Please, come in....come in. Welcome. Have a seat...there's one over there. Oh, and over here. Feel free to grab a drink. And cookies! I made cookies. Wait, no, my dad made cookies, but still...help yourselves. The party has started so enjoy!
Hello. My name is Jessica and I am addicted to celebrating. I have tried facing my demons by pretending that things are "small" and thus don't require my attention. I pretend others don't want or deserve the special food and drink. I tell myself that it doesn't need to happen THIS time.
But it does. It always needs to happen. Celebrating that is.
Why?
Because. There is no other reason than because.
Someone told me that people are sometimes "weird" about post-graduate degree celebrations. I never would have 'thunk' it, I said. Why? I said. That makes no sense that when you achieve the highest you have, others shy away from acknowledging it.
I didn't spend too much time trying to figure it out either. I simply said, "That's unfortunate for them. We're still having our party." And we are. My sister is graduating from law school next month and my cousin is getting her Masters in Education Administration. So we're celebrating. And why not?
Every day should be an excuse to find joy, and positive moments, and celebratory highs. From the mundane to the exuberant. From baby spittles to post-graduate degrees.
Everyone is entitled to their opinions about what constitutes honor and recognition. Far be it from me to impose my own. But to catch wind of a celebration and then cast a shadow on it saddens me. The old adage stands true each day that you encounter those who do not adhere to it.
"If you don't have anything nice to say......don't say anything at all."
If a celebration isn't your cup of tea, by all means you are allowed to stay at home. But as for me and mine? Congrats are in order for so many things. It makes my days happy, and it makes me happy for others. I am honored to help my parents and my sister get her announcements in order and in the mail, and the parties put together and organized. I'm honored to congratulate my cousin on her accomplishments and carving out a path that she will enjoy for many years.
Most of all, I'm honored to watch them see the fruits of their labor come to an end, new chapters begin, and to share FOOD and DRINK with them in a great big toast of congrats. CONGRATS.
15 comments:
Party on, Wayne! Party on, Garth!
I have no problem with parties! Any time is a good time for a party!!!
Congrats to your sister and your cousin!!!
Congrats to both and welcome back!
Thanks for organizing my party for me and helping me celebrate 3 years of law school!!! :)
-Anna
Absolutely! Both are cause for a huge celebration - congrats to your sister and cousin!!!!
I'll never forget how proud I was the day I got to wear my graduate degree 'hood' and get my diploma - it is one of the proudest days of my life.
Now, can we celebrate that there is a new post here?!?! Hope this means your computer is up and running :).
I don't think people don't want a party. With it being your sister and cousin, they think it seems like a "family" party. Since we didn't have "family" parties when other people got master's degrees (me, Matt, Abby, Theresa, etc.), they are unsure why we would have one now and feel like we cheated the other people. I don't feel cheated at all because we celebrated with our immediate family.
I think our cousin doesn't want one because she doesn't want people to think they need to buy her a gift.
If you want to have a party, by all means have a party. It is something big to celebrate! Just don't worry about what the others say.
Mommy - I just find it very unfortunate that because others set a family precedent that "no parties will be thrown for post-graduate degree graduations", these two are made to feel guilty for wanting to celebrate theirs. It was never under a pretense of "bring a gift" or bring anything at all. It was going to be an invitation to come eat some burgers and dogs, and hang out.
I cannot change the fact that no one else spoke up or wanted one previously, but I wanted to celebrate my sister's, and naturally we would celebrate one that occurred at the same time. How unfortunate that these two are made to feel guilty for wanting to shout "hoorah!" and include their relatives.
Unfortunately, graduation parties make people feel like they need to bring gifts. In fact, I don't think I have been to one where I felt okay not bringing a gift. I agree that it should just be a fun time to celebrate and forget the gifts. I guess it is just "tradition" that when you go to a party for someone (birthday, graduation, anniversary, wedding, etc.), you bring a gift.
It is too bad that they feel guilty for wanting to celebrate theirs. If someone would have had a party for me when I graduated, I would have felt guilty too since others before me did not.
I'll never complain about an excuse to make cupcakes and have the fam over!
First, no one is looking for handouts or gifts.
To me this is honestly a ridiculous debate that family members would not actually want to celebrate each others achievements in life whether it be marriage, kids or school.
I don't think families should pick and choose which achievements to celebrate and tell others that they're doing something wrong with doing something different.
To feel that no one wants to celebrate because families are mechanical in deciding which things to celebrate I think is a feeling that should not be put upon someone that wants to celebrate something they've accomplished. To put that feeling on others is, to me, wrong.
"The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate." -Oprah
CELEBRATE it!
It is a big deal. And it should be recognized. And you could always put on the invites "no gifts please or donate to their fav charity in place of gift" and who cares what others think.
It is a shame that family members have tried to ruin something great.
So, let's all just party on and forget about it! :-)
It's great that you are cheering there accomplishments! Whoop it up!
Yahoo! This is your celebration
Yahoo! This is your celebration
Celebrate good times, come on! (Let's celebrate)
Celebrate good times, come on! (Let's celebrate)
There's a party goin' on right here
A celebration to last throughout the years
So bring your good times, and your laughter too
We gonna celebrate your party with you
Come on now
Celebration
Let's all celebrate and have a good time
Celebration
We gonna celebrate and have a good time
Congrats to your Sister and Cousin!!!
I love your attitude. Life should be about celebrations and family - I don't think there is enough of that, we need to take the time and acknowledge such wonderful achievements with a good party! Congrats to your sister and cousin - wonderful accomplishments!
Hard work is always worth celebrating!! We should look for more reasons to celebrate in this life, not less. Kudos to you too!
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