The story of how I cried a lot, but then got things done

One of the biggest parts of senior year in the graphic design program is our senior show. We look forward to it and dread it all year. We also spend all year researching a social issue and then designing an educational campaign around our research.

My final thesis was called "Back to Butter," a call to return to butter, a food free of science and artificiality. I got to compare margarine and butter, talk about fat a lot (so glamorous) and fend off people linking me with this lady (sorry but Paula Deen has never advocated healthy eating even if she does love her some butter).

Just in case you're interested in how I chose this topic, it was about the time I started reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan and found a whole community online that disputes the "science" we follow in regard to heart disease and the fats in our diet. Although the site looks a bit hokey, Weston Price has some great articles on this, including this one on dietary fat. I don't want to push my own agendas on you, but it has been fascinating to me to take a step back and begin rethinking everything I believe about nutrition. I could talk about this forever but I shall resist. If you are still interested, feel free to ask me more; just know I might possibly talk all day and all night about it. Jason will verify this statement (bless his heart).

Back-tracking a little bit, below is one of the posters I designed in the fall semester for the show. At full size it's 24"x36" so it looks kind of odd at this size. This made the short-list to be voted on for the final poster to represent the entire show. Mine didn't win, but it was still exciting to make the cut.

There was a lot of build up to our show, and finally I was tasked with actually building my exhibit. Building is always my least favorite part of the process. My stress levels skyrocket and I start making ridiculous mistakes. Jason can also verify this statement. What this all leads to is me crying a lot. Straight up ugly crying over a piece of acrylic with the wrong strip of vinyl lettering on it. In the week of building my exhibit, I think I had at least 3 crying sessions where I moaned about being stupid and not being able to do this and I'm such a failure. It's all very dramatic but in the moment rather terrible.

Why am I sharing this with the internet? Who knows, except that it highlights the fact that Jason is a saint for putting up with me. And not just putting up with me, but helping me in every way possible and being altogether my sanity when I had none myself.

It was one of the hardest weeks of my 4 years at ASU, but also one of the best; not just because I survived it, but because I fell in love with my husband all over again. It's all mushy, but it's true. His selfless dedication to my projects made a world of difference and I really couldn't have pulled it off without him. He was there cutting out and folding each takeaway, painting my exhibit walls, sawing miscellaneous pieces of masonite, more painting, touching up the poor paint job after my stencil failure, mixing epoxy for my acrylic pieces.... he never complained. I never forced him to do any of it, he volunteered the entire time. He listened to my crazy meltdowns and helped me problem solve when something wasn't working. I was at my worst and he still loved me. A true example of agape love.




The good news is that I finally got my exhibit hung up and had a good time at the show. It was a unique experience, to say the least, but in the end, I was proud of all of us.

This is my finished exhibit (with some strange lighting).

And some of the lovely people in my life.

The one that found us

So... we kinda got a cat.

I'd been wanting a cat for AGES. If it weren't for Jason, I probably was destined to become a crazy cat lady. Partly due to our current rental situation and being in school, we had decided to put off getting a furry friend until after graduation.

I think it was about a week before the last day of school when we got home late one night and found a little furry friend sitting outside of our apartment complex. He looked thin but was very friendly. I'm such a softie that I wanted to give him some food... well, one thing led to the next and now we have ourselves a little rascal of a cat running around our feet.

It's just funny how it happened, so close to graduation. We had planned on picking out the perfect one... and here he picked us out. We named him Lars. I can't say I would have picked him out of a group of cats, but we're fond of him all the same.

Especially when he makes weird faces like this.

Seriously, weirdo.

This girl is a graduate

Guys, I graduated.

I'm having a hard time finding words to express how I feel. It's been six long years to get this bachelor's degree (bless my parents for their patience). I've worked so hard for it, and it's been a pivotal period in my life. I've grown much more comfortable in my own skin and I feel much more myself now than I did when I started. Of course, this could have happened without college, but college gave me confidence and an environment that's conducive to make mistakes and discover oneself. In the last 4 years at ASU, I have learned so much. And possibly the best and worst feeling is that I still have SO MUCH MORE to learn. While my formal education has ended, I want to continue learning and experiencing life.

It's been a week now and already I'm having a bit of an identity crisis. But that's okay, because I've been a student for a verrrry long time. That's been part of me, and now I have to figure out who I am after graduation. I know the struggle will continue, but I gotta keep fighting and keep looking to my support.

My actual graduation ceremony was wonderful. My class all wore pantone swatches on our caps and were able to sit in a group. We may have started our journeys separately, not knowing each other nor caring for each other, but we ended it together as one united team. We cheered for each and every one of our classmates when they walked. Most students in the school had a couple family members cheering, but we also had our class of 43 cheering for us. That was my favorite part of the whole ceremony. We did this, together.

My parents were able to come from Wisconsin to see Jason and I graduate. I really couldn't have done this without these two. They were cheering me along every step of the way. My two biggest encouragers and greatest supporters. I love them dearly and really can never thank them enough. They were an example to me growing up, and I always knew I wanted to get a degree because both of my parents had done so first. I'm so grateful for parents that raised me to have goals and to work hard to reach them. But even more so, I'm grateful for parents that supported me making my own decisions and not forcing any path upon me.

