Proudest day of my life.

8 years ago, when my sister graduated from university I was in a bad place. I was suffering from an undiagnosed health condition, had taken time out of university and wasn't sure if I'd be able to complete my degree. Whilst I was happy for her, it brought sadness to think I may never be in her position. During my time out from uni, to fill my time I began doing some courses through the Open University. 5 years ago, I officially gave up on my "bricks and mortar" university degree and attended the degree ceremony to claim my Diploma, thinking it would be my only chance.

Over the last five years I have been through a lot of hard times with my health but lately things have improved. I continued with my Open University studies. It's been a struggle and there have been times when I almost gave up, I couldn't see why I was bothering to continue. Today, I KNEW why I'd continued through the hard times and the heart ache. As I walked up on that stage, finally graduating with my degree, all the bad times melted away and I was left truly proud of my achievements and happy of who I had become. 10 years since going to university I had finally done it!

I was able to share the occasion with some of my closest friends and family who have supported me through that time. I would never have made it without them. At the start of the ceremony they mentioned that it wasn't an occasion for solemnity but instead a time for celebration and joy. As such, as I flicked through the photos of me posing in my gown, I knew as soon as I saw it, that this was the shot for today. Apparently you can really wear the gown hood as a hood.

It's been a busy month and whilst I still have photos to backblip, today had to be uploaded on time.