Graduation

Graduation day was finally here! As family arrived for her big day, we had fun doing simple things like going for a walk...

And seeing Julia's name on the school marquee.

It was a busy morning as we all rushed to get to LIttlejohn Coliseum in Clemson. Julia had to get to the front of the lineup since she was 2nd to walk in. I loved seeing her on stage with the top of her class!

Then, she gave the BEST salutatorian speech ever! 

Click below to watch. 

  https://youtu.be/H-UPe7uFSUo

As she collected her diploma, I swelled with pride. It will be the first of several degrees for this smart cookie!

I love this close up of her looking at her diploma. 

Then once the ceremony was over, this pic captured her exiting the arena among a line of teachers cheering the graduates on. 

After graduation, we took as many pictures as we could before she'd rush off again to see her friends. We got one with her dad...

Her siblings (and neice)....

Her grandpa (and neice again)...

And one with everyone who came to visit. We are so grateful for those who traveled to be here and for those who watched online from afar. 

This is her bestie and will be her roommate at the University of South Carolina.

Congratulations, sweet girl! I look forward to watching you make a difference in the world!

Pictures and Awards

The senior pictures are starting to scroll on the school's social accounts. Now it's getting too real. 😭

We opted to take her graduation pictures at places that meant something during her high school years. The one place she spent more time studying than at home was at Panera.

We also took a few at the school.

The stadium picture was cute. It showed off her soccer and cross country sports.

On awards day, she was so late arriving (from not being able to find a place to park) that she missed her Salutatorian award. It was embarrasing, at least for me. When she finally showed up, they called her back on the stage to receive the appropriate recognition. 

The PEO scholarship award was really nice. The lady who gave the announcement was a friend of ours from church.

Then it was senior signing. 

There is a large group going to USC-Columbia! Julia and her roommate are wearing the grey shirts in the front.

And finally, as they exited the school for the last time as students, they walked through a parade of parents, teachers, and students from all three schools (elementary, middle, and high). 

The seniors walked to the stadium for a class photo and pizza lunch.

2nd Senior Semester

The final semester of her high school has just flown by! It's been so busy that's it hard to sit back and realize how quickly she'll be graduating. I'm just not ready!

In soccer, her senior banner was hung by the stadium. This picture was also used on social posts for game day.

One of the media photographers took this great action shot during a home game.

The whole varsity team that made it to playoffs. 

On senior night, the parents got to walk on the field with their daughter while the announcer (Luke) shared the post-graduate plans of each player.

 

The seniors each had a special poster during the last home game celebration. I had less than 24 hours notice to make it, so I didn't have time to pull all the cute pictures of when she played soccer in U6 - U12. Those would have been perfect to display.

The younger varsity players each picked a "big sis" to surprise on senior night. Here's Julia with her two "little sisters". They got her a USC Gamecock shirt, a sparkly beverage, dried fruit snacks, and other treats. So sweet!

Her final orchestra concert was also a tribute to the seniors. Julia and her friend, Ansley, were the ones recognized as having played strings every year throughout high school. 

The strings teacher said some kinds words and gave each of them a pink cord to wear at graduation. 

Ansleys mom also made a senior poster for the girls since they have been friends since they were babies at daycare. They had taken so many pictures together all those years!

The senior trip was to Dollywood. How does this girl only go there once in her life and happen to time it perfectly for the rare visit by Ms. Dolly Parton herself? Such a cool selfie, too!