Graduates, put your caps on

Topshop dress, New Look shoes

Obligatory throwing of the hats

Graduation means I can finally say goodbye to reading texts I'm not interested in, writing multiple academic essays on topics I'm less than enthusiastic about, and to the torturous late nights spent scouring the net for long lost references. However, the bitter to my sweet comes in the fact that I'm also saying goodbye to living in a city where I truly feel I can be myself, to friends who I love, and to being surrounded by some of the most inspirational people I've ever met, not to mention being introduced to the work of incredible talents I might not have found otherwise. Uni really is a once in a lifetime experience. I can't even begin to sum up the strange, yet totally compulsory experiences which seem to make up university years (although this page sums up my first year in a nutshell), and the things I've done, seen, and heard that I'll more than likely never do, see, or hear again. Just a couple of months ago, despite feeling sad about it all being over, I felt ready for things to change and to move on from student life into the elusive 'real world', which I've managed to avoid entering by being consistently in education. However, maybe it's because I haven't gone straight into the dream job (or even stepped onto the first rung of the ladder) like so many other recent graduates, or because I'm currently residing in a caravan on my parents' drive (if I could glamorise my life at the moment, trust me, I would), but all I really want to do right now is be back at university, in the familiar comfort of my minuscule flat, with nothing more than a looming essay deadline and the dull ache of a hangover to cloud my days.

What I'm wearing to my Graduation

Dress - Topshop
Heels - Kurt Geiger

So my Graduation is on Thursday...eeek! As much as I can't wait to get back to Manchester for a few days and catch up with the lovely Northerners residing there, I know that as soon as it's all over the big wave that is reality is going to hit me hard. In just a few weeks time I'm going to be, how can I phrase this better (I can't), jobless. I'm desperate to move back to Manchester or London. As much as my home is a lovely place to visit for a short break (a golden sandy beach is just 5 minutes walk away!), I miss the buzz and constant life of the city, although the lack of a nearby MAC is helping to stabilise my bank account!

I really wasn't sure what to wear as uni guidelines say we should wear a shirt and skirt in black or navy (the English team are a wild bunch sartorially!). Being the, ahem, rebel that I am, I'm defying the rules and going to wear a shift dress from Topshop. It's not in this gorgeous claret colour (it's the out of stock peachy variation and actually belongs to my best friend), but it's just the same and is super flattering as well as Graduation appropriate, I think. I've gone for some nude platforms too, which are making me have nightmares of falling off the stage as I walk across to shake hands with the Chancellor. I envision a Lindsey Wixon type fall...

Hopefully, I'll get some outfit photos to share with you by the end of this week. Are any of you graduating soon? What are you going to wear, or what did you wear to yours?