The wedding bells won’t stop ringing. I believe I am currently trapped in the wonderful phase of post-graduate life where it seems that just about every friend and acquaintance I’ve ever known is getting married.

For those of us plugged into social media, the engagement and marriage notifications show up just about weekly. The majority of my adventures with friends in the past year have been directly related to dress shopping, bachelorette celebrations, rehearsal dinners, bridal showers, and the wonderful nuptials of dear friends.

Recently, I’ve relived many Lehigh memories through writing speeches for these weddings. Last year, I had the honor of attempting to convey just how happy I was for my freshman year roommate … and not take an hour doing it. It was no easy feat. I actually called Residential Service to track down the survey we took that determined our perfect fit as roommates. I knew it was meant to be when the only sample survey available was from 2007. The exact one we took! I’ve had three chances in the last year to get through a speech congratulating amazing Lehigh friends on their wedding day … and I have yet to not choke up (or bawl my eyes out) by the end.

While there have been plenty of tears, there has always been an excessive amount of fun and happiness. You don’t even need the corn hole, music and drinks! Put a bunch of alumni in a room together and watch as the jokes and memories naturally bring smiles and laughter.

Relationships and friendships alike, Lehigh has a special way of bringing people together. Sharing triumphs and failures, adventures and landmarks, life lessons and lectures, there is a brown and white bond that connects us. Sharing the life changing years at Lehigh that transitioned us from awkward teenagers into pseudo-adulthood (I won’t pretend that we should all be considered full adults yet), has made these new milestones even more extraordinary.

While it may feel like the wedding bells, cake tastings, tux shopping, and registries may never end, I am constantly trying to take a step back and appreciate these new memories with my Lehigh Family. I can’t wait to see what comes next in the wonderful, lifelong Lehigh Experience!