So I posted this on Altarholics.com...

but I'll adjust it a little so it seems like I'm writing it on here and I realized that it's "Psi Chi," with the Greek Psi and not "Psy" as in "psychology."

Ylissa, wanted to have a special ceremony to give all of her friends a gift the day before graduation (yesterday, Saturday). I didn't think much of it, but when we all gathered in my room, she had this special box, which reminded me of the box in Altar Boyz.

She said she wanted to give us all something to tell us how much she valued our friendship. Ylissa, Marisol, Anita, and I have all seen Altar Boyz multiple times before; my friend Molly hadn't. However, I couldn't hold back from quoting Matthew by saying, "You wanted to give us a little sumtin' sumtin' from you to us?"

Anyway, she made us promise that we would keep our gift and not give it back to her. This made me wonder, what could the gift be if she had a feeling we wouldn't accept it.

I was first. She took out her "I Got Crunk" button! I was almost in tears. She and I, out of all the other people in the room, both love Altar Boyz soooooo much and for her to give up her "I Got Crunk" button was so special! I was about to cry. She said that she knew that I would be one of the few people who would appreciate the button. And then she also gave me a pin that she got when she used to be Catholic (she's Protestant now). She said that she knew that "Epiphany" was my favorite song and that I felt a little sad that I wasn't Catholic to really sing it and mean it so she gave me her Catholic pin. It's small and gold and says "St. Paul the Apostle" on it, with a cross and sun rays. I thought that was so thoughtful of her. She told me that I didn't have to wear the "I Got Crunk" button for graduation, but the smaller Catholic pin wouldn't be too weird. LOL

Anita received her Psi Chi pin; it's a pin for a very exclusive psychology club. Ylissa would have worn it for graduation, but she wanted Anita to have it and wear it for graduation because she met Anita through their psychology classes.

Molly received an honor rope Ylissa received in high school for her graduation. Ylissa received it because she had a 3.5 GPA or higher. It's a yellow rope that goes around your neck to go over your graduation gown. She gave it to Molly because she felt special when she received it in high school and now she wanted Molly to feel special too. It was an rope for honor students and "it is an honor to be your friend," she said to Molly. She wanted Molly to wear it tomorrow for graduation. That was so sweet!

Marisol got a gift that made us all cry. If you are an Asian-American student and go to the CAPAS (Center for Asian and Pacific American Students) dinner, you receive a CAPAS stole to wear for graduation. I got one; Ylissa got one; and Anita got one. Marisol is half Korean and half Mexican. She received a CLSA (Chicano Latino Student Association) stole, but was unable to attend the CAPAS dinner to receive the CAPAS stole and maybe she felt hesitant as well for other reasons. Ylissa gave her CAPAS stole up, which she would have worn for graduation, and gave it to Marisol as a gift. She wanted Marisol wear it to honor her Asian side during graduation and knew that Marisol's Korean mother would be proud of her (Marisol's mother passed away when she was younger). She wanted Marisol to embrace both sides of her culture and giving her the stole would help her honor her mother as well. Marisol and Ylissa started crying and then we all started crying.

Each of these gifts all meant a lot to Ylissa and for her to give them up and give them to us was so special. We all hugged each other. It's going to be sad tomorrow. I know we'll all see each other again, but it won't be the same as living on campus, being in the dorms, and eating together in the dining halls!