Less posts, less commenting, etc. in this past month – it’s all because I’m gearing up for adult life and trying to make the most of my college life while I can. It will be interesting to see the direction in which Yow Yow! takes after I graduate because this blog was first created when I was just a second quarter freshman here at Seattle University. Together, we’ve grown a lot since then, but as always (and to be extremely cliche,) all things must come to an end.

Yow Yow, however, won’t.

My dear friend Megan Newell recently helped me design a graduation announcement for my big day and she did a phenomenal job at creating one that was truly me.  I am very lucky to have such wonderful and talented friends in my life.

My friend Maddie Cary wrote a post for Yow Yow! pretty early on and if you can remember her, she’s the one with the powerful voice. Last year, she created her girl group – Maddie and the Cary Oh-Keys and now they’re back and bigger than ever.

Here is their cover of Kimbra’s “Settle Down.” Proud of you, girl!

To promote this year’s Quadstock, we invited one of our acts, Campfire OK, to do a series of spontaneous performances on our campus in a classroom, in one of our busiest buildings, our library, and our cafe. It is always such a joy to work with this band. Not only are they extremely talented, but they like to have as much fun as we do.

Thanks for everything Campfire OK. We love you so much!

This video was edited and shot by my dear friend Veronica Lim.

Now that I am so much more aware of it though, business casual wear is all that I want to shop for. No, it isn’t, really, but it’s on my radar.

This new collaborative collection between Banana Republic and Trina Turk has got me swooning.

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It’s 73 today in Seattle and there is nothing that I want more right now than a good ol’ ice cream sandwich. Leave it to me though to be sick on this fabulous weekend. It’s really a shame.

The above photo is an advertisement [via The Frisky] of Carl’s Jr.’s newest dessert. It’s a cute play on the name, but let’s be real – I just want this:

With graduation just around the corner, life has picked up a bit. I’ve been tying up some loose ends and spending time with some dear friends and family. I know that, however, Yow Yow is always going to be here. I may not have had the chance to post daily for awhile now, but the pressure of keeping up with every day news just got to be a little bit too tough for me. Will that change when I am a working girl? We shall see.

So it’s been a crazy whirlwind of a past two weeks.

• I planned a music festival! Well, actually, I’ve been planning it for a whole year with my co-chairs, but I finally got to see it come to life and it was by far, the coolest thing I have ever done.
• I returned to a community and said my parting goodbyes along with the rest of the seniors in my class.
• I ate and didn’t eat a lot simultaneously.
• I didn’t sleep very much.
• School was kind of on the back burner.
• I became a “downtown” kind of a girl.
• “Call Me Maybe” became a little bit more permanent

But most importantly, in the last two weeks (probably in the last month since I said this not too long ago,) I have laughed and smiled more than I ever have in my years here at Seattle University. It is such a joy being a senior, but my time here would not be worth anything if not for those around me and in my life.

You guys, my last week of college is next week. I’m not even going to try to wrap my head around that right now at 10 PM.

We like to eat at small burger drive-ins.

We spend our mornings and afternoons chalking our Quad for our biggest event of the year.

Mayer Hawthorne made all of my dreams come true.

My girl, Euna Kho, killed it w/ her set.

photo cred: Christopher Joseph Taylor

photo cred: Christopher Joseph Taylor

photo cred: Christopher Joseph Taylor

And a little senior soiree action with my favorite junior Steph!

Alyssa Johnson…being a design goddess. Who’s excited for Quadstock?!

Good news.

We just found out that Ab Soul and Schoolboy Q are on the Rock the Bells 2012 lineup. STACKED!

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But seriously, allow me to introduce to you our bands:

Mayer Hawthorne and the County:
+ R&B/Soul/Pop
+ Hails from Detroit, Michigan
+ Supporting Foster the People on tour this summer
+ Just finished a worldwide tour/in the first leg of his national tour
+ Performed on David Letterman and Conan
+ Collaborations w/ Snoop Dogg, The Cool Kids, Rizzle Kicks
+ Ranked by Filter Magazine – Top 10 Albums of 2011
+ Performed at 2011′s Lollapalooza and Moog Fest
+ Was the last band to tour w/ Amy Winehouse along w/ Janelle Monae

ScHoolboy Q:
+ Rap/Hip-hop
+ Hails from California
+ Will tour w/ Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller, and Kendrick Lamar this summer
+ Part of TDE Entertainment w/ Kendrick Lamar and A$ap Rocky
+ On the bill for Pitchfork Music Festival 2012
+ Performed at this year’s SXSW
+ Part of the Rock the Bells 2012 lineup