My classmates - where do I begin? I really love these people so much. These are the people who made the experience so much more rich and meaningful. Collaborating with so many talented individuals was the highlight of my 4 years at ASU. I made some amazing friends and had a network of support that not many ASU programs can rival. There's just no easy way to describe our program and the hoops we have to jump through, but this is what bonded us together and made it all worth it.

My handsome husband got to graduate as well. It's not the end of the road for him, so the moment may not have been as sweet, but I'm still proud of him and how hard he worked!

We were so glad part of his family was able to come. Jason's dad, step-mom, sister, and nephew joined us for the festivities and we loved to have them! It was nice to watch Jason's ceremony as an observer after being a participant in mine earlier in the week. I actually got more emotional at his - watching all the grads walking in, singing the national anthem (how lucky am I to live in country that, while it may have many problems, I have the complete freedom to go to college), and hearing families cheer so proudly for their beloved graduate.

Every graduation needs a celebratory pose and my husband is kind of the best at them.

Jason and I had a graduation reception put together by our scholarship, the ASU Parent's Association. They showed a video highlighting the work they do at ASU, and one of the former students said something that stood out to me. She said that she now has her degree and no one can take that away from her. I love that. This degree is mine and it will always be a part of me.

God has done so much in my life and I'm so grateful for this opportunity. He continually provided comforted me through each trial. He was always the inspiration for everything I created. Seeing how he guided me through college gives me the peace I need, knowing that he will continue to guide me now that I'm entering a new stage.

Signing out,
Emily N. Lunt, Bachelor of Science, Graphic Design
(I promise this is the last time I will ever do this. But a girl's gotta do it once, right?)

Finals haze

Basically, I haven't been sleeping much because it's the final rush to finish everything for grades, our senior show, graduation, you get the idea. I'm feel like I'm walking around in a haze but I'm almost used to it now. Not that I wouldn't mind taking a week off to sleep straight through it.

Thankfully this frazzled state isn't all bad. Last night, I couldn't stay awake any longer so I decided to sleep a few hours. Jason came to bed after I had fallen asleep, and apparently when he came into our bedroom, I told him, "Don't touch the attic. It's a secret!" Jason graciously texted my quote to me so I could remember it in the morning.

It's only fair that Jason was able to witness that as I have many stories of him talking in his sleep. Recently, I was getting ready in the morning and he told me, "Don't worry, I'll get you a boat." Apparently I was trying to swim across a lake and he knew I couldn't make it.

Also with finals comes junk food mania. Poor, poor decisions have been made, including two ice cream bars today already (one happened around 6 this morning and it didn't even taste like shame).

Speaking of ice cream bars, I walked by Jason last night as he was doing some reading for school. He wasn't wearing a shirt and I noticed his belly button was shiny. When I asked him why, he laughed and said, "Melted chocolate!" Yes, his belly button was holding a miniature pool of chocolate from his ice cream bar and he had no idea.

I just can't even make this stuff up.

Pretty much a celebrity

I was catching up on Community and made a wonderful discovery.


Annie Edison and I have a matching dress! Okay, okay, the colors are different, but I know they're the same dress because when I bought mine, there were these 2 color options. And we both wore ours with purple cardigans.

Obviously this is really important so I wanted to share it with all of you. Now that you want my autograph, you can catch me here in a few weeks.

Also, I survived one of my final final-reviews. I'm getting much better at giving presentations on 3 hours of sleep (as in 3 hours several nights in a row). Yes, this is what a college education has taught me.

Spon-taneous

On Saturday, The Clites were supposed to join us on a big estate saling adventure but weren't able to make it last minute. Jason and I halfheartedly decided to go to one that was only a block away. Why not?

We park, and walk up to the sale. Directly in front of us, at the very end of the other side of the yard, we saw it. Tunnel vision, I tell ya.

We decided nearly immediately that we were going to get it. We don't have for room it. We'll make room. How will we get it home? We'll find a way. The wood's a little beat up. It's okay, we'll put some furniture oil on it. We don't have cash. We'll get cash.

Jason sat on the couch the entire time I went to the bank. Dedication, my friends.

When I started going to estate sales, Jason earnestly requested that our house doesn't end up looking like his grandma's. And now, today is that day. But look at that face! That is the face of a man who doesn't mind at all that his house appears to be occupied by a sweet old lady that crochets and drinks from a floral tea cup.

Success.

(and finally, a picture to show that the fabric doesn't actually look like TV static)

Ticking away

School is so close to being done! Honestly still in shock and probably will be for months after graduation.

As with all finals, school and work has kept me very busy and, needless to say, frazzled. So when I went on the porch yesterday and found these blossoms, it was such a sweet and simple reminder.


There is still beauty in the midst of the chaos.

I started this basil plants from seeds, so it's like my child learning to ride a bike for the first time. If you know anything about me and plants, I can never keep anything alive and to be completely honest, half of this plant really does look dead. Each time I go outside to water it, I cringe and expect to see more dead leaves. When I found the blossoms instead, I gasped audibly. This basil guy, he's a survivor.

I'm so, so proud.