Hello Renrenspeakers! Happy Saturday! How is everyone doing? It has definitely been a while since I’ve stopped by the blog. Let me tell yall, it has been a rollercoaster of a month. Why, you may ask? Because….. GRADUATION SZN IS UPON US! That is right, friends! I am graduating in TWO WEEKS (actually, 13 days to be exact). Hence, the 95%-ish fully loaded lol. I cannot believe how time has flownnnn by. I feel like I started grad school not too long ago, but I also feel like I have been here forever.

I am feeling alllllll kinds of emotions about graduating, to be honest! I am mostly excited because I finally get to shift into a new era of my life where I start my career and do what I have felt called to do for so long now. I am finally gonna shed the student identity forever and collect that bag! 😉 However, it is also so nerve-wracking because I have never done this career thing before! This will be my first big-girl job where I do not have to come back home and study for hours on end through a student lens. What am I going to do with my time outside of work? I guess I have the opportunity to tap back into my passions, which will be nice. I have a rough outline of the next steps after graduation, but I really don’t know when I will get all of the other pending requirements completed so that I can launch into my career girl era. There is not a clear answer for anything, which is hard to digest as a Type A girlie. It really is all in God’s hands. Any advice from new grads who faced my position just recently is so welcomed right about now!

Beyond being excited and nervous, I am really just so proud of myself. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I cannot believe that I did something as rigorous as grad school and completed it all in one piece (mostly, lol). I feel that I have had a shift in mindset, and I can witness the professional and personal growth that has taken place within me throughout these years. Being able to give back to the community through an OT lens has been fruitful, and I am sometimes think to myself, I really do kinda know what I am talking about, lol! I thoroughly enjoyed my capstone experience, for example, and I made so many beautiful growing and lasting connections through this experience. I FINALLY finished my capstone paper that I have been working on since my second year — it is submitted and out of the forefront of my mind! I don’t even want to tell yall how many total pages my paper is lol. I also completed my capstone presentation, and I am nearly done with my capstone poster. If yall are interested in learning more about my capstone project, you can watch my video presentation here.

Stay tuned for graduation content coming your way! I did some fun graduation pictures recently, which will drop on the ‘gram soon, so be on the lookout! I am beyond thankful for everyone who has supported me along the way. I literally could not have done it without the many influential, talented, and amazing wealth of support around me. This blog has also been such an archive of all of my greatest, lowest, challenging, and blessed moments in school. I am going to throw it back really quickly to my first blog post as a grad school here. Renrenspeaks.com has come a long way, and she is ever-evolving, just like I am.

Cheers to graduation season, and the next time you hear from me, I most likely will officially be Dr. Kwangaba, 100% FULLY LOADED!

Peace and love,

Irene