Today I was honored to attend my graduation party thrown for me by our friends and family. We Bulgarians have this tradition where we get together to celebrate pretty much every holiday/special occasion/etc. known to man, but graduations are something special. Having gone to previous ones we've hosted, I couldn't wait for mine! And what made it even better is that not only did I get to enjoy it with my friends and family, my aunt and uncle and cousin and grandma were there, too, all the way from Bulgaria. If you've kept up with me long enough, you should know by now that Bulgarian festivities are not a light affair. Mom and aunt spent the entire week prior to the party prepping the food, they decorated for an entire day, and put so much heart and soul into making this night memorable for me that I can never be grateful enough. The food was delicious, the music loud and infectious, and the atmosphere bubbly. We danced till our legs couldn't hold us anymore and we sang till our throats hurt and we ate so much ice cream cake that we immediately regretted it.
What I didn't know was that one of our close friends had planned a surprise for me... Sometime towards the middle of the party I was told to scoot and go stand on the other side of the room. I was already suspicious, seeing as how everyone at this point had gathered in a huge circle and were all smiling at me expectantly with their cameras out. Surprises not being a forte, I can easily imagine how I looked like a deer caught in the headlights. But what happened next was one of the sweetest things I'd ever seen. A lot of the families we know have little children, and there were about twenty at the party; And at that moment, sometime between ordering me to go stand in the corner and all the parents pulling out their camera phones, they had all lined up single file and were each holding a present bag. The first one came up to me, handed me a poem and a bag, and told me to read. I read the poem about success and dreams diligently, and when I opened the bag I burst out laughing. Attached to each bag was a little piece of advice for when I go off to college, how to stay healthy, how to be practical, you know, things like how to survive haha. And inside the first bag was a plunger! Then each kid started coming up to me, giving me a hug and a bag, and it was the sweetest thing ever:) The gifts ranged from a sewing kit, to batteries, to paint rollers, and protective masks and goggles. Which probably explains a few of the pictures, if you were confused;)
We stayed until 3 a.m. and I had one of the best nights of my life. I don't know how I'll ever repay everyone involved in planning this for me and to those who were so generous as to get me a gift. The least I can do is say thank you. So, thank you; thank you for making tonight so special. I'll never forget it. The pictures on Facebook won't let me;)
No comments :
Post a Comment