THE GRADUATION (2003) by Mary Mohammed
That was the day my son graduated from Stirling University on 2nd July 2003 with his honours degree. My son was the first person to graduate from both sides of the family. He was graduating in the afternoon. The sun was shining, it was quite hot. It was a lovely day to take photographs. When he came into the room with his kilt, how smart he looked. It brought tears to my eyes. I gave him a big hug and lots of kisses and said, 'You look smart in your kilt.' Then we all went outside and took some photographs in our garden beside the flowers and beside our cars. After the photographs we went to Stirling University. When we arrived at the university we met all his friends and their parents then we went to the big hall where they were holding the graduation.
This was the happiest and saddest time of my life when the professor shook his hand and handed him the honours degree. This was my mother's dream to see one of her grandchildren graduating because none of her own children went to university. She thought my young brother would make her dream come true but it never happened. That's when she started to tell my children what her dream was, to see her grandchildren going to university but her three older grandchildren didn't. That's when she started to tell my children that you must go to university and get a degree. She would tell my children you must not listen to what your grand-dad says (because my dad was always calling them thick, daft and stupid. He would say they had not got the brains.) She would say to my dad, 'You wait and see. They will show you.' My mother died on 2nd May 1994. After her death I told my son, 'Don't let your gran down and show my dad you can do it.'
After it was finished we went to get our photograph taken then we took some photographs of him and his friends outside the university. Then we went to a champagne buffet. That's where we met his professor in person. I had three champagne buffet tickets. We don't drink so I used two tickets and bought one champagne for the professor and one for his best friend. I kept one ticket as a souvenir.
