Sequel: Our Next Move ›
Status: completed :D
We Were Both Young When I First Saw You
I'm Not Gonna Cry
Before I tell you about my graduation, I realized that last time, I forgot to tell you what I got for my 18th birthday (which was on January 1st, 2004). Well, Matt's gifts to me (besides our engagement) were Evanescence's CD Fallen ,a trip to the recording studio (just to see what goes on in making a record), I met his parents (they were so nice) and another trip with the A7X boys, this time we went to Disneyland.
Surprisingly, the boys behaved themselves quite nicely... well, except for the rides where they have cameras, then they went wild, they "flipped the bird" a couple of times, but what made it even funnier was one time, Jimmy, Brian and Johnny were on Splash Mountain (Matt, Zacky and I were another log) and these little kids were in front of them and they flipped the bird (it was so funny, especially seeing the kids' mom's faces when they bought their pictures and then noticed Jimmy, Brian and Johnny!).
My parents gave me a Tiffany’s necklace (you know the one that says “if found, please return to Tiffany’s) and some Chanel perfume. My Grammy and Papa (my mom's parents who live in North Carolina) gave me (well, not really gave, it's more like are letting me) a trip to their house for 2 weeks (normally I am there for a week because life is so busy here). My Gigi and Poppy (dad's parents in New York City) are letting me stay with them for a week and we are also going to see a couple Broadway shows, RENT, Phantom and Wicked.
Oh, by the way, Matt and I have set a date for our wedding. We are getting married on December 18, 2004 (that's exactly one week before Christmas, yay!).
Fast Forward to Friday, May 28, 2004 aka Ashlyn's Graduation
It is 10:00 A.M. and today is a very special day for me, my family, my friends and even Matt. There were some days when I wished I could just quit school (like in my math class) but then my parents and teachers would remind me
"Ashlyn, remember, Hebrews 12:1, 'Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us'".
Sure senior year has been hard (not only in what subjects I took but everywhere else, balancing Matt, my friends, my family, dance and God was hard) but every time I felt horrible and like I wanted to give up, I remembered Hebrews 12:1 and knew that I could do it. I know that I do not graduate for another 8.5 hours but it seems like an eternity away.
We have gotten our cap and gowns, even though school colors are orange and white our cap and gowns are white. We have taken our last finals as Seniors (we did that on Tuesday and right after that I went home and took a good LONG nap). We have had our senior trip (we went to Honduras to help children in orphanages). We have done it all, except graduate.
Some of us are excited to leave VCS, some of us are sad (like me, I will miss my friends, they are all going off to school while I stay here), some of us don't know what to feel.
I told Matt and the boys that they are welcome to come to my graduation if they made the promise to stay pretty quiet because it is a private school/. I also told them that it might be hard to find a seat near my family, since about half of my family is coming (and that means about 30-40 people). I really hope they make it, while I love my family dearly, seeing Matt's dimpled smile seems to make my whole world brighter.
I look over at my bedside table and notice the picture, it is of Matt and I shortly after we got engaged. We were showing my parents the ring when, all of a sudden he kissed me and I put my left hand on his face and my parents took a picture. That picture is so sweet and you can feel the love we have for each other.
Well, I have a lot to do today, so I guess I have to get up and out of my pj's. I call Matt, who says he is
"Definitely coming",
along with Brian and Zacky, Johnny and Jimmy have plans with Lacey and Leana. I also told him do not to come to my house (I want him to be surprised when he sees me) and I will see him tonight.
Now it is time to get ready. I already know what dress and shoes I will wear but the biggest decision has to be what to do with my hair. should I leave it down or put it up, should I leave it curly or straighten it? I guess I should eat breakfast/lunch first and maybe talk with Mama, Grammy and Gigi and see what they think.
I went downstairs and headed into the kitchen and saw not only Mama, Grammy and Gigi but also my Aunt Vanessa and Aunt Joanne. wow, now I will have 5 women fighting over how I should do my hair, great I grabbed a bowl, spoon, cereal and some skim milk and sat down at the breakfast bar. Right before I could put the cereal into my bowl, Gigi said,
"Well, look who decided to join the land of the living! Good morning to you too, Ashlyn!"
and people wonder why I don't enjoy mornings I said,
"Good morning everyone,"
still somewhat tired.
