Dilettante

dil-et-tant-e (dĭlˈĭ-täntˌ, dĭlˌĭ-täntˈ, -tänˈtē, -tăntˈ, -tănˈtē)

noun
1. A dabbler in an art or field of knowledge.
The internet makes us dilettantes in almost everything; from comics to medicine, the reign of the professional has ended.
2. A lover of fine arts, a connoisseur.
Dilettantes owe everything to the Bohemians; little private art galleries and coffeehouses exist solely for their enjoyment.

Synonyms: abdecedarian, aesthete, aficionado, amateur, aspirant, cognoscente, connoisseur, dabbler, dallier, greenhorn, hobbyist, learner, neophyte, nonprofessional, noob, putterer, rookie, smatterer, tenderfoot, the ungifted man, trifler, tyro, uninitiate.

Commencement

com-mence-ment (kə-mĕnsˈmənt)

noun
1. A beginning or start.
Today is the commencement of the rest of our lives.
2. A ceremony in which academic degrees or diplomas are conferred.
Seeing my daughter in her gown before commencement, filled me with pride!
3. A day on which such a ceremony occurs.
I am loving this word: commencement. It's not the ending of high school for her; it's the beginning of her post-high school life. With every ending comes new beginnings.

Synonyms: alpha, convocation, graduation, initiation, kickoff, proem, services, start.

Dysphoria

dys-phor-i-a (dĭs-fôrˈē-ə, -fōrˈ-)

noun
1. A gloomy, miserable feeling.
Though I try to tell myself you aren't suffering anymore, it's me steeped in the dysphoria of a world, a life, without you.

Synonyms: anguish, dejection, disconsolateness, distress, dolor, emo-tastic, funk, gloominess, grief, heartache, melancholy, misery, mournfulness, sorrow, tribulation, woe.

Oddments

odd-ments (ŏdˈmənts)

noun
1. Something remaining over; a thing not reckoned or included; an article belonging to a broken or incomplete set; a remnant; a trifle; an odd thing or job.
There's a place in the Square for oddments that we paupers call a free store.

Synonyms: debris, leavings, leftovers, legacy, odds and ends, remnants, residue, scraps, surplus, survivors, trash.

Chatelaine

chat-el-aine (shătˈl-ānˌ)

noun
1. The mistress of a large and fashionable household.
Barbie teaches each warm blooded American girl to be a chatelaine someday.
2. A chain and/or clasp that holds something valuable at your waist.
It's funny to think how many punks keep their wallets in their back pockets with a chatelaine.

Synonyms: a tool.

Bildungsroman

bil-dungs-ro-man (bĭldŭngsrō-mäɴˈ)

noun
1. A novel that tells the story of a young protagonist learning something about the world.
Graduations, weddings and funerals make life seem like one big bildungsroman. Maybe it is and we just need these moments to reflect on the plot.

Synonyms: apprenticeship novel, coming of age novel, erziehungsroman, kunstlerroman.

Agathophilia

a-gath-o-phi-li-a (ăgˈĭþə-fĭlˈē-ə, pēˌdə-)

noun
1. Obsessive love of kindness.
There's something beautiful about agathophilia, even if it is obsessive. Agathophiles pick up on the littlest kindness, often imagining kindness in places others didn't think it could exist.

Synonyms: rose-coloured glasses.