Okay, this may sound silly, but these seashells and starfishes means so much me. Not because I love seashells or starfishes, or that they’re monetarily valuable—because they’re not.

But these seashells and starfishes bring me to back to Summer of 2012, which is the best summer of my entire life. I spent 3 whole months with my boyfriend working in a research lab, trying to utilize bacteriophages as alternative therapies against antibiotic-resistant infections. Then for about 1-2 weeks, we went to Portland, Oregon for some downtime and shopping sprees, and then after, vacationed in Cannon Beach for a few days.

Maybe that’s not an ideal summer vacation for most people, but for me—who is a 30% romantic, 70% science geek—that’s the most perfect way to spend an entire summer with someone I love.

The point of this post is, I got a job offer in Portland, OR at a private medical clinic with a general surgeon. Which means, if my mother agrees and plans go through, I’ll be spending about a year after graduation with a job! And the best part of it is that I’ll get to live with my boyfriend, while employed and studying for entrance exams into graduate and medical schools. Here’s to praying that everything works out.

Urban Decay || Eyeshadows in Omen and Glitter Rock.

I seriously love UD products. They have the prettiest and creamiest eyeshadows ever. I never need to apply eye primer and the shadows still stay on for a solid 8 hours with no creasing and minimal fading. And their Naked 1 and 2 palettes are always my go-to eye wear for every occasion.

If I had the money, I would honestly buy their entire eyeshadow line.

My two favorite summer lip colors at the moment. I’ve been especially wanting to try out coral lip colors since last summer, but never found the perfect shade—until I came across Maybelline’s Color Whisper line. I wish I had stumbled on this earlier!

Revlon || Colorburst Lip Butter in Strawberry Shortcake
Maybelline Color Sensational || Color Whisper in Coral Ambition

Graduating class photos are so beautiful!

Oh BTW, if you were born in 1990 or before and can’t guess who our Commencement speaker was, I judge hard-core. After all, he was MSN’s 2013 No. 3 commencement speaker that will make everybody jealous!

As my friend said, “You know your commencement was great when the college President says, ‘And now for something completely different,’ as Eric Idle rushes onstage to perform Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.” Seriously the perfect way to end Commencement and bid farewell to Whitman.

OFFICIALLY A COLLEGE GRADUATE! Whitman College class of 2013!

It all still seems so surreal…

I took my final steps at Whitman on Sunday the 19th… So many bittersweet memories… So much time, 4 years to be exact, have come and gone. None of it has hit me yet. I’m back ‘home’ in Western WA, but it only feels like I’m on another summer break. Like I’ll be coming back to Whitman in the fall. 

Thank you for all of the people I’ve come to call my friends these past 4 years, most notably Chelsea Kollmar, Nathan Wong, Max Breitenbach and David Friedman. They’ve been my lifeline, my best memories, my heart. Because of them, it’s now difficult to call Tacoma-Seattle—the city that nourished me for 14 years—my home. Because of them, I’ve learned to accept myself for who I am. Thank you.