I poured my cereal and milk and started to eat and once I was done and put all my dishes and everything else away, I turned toward everyone else who were sitting at the little table in the kitchen (not the dining room table, just like a casual table where they eat when they don't have company). I said,
"What do you all think I should do with my hair?"
wait for it, wait for it, let the talking at once begin…now!
To my surprise they all looked at each other and mentally decided which one of them would be the one to tell me. Finally Aunt Vanessa spoke,
"Well Ashlyn, we all decided that since we all know you cannot make a decision, we want your hair to be in a messy bun, that way, it's up but you can still see the curls."
I was shocked, usually the women in my family are noisy really loud, they are the type of women you would be embarrassed to have as mothers at your games if you played sports. They also hardly ever agree on anything because each one wants to be "right", well, that's not entirely true, sometimes all but one can agree on something but getting that other one to agree is like pulling teeth.
Shortly after my jaw dropped to the floor and I picked it back up, Aunt Vanessa continued on to say that my makeup (which was to be done by her and Aunt Joanne) was going to be soft but strong what does that even mean?. I told them I had to shower before we did anything to me plus it's like a fresh canvas to work on :D.
After my shower and changing into my underwear per the instructions of the female relatives, I called for them. Gigi and Mama started to work on my hair, which didn't take long at all (thank God!), only about 40 minutes from start to finish. Right before it was time to do makeup, my cell phone rang and by the ringtone The Reason by Hoobastank I knew it was Matt surprising I know, but he said the lyrics fit us perfectly, aww.
I answered it and he told me how proud he was of me and that he could not wait to see me tonight.
We talked for about 5 minutes when I could see the looks of annoyance on my Aunts' faces.
I sadly told Matt I was being summoned back into the makeup chair and he laughed and told me he loved me, after I said I loved him too, we said our goodbyes.
I climbed back into my chair that is in front of my vanity and my aunts got to work. About an hour later they had a lot of work to do, because sometimes the eye shadow worked and the lipstick didn't and vice versa and a lot of other things happened too I was finally allowed to see the finished product. I could have cried it was so cool looking, I knew my aunts were some of the best makeup artists in Hollywood for some reason!
After not crying after seeing my makeup, it was time to get dressed. Before I shooed everyone out of my room to get dressed, Mama stopped me. She told me she had one of my graduation gifts and I could see it now. She told me to close my eyes and hold out my hands.
When I was finally told to open them, I saw that Tiffany Blue box and knew it was something special! I opened it up and saw a beautiful gold necklace with a cap and tassel on it.
I loved it but Mama said since I haven't really graduated yet and it doesn't go with my dress that I cannot wear it quite yet. I still hugged her and then shooed everyone out. I got dressed into my black dress and shoes , grabbed my graduation cap and gown and walked downstairs and saw everyone, from my baby cousin Hayes to my Poppy; they all were looking at me. I could not believe it, but it finally was time to go to graduation.
Graduation wasn't supposed to start until 6:30 but as a senior, I had to be there at 6:00, in order to get dressed and get in alphabetic order. Granted there were only 30 of us, but there were some people who would get to class about 1 minute before it started and they had us worried. As soon as I walked to where we were supposed to be getting ready I noticed my friends Courtney, Heather and Alexa right away.
We commented on each others' dresses and they still could not believe I was getting married in 7 monthsto be honest, neither could I! I sometimes had a hard time believing it myself, especially since in September it will be exactly one year since I met Matt and now I am getting married to him! Anyway, we got dressed and got our honor cords (when you have a 4.0 all four years of high school) and lined up.
Sadly, my last name is Diamond, Heather's last name is Madden, Courtney's last name is Kipper and Alexa's last name is Zwiger, so we couldn't talk in line. However once we walked it, everything changed. As I walked to my seat, I could see not only my family but Matt, Brian and Zacky and they smiled and waved yes! They are acting pretty well for a band, I smiled back but couldn't wave because I had to keep walking.
