I love this quote from the Urban Dictionary stating: “Graduation can be either the greatest moment or the saddest."
I thought it would be the greatest; but looking back, I would give up everything just for one day back in school. Crushes, unfairness, homework, love, friends, idiot teachers, recess, lunch, all that stuff. I miss it all. I find it strange to be looking back right now on this. But I guess the saying is true: "You never knew how much fun being a kid really was until you’re older."
Most of us can relate to this in one way or another and often think of high school and/or college as “the good old days.”
The month of June features local high school and college graduations to attend and I wanted to share my own experience traveling to Humboldt State University (HSU) in May to attend my daughter Anna’s college graduation.
It seems like yesterday I was driving Anna to begin her freshman year at Humboldt State University in fall of 2010. I expressed my thoughts and feelings about my daughter attending college over 750 miles away in a day-trip column published in September 2010 in The Friday Flyer. (Find it in the archives at fridayflyer.com.)
Now, after a solo flight to Oakland and a five-hour drive through beautiful northern California, I find myself enjoying a glass of wine with Anna at the Robert Goodman winery and restaurant in downtown Arcata, toasting the end of finals and looking forward to a weekend of celebration.
We have fun reminiscing about past events and visits and how fast she went from being a disrespected freshman to a senior leader! Anna loved northern California and college life. She found her environmental studies, to be very challenging but always enriching. There were field trips to local marshes and forests (part of the curriculum) and opportunities to learn about sustainability and conservation (Humboldt has a sustainability dictate.)
I learned from Anna that life at Humboldt is all about being yourself and celebrating your uniqueness and individuality. I quickly learned from my campus visits that someone dressed in hippie attire, dreadlocks and unmatched outfit was not a street person. Maybe they were a “Humboldt honey” or happily unaware of current fashion trends.
I loved visiting my daughter during college! We would stroll through the Saturday morning farmers market in the Arcata Square. I remember biting into a locally harvested white plum, the sweet juiciness of the very ripe organic fruit dripping down my chin. We purchased ruby red beets, sweet onions, snap peas, sweet potatoes and heirloom tomatoes, which we later sautéed into a stir fry.
It also became a tradition to visit Wildberries Market and buy a wedge of Humboldt Fog goat cheese, some smoked salmon and crackers for an afternoon nosh session. Beach walking and hiking at Moonstone or Trinidad beaches were on each visit’s agenda. Once or twice we almost got lost in the huge fog banks that occur frequently due to the climate.
On this visit for my daughter's commencement, we met up Friday morning. My son, Matt, had arrived at another favorite eatery, Renatas’s Crepery. We ordered savory, gluten-free crepes with chicken, avocado, sun dried tomatoes, artichokes and goat cheese. The three of us shared a sweet crepe for dessert filled with Nutella and topped with raspberries, strawberries and fresh cream. My mouth is watering remembering these melt-in-your-mouth wonders!
Following our breakfast, we took a much needed hike to Strawberry Rock. It's a local’s hike as it’s on private property, but everyone knows about it. It is about a mile north of Trinidad and includes hiking through redwood forest to an old rock quarry, then quickly turning and literally climbing up a steep rock. The rock is worn with step and hand holds, so it sounds scarier than it is to climb!
On this day, the view at the top was of miles of Humboldt Bay shoreline. It was a clear, sunny day and the view and pictures from this vantage point were awesome!
We hiked down to the parking lot and made a quick stop at Katy’s Fish Market in Trinidad to purchase some smoked salmon, then visited the Humboldt marine laboratory before heading back to Arcata.
Our group split up, and I headed over to Somoa, an old company mill town just Northwest of Arcata to visit my friend Sharon Letts. A former Canyon Lake resident, Sharon moved to the area because her daughter Rose attended HSU, while Sharon found her niche writing about the medicinal uses and curing powers of cannabis. By ingesting Rick Simpson’s cannabis oil, Sharon cured her breast cancer and thyroid disease. We caught up on each other’s lives and enjoyed a long beach walk. Sharon's articles can be found on her Facebook page.
Graduation day on Saturday arrived sunny, clear and full of promise for the approximately 1,800 HSU New Century graduates in the 101st commencement. Sitting on the bleachers in the football stadium was a bit uncomfortable and sunny. (Bring a cushion, sunscreen and hat if your grad's ceremony is outside.)
Congressman Jared Huffman, serving California’s second congressional district, was the speaker and had done his research about the Millenium generation; applauding them for their acceptance of others, liberal views and goal for more meaningful careers in a tough job market.
Huffman congratulated the majority of graduates who took the graduation pledge (Anna included) of social and environmental responsibility. The pledge states, “I pledge to explore and take into account the social and environmental consequences of any job I consider and will try to improve these aspects for any organizations for which I work.”
There were three sessions of graduates, 8 a.m., noon and 4 p.m. Anna’s group was at noon and we spent the most of almost three hours waiting for her to cross the stage to get her diploma case. The actual diplomas are mailed after the fact. After pictures and a quick visit to the reception for her major in the Natural Resources building, we decided lunch was way overdue! We all enjoyed our vegetable entrees at Pho Hoang, popular eatery for their heaping bowls of Pho, delicious when it’s rainy and cold.
After chilling out at Anna’s apartment, we drove north to Orick for a Korean Bibimbap dinner. Anna’s friend's family prepared wonderful soup, rice, kimchee, spicy ribs, marinated beef and Korean vegetables (hence the name Bibimbap). It was a light-hearted evening with great food and laughter among friends, the best way to celebrate the success of graduation. Friends, family and food!
Sunday morning, Arcata was looking empty as the droves of parents and friends headed back to their homes and lives while the graduates packed up to begin new jobs, experiences and life as adults. Reality among the graduates will soon set in. Here are a few quotes graduates may like:
“You know the future is really happening when you start feeling scared.”
“Nobody said it was easy.”
And most importantly, “Doing what you like is freedom, liking what you do is happiness.”
Godspeed graduates!