so much for graduating college...

Iceland is home to Satan's volcano. I am not a fan of anything Icelandic at present, that includes you Bjork.

So I was all scheduled to fly out Saturday the 17th from London. I did everything one last time. I went to the National Gallery and said good bye to van Gogh, went to Borough for one last ostrich burger and took one last trip to Primark to stock up on summer wardrobe essentials. 

Then Thursday night the forsaken news spread rampant through the BYU London Center. 

The volcano started to erupt.

That night the airports closed. 

Friday morning I was still confident that I could get out that weekend.

Ten minutes later my flight was cancelled. 

See, news like this would have been welcomed with open arms if it were any other week. 

This week, however, is my college graduation. I have been looking forward to this for basically the last year. Call me cheesy but I was excited to have my name called and walk across that stage, in front of my peers and family to get my degree....case. I'm proud of myself and I really wanted to feel that surge of pride and self accomplishment this week. Two of my closest friends, Alyssa and Camille, are graduating with me, we are all in the same college (Fine Arts and Communications). I was really stoked to be there with them. 

When my flight on Saturday got cancelled I almost immediately skyped my mom and listened as she called Delta to get it rescheduled. At this point the airports in all of Northern Europe basically were closed indefinitely. I waited with anxiety rushing through my veins. Mom got me, and another girl here Christina, a flight back to SLC on Tuesday. I felt good about Tuesday, it was days away and this whole ash cloud will blow right on through to Russia by then. 

Tuesday was yesterday. I'm still in England. 

Monday rolled around and airports were still closed. At this point there was a glimmer of hope. There were some serious rumors that the airports would open up Tuesday morning. I was really happy to hear this news. So Monday was my second last day. I did everything, again, one last time. I even checked into my flight that day. I was set. And then I was crushed.

That afternoon I got back from the Grace Kelly exhibit at the V&A and my Tuesday flight was cancelled. Once again I immediately skyped mom. She had already rebooked a flight for me. She got the very next possible flight. I was thinking as long as I get in before 8am Friday for my convocation ( I don't need to be at commencement, thats the boring one anyway) I would be just peachy.

Sunday. Sunday was the first flight out.

I cried. I was so bummed.  I honestly thought even though everything was going wrong that I would somehow make it back just in the knick of time. I cried to mom through skype, which I must say was slightly embarrassing. There was nothing else that could be done. Delta wasn't even booking flights before Sunday.
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Just as I was about to finish this post, Wednesday night, I decided to check the Delta website one last time. I had heard that there had been some new flights were being added due to the reopening of the airport.
And there it was.
Thursday morning, there was a flight at ten.
I booked it.
Then I ran upstairs to my room screaming,
I'm going to graduate college!

And I did.