After all the traditional graduation thingsyou know, introduction, Senior Memories, the Senior slideshow, the valedictorian and salutatorian speeches, they finally started on the names. I must admit I didn't pay attention until I heard,
"Tegan Ashlyn Diamond"
being called out. Then I walked across the stage, grabbed my diploma, Bible the gift they give to you, it has your name engraved and the rose for my mom. I walked to my family but it was kind of hard to do while balancing all that stuff in heels and you are blinded by flashes of light, but I managed and gave Mama and Daddy a big hug and then walked back to my seat while I waited for everyone else to be called.
When Kathryn Alexa Zwiger was finally called and Alexa sat back down it was time to turn the tassels. We all turned our tassels and then threw our caps into the air and then sat back down to walk back out. Once we were in the foyer, we all screamed
"yes!"
and waited for our families to come to take pictures. While I was waiting, I felt two strong arms come up behind me to pick me up. I turned around and saw Matt with that adorable dimpled smile holding me my insides and legs immediately turned to jelly. He kissed me and of course! I kissed back! We broke apart once Zacky and Brian said,
"My eyes, they burn!".
We all talked while we waited for my family to come and when they did, I was crushed by the amount of hugs. I introduced Matt to the family that was there and they all seemed to like him well, they did have a strange look on their faces once they saw his ears but, I could be thankful that at least he didn't have his lip piercing in, I cannot imagine what their faces would have been like then. I wonder if Matt will have his lip ring in during the wedding. (I prefer it in, it's so sexy).
We all took a ton of pictures and Matt promised we would do something tomorrow, with the boys (since we hadn't done anything with them recently) and he would call later. Brian and Zacky hugged me good-bye and said
“Congratulations”.
After going to a graduation meal at Bandera's I think that is now my favourite restaurant now, since it is where Matt proposed! and a long talk and more pictures at the house I didn't think it was possible to hurt from smiling so much but it is true, I am afraid if I smile any more, my face will be forever in a smile I removed my makeup, put my hair down and changed into pj's and crashed into my bed, it had been a long day!
Surprisingly, the boys behaved themselves quite nicely... well, except for the rides where they have cameras, then they went wild, they "flipped the bird" a couple of times, but what made it even funnier was one time, Jimmy, Brian and Johnny were on Splash Mountain (Matt, Zacky and I were another log) and these little kids were in front of them and they flipped the bird (it was so funny, especially seeing the kids' mom's faces when they bought their pictures and then noticed Jimmy, Brian and Johnny!).
My parents gave me a Tiffany’s necklace (you know the one that says “if found, please return to Tiffany’s) and some Chanel perfume. My Grammy and Papa (my mom's parents who live in North Carolina) gave me (well, not really gave, it's more like are letting me) a trip to their house for 2 weeks (normally I am there for a week because life is so busy here). My Gigi and Poppy (dad's parents in New York City) are letting me stay with them for a week and we are also going to see a couple Broadway shows, RENT, Phantom and Wicked.
Oh, by the way, Matt and I have set a date for our wedding. We are getting married on December 18, 2004 (that's exactly one week before Christmas, yay!).
Fast Forward to Friday, May 28, 2004 aka Ashlyn's Graduation
It is 10:00 A.M. and today is a very special day for me, my family, my friends and even Matt. There were some days when I wished I could just quit school (like in my math class) but then my parents and teachers would remind me
"Ashlyn, remember, Hebrews 12:1, 'Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us'".
Sure senior year has been hard (not only in what subjects I took but everywhere else, balancing Matt, my friends, my family, dance and God was hard) but every time I felt horrible and like I wanted to give up, I remembered Hebrews 12:1 and knew that I could do it. I know that I do not graduate for another 8.5 hours but it seems like an eternity away.
We have gotten our cap and gowns, even though school colors are orange and white our cap and gowns are white. We have taken our last finals as Seniors (we did that on Tuesday and right after that I went home and took a good LONG nap). We have had our senior trip (we went to Honduras to help children in orphanages). We have done it all, except graduate.