Bearbot:
+ DJ/Mashup
+ New York native
+ Design student by day/DJ by night
+ Has had her work recognized by the 2012 Oscar Awards in the shorts nomination category
+ Latest featured work in David Guetta x Nicki Minaj’s music video “Turn Me On”

Pickwick:
+ Indie/Pop
+ Local band
+ Will be on the mainstage at Sasquatch 2012
+ Participated in SXSW 2012
+ Performed at 2011′s Doe Bay Fest, Bumbershoot, and City Arts Fest
+ Voted by City Arts Magazine as part of the “10 New Seattle Bands to Watch” March 2012
+ No strangers to selling out their shows

Campfire OK:
+ Indie/Folk
+ Local band
+ Performed at 2011′s Capitol Hill Block Party, Doe Bay Fest, Bumbershoot, and City Arts Fest
+ On the verge of releasing their new album
+ SEAC’s 2012 Battle of the Bands judges

Imagine Dragons – On Top of the World

Oh Search songs… you never get old to me.

A few weeks back, the leadership department at Seattle University was searching for commencement speakers for this year’s graduation ceremony and I figured I had a few things I could say. I turned in my application and my speech and became a finalist. I had my audition last week, but I had this sinking feeling that the role just wasn’t going to go to me. We’ve all had that feeling, right? The girl before me made everyone in the room laugh a lot harder than I did. Oh well.

Below is my speech though and even though I was not selected, it is still a piece that I am proud of.

Thank you to Seattle University for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the students. It is an honor to be standing in front of you all today – students, family, friends, faculty and staff, and the Seattle University community.

Four years ago, we sat in a set up similar to this one. We made jokes in our seats, reminisced with our friends, and dreaded the ceremony that we thought would drag on forever as every one of our peer’s names were called. Secretly, you loved every minute of it. Today, you might be in your seats doing the exact same thing and feeling the same way as you did four years ago or you might just be Facebooking and tweeting from your phone.

When we stepped onto Seattle University’s campus for the first time, we were overwhelmed with feelings of nervousness, eagerness, excitement, and anxiety. We were greeted by some extremely good looking people in red polos with perma-smiles. This indicated to us that college was not going to be anything like Old School or Van Wilder after all. Instead, Seattle University has provided us with a curriculum that would educate the whole person, prepare us for professional formation, and challenge us to become leaders for a just and humane world.

Looking back on the Class of 2012, we are truly a class of makers. It is with these hands that we have enabled ourselves to make our own luck, to pursue our aspirations, and create our own success.
• As freshmen, these hands voted in their first election.
• These hands have participated in service for the local communities in the Seattle area to give back to those less fortunate than we.
• These hands have questioned, have commented, and have been curious and proactive in our learning.
• It is the hands of others that have provided us with a new library and learning commons, a new fitness center, and an admissions building over the span of our four years here.
• These hands have supported each other during difficult times including the loss of two students earlier this school year Taro Kobayashi and Cameron Christian, who would have graduated with us today.
• The person sitting next to you has hands that are worn, but not yet aged. These hands have opened doors to new opportunities, closed doors on old habits, and have shaped the person we are today. As these hands have traveled to the other side of the country and back, taken flights to new countries, they have molded our paths through SU. Our hands have shoveled dirt during service trips, built houses, and have shaken the hands of the less fortunate and the prominent. These hands of ours have been held by one another as we make our way through college and now as we stand at the end.

A wise friend once told me, “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” Of course, this was just a couple hours before the traditional Senior Streak, but regardless no statement sounded truer than for this occasion. I could stand here before you today to tell you all that you can do absolutely anything you want the second you leave Key Arena, but since people have been telling you that your whole life, I’m sure that’s not what you want to hear. By now, you know yourself better than anyone else. You know what you are capable of and you know what it takes to make your own success.

While the past four years have led us down different paths enabling us to have unique college experiences, today we will have reached this milestone together. I invite you all to join with us as we celebrate our achievements, congratulate our grads, and anticipate all that is ahead.

With that I would like to leave you with the ending lyrics to Fun’s “We Are Young,” which includes a modified ending:
Tonight
We are young
So let’s set the world on fire
We can burn brighter
than the sun

So if by the time the bar closes
and you feel like falling down
maybe the nighthawk will drive you home
One last time tonight.

I wish you all the best of luck and congratulations!