I may have spent a day crying about results, but I can honestly say that my graduation was one of the best days of my life. That's because the day wasn't about results at all. It was about the actual time we spent at Ravensbourne and celebrating all we've achieved whilst studying there.
For me the celebrations really started the day before. Largely for practical reasons I had my family stay the night and it turned out to be a really special time together. I had the privilege of cooking them a meal and then sitting round the table and eating together. I didn't cook anything difficult or special, but it just felt fitting that after years of being looked after and provided for in so many ways, I could return the favour, even if only in a minuscule sense compared to what's been done for me. We sat, ate and chatted. Nothing extraordinary on paper but in reality it very special. I loved having my family all to myself for those few hours.
Then the day was finally upon us! There was a great sense of excitement beforehand, people arriving with or waiting to meet up with their parents, melting in the heat and walking down a red carpet to get into Indigo2. Then we went to get our gowns. That's when it all became rather real. I was about to become a graduate!
The ceremony was great. I love the fact that even though it was a formal occasion, there was still a sense of fun, and that we were encouraged to clap and cheer. It made for a wonderful celebratory atmosphere, and I enjoyed clapping and cheering for my brilliant mates. Then all of a sudden, it was our turn! Our class queued up ready to go up on stage, shake some hands and collect our faux-scrolls.
The main thoughts running through my mind in the moments before I went up were 'don't let your gown collapse, make sure you remember to shake everyone's hand that you're supposed to, don't walk off too quickly in case someone tries to say something to you, and please, please whatever you do don't let a shoe fall off.' (My smart ones have a habit of doing that sometimes). Thankfully, I managed to get all of the above right, and even better, after my name was read out I heard a big cheer, in fact it was big enough for Robin Baker to comment on it as I shook his hand! This might seem like a very frivolous and egotistic thing for me to highlight, but for someone who wasn't happy with my results, it meant the absolute world to me to hear that level of support from my peers. I may not have quite achieved the academic level I wanted to, but it felt like I'd at least made an impact during my time at Ravensbourne. My hard work had paid off - I'd got to work with a lot of amazing people on various projects and events, and this was such a moving way to be reminded of it.
And thereon followed the reception, and photos. Lots of photos.
And that was it. The end of three jaw-dropping years at Ravensbourne. I can't begin to say how much Ravensbourne has done for me. I've had once in a lifetime experiences such as working for the 2012 Olympics, made some amazing friends, worked on projects I'm so proud to have been a part of, and learnt so, so much - about myself, my craft and the industry it sits in. Before Ravensbourne all I had was a keen interest in video editing and some pretty amateur work to show for it. Pretty much everything I know that's worth knowing about post production I've learned through Rave in some shape or form.
I also think Ravensbourne's brought out a certain type of confidence in myself that I've never had before. I think there's something truly unique about the extent to which it trusts its students. I'm the sort of person who's never going to really believe I can do something without proving it to myself first, and Ravensbourne's really allowed me to do just that. I know other universities were given the opportunity to work for the Olympics, but had it not been for Ravensbourne's approach I don't think I would have had the belief in myself, or at the very least the 'you never know unless you try' attitude to put myself forward in the first place.
I've come up from a very academic background so getting used to being away from the textbooks and theories took me some time to adjust to, but it was so worth it, because the difference in learning is incredible. Ask me about stuff I've 'rope learned' for exams in previous years and I'll probably be stumped, but Ravensbourne's hands on approach means I've just sort of ingested (see what I did there) the information I need. I haven't read about this stuff in a book, I've done it, I've shouted at it, spent hours trying to fix it and worked it through it on real projects. Now it's just sort of ingrained in me, to the extent that I'm often chatting away to someone and they have to get me to explain what on earth I'm talking about, it just comes that naturally, and that's all down to Ravensbourne. The difference between what I knew, and the way I approached my work before and after Ravensbourne is just incredible.
All that's left to say is a huge thank you to the many amazing, beautiful people who have supported me through the dizzying heights and sometimes crushing lows of the last three years. So here goes: Thank you so much to all my friends who have put up with me and never given up on me whatever happened, and to my tutors for their hard work and their teaching. To my amazing parents, thank you doesn't even begin to cover it, without your financial and emotional support I genuinely wouldn't have made it as far as graduation. To my beautiful sister who only really got to see me in the holidays in my most mentally and emotionally shattered state, but stood by me through all of it. To the various churches I have attended in London for letting me receive far more than I served, and to my home church Eastleigh Baptist Church for their continued prayers and words of encouragement. Looking back at the amount of support I've received from so many sources has been overwhelming and I'm so grateful.
So that's it. Ravensbourne, BA(Hons) Editing and Post Production, Class of 2013. It's a chapter of my life that I feel very sad to be closing, but one that's prepared me for whatever happens in the next one!
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