Some of us are excited to leave VCS, some of us are sad (like me, I will miss my friends, they are all going off to school while I stay here), some of us don't know what to feel.
I told Matt and the boys that they are welcome to come to my graduation if they made the promise to stay pretty quiet because it is a private school/. I also told them that it might be hard to find a seat near my family, since about half of my family is coming (and that means about 30-40 people). I really hope they make it, while I love my family dearly, seeing Matt's dimpled smile seems to make my whole world brighter.
I look over at my bedside table and notice the picture, it is of Matt and I shortly after we got engaged. We were showing my parents the ring when, all of a sudden he kissed me and I put my left hand on his face and my parents took a picture. That picture is so sweet and you can feel the love we have for each other.
Well, I have a lot to do today, so I guess I have to get up and out of my pj's. I call Matt, who says he is
"Definitely coming",
along with Brian and Zacky, Johnny and Jimmy have plans with Lacey and Leana. I also told him do not to come to my house (I want him to be surprised when he sees me) and I will see him tonight.
Now it is time to get ready. I already know what dress and shoes I will wear but the biggest decision has to be what to do with my hair. should I leave it down or put it up, should I leave it curly or straighten it? I guess I should eat breakfast/lunch first and maybe talk with Mama, Grammy and Gigi and see what they think.
I went downstairs and headed into the kitchen and saw not only Mama, Grammy and Gigi but also my Aunt Vanessa and Aunt Joanne. wow, now I will have 5 women fighting over how I should do my hair, great I grabbed a bowl, spoon, cereal and some skim milk and sat down at the breakfast bar. Right before I could put the cereal into my bowl, Gigi said,
"Well, look who decided to join the land of the living! Good morning to you too, Ashlyn!"
and people wonder why I don't enjoy mornings I said,
"Good morning everyone,"
still somewhat tired.
I poured my cereal and milk and started to eat and once I was done and put all my dishes and everything else away, I turned toward everyone else who were sitting at the little table in the kitchen (not the dining room table, just like a casual table where they eat when they don't have company). I said,
"What do you all think I should do with my hair?"
wait for it, wait for it, let the talking at once begin…now!
To my surprise they all looked at each other and mentally decided which one of them would be the one to tell me. Finally Aunt Vanessa spoke,
"Well Ashlyn, we all decided that since we all know you cannot make a decision, we want your hair to be in a messy bun, that way, it's up but you can still see the curls."
I was shocked, usually the women in my family are noisy really loud, they are the type of women you would be embarrassed to have as mothers at your games if you played sports. They also hardly ever agree on anything because each one wants to be "right", well, that's not entirely true, sometimes all but one can agree on something but getting that other one to agree is like pulling teeth.
Shortly after my jaw dropped to the floor and I picked it back up, Aunt Vanessa continued on to say that my makeup (which was to be done by her and Aunt Joanne) was going to be soft but strong what does that even mean?. I told them I had to shower before we did anything to me plus it's like a fresh canvas to work on :D.
After my shower and changing into my underwear per the instructions of the female relatives, I called for them. Gigi and Mama started to work on my hair, which didn't take long at all (thank God!), only about 40 minutes from start to finish. Right before it was time to do makeup, my cell phone rang and by the ringtone The Reason by Hoobastank I knew it was Matt surprising I know, but he said the lyrics fit us perfectly, aww.
I answered it and he told me how proud he was of me and that he could not wait to see me tonight.
We talked for about 5 minutes when I could see the looks of annoyance on my Aunts' faces.
I sadly told Matt I was being summoned back into the makeup chair and he laughed and told me he loved me, after I said I loved him too, we said our goodbyes.
I climbed back into my chair that is in front of my vanity and my aunts got to work. About an hour later they had a lot of work to do, because sometimes the eye shadow worked and the lipstick didn't and vice versa and a lot of other things happened too I was finally allowed to see the finished product. I could have cried it was so cool looking, I knew my aunts were some of the best makeup artists in Hollywood for some reason!
