my advisor. I couldn’t have asked for a better one. Personality wise, we’re similar in many respects so we work really well together. Also, he’s just a really good person. He walked out with me after the procession to meet my family, and he said such kind things about me.

Before leaving we took some pictures in front of Carroll Hall, a building that I’ve spent countless hours in over the course of my program.

For dinner that night my family and I ended up going to Shiki Sushi in Durham. I’d been wanting to try them out for a bit, and Saturday was as good a day as any to do so. While I’ve definitely had better sushi, the desserts were delicious. We got their Hawaiian funnel cake and their fried ice cream. I’d definitely go back for dessert. I’d also be willing to try some of their other menu items, like their massive rice dishes. We’re talking leftovers for days.

By the time we got back everyone was pooped, so we got washed up and ready for bed. All in all it was an amazing day. I woke up on Sunday morning and I just felt good. I’m excited about what’s coming next. I met with my advisor the Friday before graduation and he gave me some great life and career advice.

I may not have a job lined up yet, but there are some things in the works and I know that the right position is on its way.

In the meantime, I’ll be working on a research project this summer with a professor at Duke, and working on a part-time basis for another pretty cool project. I’ll share more about that assuming everything works out as planned.

I hope you all have a great week!