Today was a day of celebration and reunion!

I got to convocate with some of my closest friends from the Shoichet Lab and our Supervisor, Dr. Molly Shoichet (maroon robes), was among the faculty congratulating us. Anup (far left), Sam (second from right) and I formed the "Stroke Team" in the lab, working on drug and cell delivery to the brain for Stroke therapy. Both of them have moved away from Toronto to pursue their careers and life ambitions, so it was awesome to be reunited with them and get to celebrate all of the blood, sweat and tears we put into this experience together.

We were helping each other out, right to the end. Haha.

This was a great reminder that it's important to hit pause and acknowledge my accomplishments. No matter how big or how small, it's important to celebrate the victories in your life because it's all about the journey! I took this opportunity to reflect on and be grateful for my experience in the PhD program at the University of Toronto. As I stood in that box on the stage, I really tried to drink in the feeling of the experience and bask in the moment.

And then the obligatory handshakes with the important people...

A beautiful lunch with my family followed the ceremony at Volos, Greek Restaurant downtown with celebratory fruit for dessert. :)

Have you celebrated your victories or accomplishments lately?

Stay tuned ;)

Jackie O