After not crying after seeing my makeup, it was time to get dressed. Before I shooed everyone out of my room to get dressed, Mama stopped me. She told me she had one of my graduation gifts and I could see it now. She told me to close my eyes and hold out my hands.
When I was finally told to open them, I saw that Tiffany Blue box and knew it was something special! I opened it up and saw a beautiful gold necklace with a cap and tassel on it.
I loved it but Mama said since I haven't really graduated yet and it doesn't go with my dress that I cannot wear it quite yet. I still hugged her and then shooed everyone out. I got dressed into my black dress and shoes , grabbed my graduation cap and gown and walked downstairs and saw everyone, from my baby cousin Hayes to my Poppy; they all were looking at me. I could not believe it, but it finally was time to go to graduation.
Graduation wasn't supposed to start until 6:30 but as a senior, I had to be there at 6:00, in order to get dressed and get in alphabetic order. Granted there were only 30 of us, but there were some people who would get to class about 1 minute before it started and they had us worried. As soon as I walked to where we were supposed to be getting ready I noticed my friends Courtney, Heather and Alexa right away.
We commented on each others' dresses and they still could not believe I was getting married in 7 monthsto be honest, neither could I! I sometimes had a hard time believing it myself, especially since in September it will be exactly one year since I met Matt and now I am getting married to him! Anyway, we got dressed and got our honor cords (when you have a 4.0 all four years of high school) and lined up.
Sadly, my last name is Diamond, Heather's last name is Madden, Courtney's last name is Kipper and Alexa's last name is Zwiger, so we couldn't talk in line. However once we walked it, everything changed. As I walked to my seat, I could see not only my family but Matt, Brian and Zacky and they smiled and waved yes! They are acting pretty well for a band, I smiled back but couldn't wave because I had to keep walking.
After all the traditional graduation thingsyou know, introduction, Senior Memories, the Senior slideshow, the valedictorian and salutatorian speeches, they finally started on the names. I must admit I didn't pay attention until I heard,
"Tegan Ashlyn Diamond"
being called out. Then I walked across the stage, grabbed my diploma, Bible the gift they give to you, it has your name engraved and the rose for my mom. I walked to my family but it was kind of hard to do while balancing all that stuff in heels and you are blinded by flashes of light, but I managed and gave Mama and Daddy a big hug and then walked back to my seat while I waited for everyone else to be called.
When Kathryn Alexa Zwiger was finally called and Alexa sat back down it was time to turn the tassels. We all turned our tassels and then threw our caps into the air and then sat back down to walk back out. Once we were in the foyer, we all screamed
"yes!"
and waited for our families to come to take pictures. While I was waiting, I felt two strong arms come up behind me to pick me up. I turned around and saw Matt with that adorable dimpled smile holding me my insides and legs immediately turned to jelly. He kissed me and of course! I kissed back! We broke apart once Zacky and Brian said,
"My eyes, they burn!".
We all talked while we waited for my family to come and when they did, I was crushed by the amount of hugs. I introduced Matt to the family that was there and they all seemed to like him well, they did have a strange look on their faces once they saw his ears but, I could be thankful that at least he didn't have his lip piercing in, I cannot imagine what their faces would have been like then. I wonder if Matt will have his lip ring in during the wedding. (I prefer it in, it's so sexy).
We all took a ton of pictures and Matt promised we would do something tomorrow, with the boys (since we hadn't done anything with them recently) and he would call later. Brian and Zacky hugged me good-bye and said
“Congratulations”.
After going to a graduation meal at Bandera's I think that is now my favourite restaurant now, since it is where Matt proposed! and a long talk and more pictures at the house I didn't think it was possible to hurt from smiling so much but it is true, I am afraid if I smile any more, my face will be forever in a smile I removed my makeup, put my hair down and changed into pj's and crashed into my bed, it had been a long day!
♠ ♠ ♠
I love all you readers and without you, this story would have not been made, thank you!Birthday Present from Parental Units
beautiful necklace for Graduation.
Graduation outfit