This happened ten years ago. Exactly. Well, some of the photos are from Sunday June 17th, but you get to the point.

I didn’t write much about my thoughts on being the first in my family to graduate, being one of the very few Chicanas with a BA, etc. At that time I wasn’t so keyed in to the issues first generation and underrepresented minority students face in higher education.

Instead, I wrote more about Mexico’s performance in the World Cup and anxieties about starting a new job. I wrote a couple of recaps of the graduation ceremonies. They jogged my memory a bit and it’s fun to see how things have and have not changed.

From June 18, 2002, any updates are bracketed:

The apartment is full of flowers thanks to graduations. [My roommate Vane graduated too. She then moved back to the Bay Area.]

Mom has to exit the Durango through the passenger side, because when Dad crashed into a pole on Saturday at UCLA the dent made it impossible to open the driver’s side door more than a few inches. [I totally forgot this happened.]

I didn’t cry when I said my 1 minute impromptu speech at the Chávez Center [Chicana/o Studies] graduation. I was the exception among all the chillonas y chillones [crybabies]. [I was really proud about this. Papá Chepe gave me a 10 for my short speech because I didn’t cry.]

Isa and I agreed that we were annoyed with all the people thanking significant others at the graduation. [Our SOs were out of town/the country.]

I got some nice gifts and money. Lori did too. Tía Luisa has great taste. [My sister graduated from high school a few days before. We had a joint graduation party.]

Mando bought me a heart shaped balloon and flowers for graduation. If I didn’t know any better I’d wonder. [I wonder what happened to Mando. Off to FB.]

Valerie drew me in my cap and gown. She rocks. [I still have kindergarten Valerie’s art on my wall, but it’s faded.]

Hopefully this weekend’s graduates remember more about their commencement weekend than I did. Congratulations, class of 2012.