The Graduate

This is my last official post from Philadelphia. I know it's been a while and I have a lot to catch up on.

Beach Week

Coming home without my camera, this is the best photo I have of me so far. It also kind of gives you a sense of the scene (this club was a private party for just us) and how sober those taking pictures were.

The week after finals and before graduation, most of Wharton descends on South Beach for five days of drinking, tanning, and more drinking. It's a trip people talk about for two years as the ultimate Wharton experience, and the one where everyone knows it's the last hurrah so they go all in. I was sort of dreading it to be honest. I don't consider myself a nightclub person (I like to go out, but I like $2 beers and being able to hear people), and the sun is not really my friend.

It was much better than I thought it would be. I was out until about 6am every night (morning?). South Beach is gorgeous. The main area is all art deco hotels, each of which has these unexpectedly beautiful back gardens and pool areas which make you feel like you're in another world. I ate at Nobu and The Delano, I got a moderate amount of sun and no sunburn, and I had a lot more fun than I expected. There were some very weird conversations with people who decided that the last week at Wharton is the time to tell you how much they love you, platonically or otherwise, whether you really know them or not. It was an unexpectedly emotional week, and one where my ribs were constantly sore for unknown reasons.

On the bad front, my camera and phone and cash were all stolen from out of my purse my last night there. All I have to say about that is beware of the sketchy sandwich stand on Washington, and five hours of open bar is a bad thing.

The Rest

I then came back and had to deal with packing-graduating-goodbyes. People continued to go out, but I felt like after Beach Week I was really done. I had to get my apartment ready to go, and to graduate. Marji and Roger arrived late on Friday night and were immediately whisked off to Geno's for a wiz wit' and a wiz wit'out respectively. We ate some great meals, the met some of my friends, and after three hours in the beating hot sun, I gradumacated. Anti-climax of the century.

I moved out yesterday, and leave for Paris in a few hours. It's very weird to be leaving this place. I will never have a time in my life where I have hundreds of people living within four blocks of me, all of whom are focusing on doing the same things. I never get to write a musical comedy again. I don't get to sleep in on Fridays and go to Little Pete's at 3am with a group of people hoarse from singing karaoke at Bonner's.

I am excited about the next year of my life, but I am very sad that this experience is over. I have a set of unbelievable friends who are all moving to New York. I have learned more about myself than I think I even learned about business, though I think I learned a lot about that too.