Summer Girl

I never in a million years thought the summer before college would come this quickly. I guess it's because I've literally spent the last year counting down the days until ICDC, instead of graduation, that I didn't realize how soon everything would come. But here we are.

Prom has come and gone. It was a crazy, fun filled night. A little bit overhyped (I spent WAY too much on my dress...which, by the way, is for sale here), but I had a ton of fun at Project Celebration, the after prom, no drugs/alcohol school-sanctioned event. But hey, I won a laundry basket full of basics for college, and spent the night with some of my best friends and people I hadn't really seen all year. Over all, it was a night well spent.

Pictured with Le Boyfriend, Le Best friend, and Le Best friend's Date

Flashing the DECA Diamond with my DECA Little Sister, Jamie!

It didn't really hit me that I was graduating until I was literally walking on stage and being bombarded with hugs from my Vice Principles, Principle and even superintendent (yes, Dr. Brown hugged me - I am as shocked as you, Birdville ISD readers). As I got my diploma from my counselor, I started tearing up and barely made it back to my seat, surrounded by the same people I'd known since 5th grade - some even longer.

Taking a moment to have a small flashback...here's a pic of me at my Kindergarten Graduation.

Me on graduation day. More excited about the DECA Diamond on my tassel than anything else.

But now that everything is over, I'm starting to make my plans for the summer, and even for the fall. At this moment, I'm focusing more on what I can accomplish before I move into Maple Hall as part of the Emerald Eagle Scholar's Program at UNT this August.

Summer To Do:

• Camp NaNoWriMo - I've been a participant in National Novel Writing Month and CampNaNoWriMo for a few years now. I've never been able to finish a complete novel in the time allotted, mostly because I have the attention span of a small puppy, but also because my life has been so crazy as of late. This July, I plan on (attempting) to finish one of the many novels I have started on my harddrive.

•    Do Some DIYin'  - The level of crafty stuff my house has in it is probably five times the average most super crafty moms have. My mother has always been really into art and things like that, but due to things like my senior scrapbook, and our recent cash crunch experienced in my household, I've been forced to DIY a lot of things. I have realized, most shockingly to me, that I actually LIKE crafting. So here's to a summer of glitter, glue and my little Dirt Devil to pick up the aftermath.

•    Become a Literary Ingenue Again - I used to spend all day reading in middle school, but since I started high schoolI haven't really had time to actually sit down and finish anything really. This summer, I want to finish a lot of books. That will most likely happen, because Le Boyfriend will spend the majority of summer smashing his keyboard and killing dragons (IE: WOW).

•    Spend Time with my Friends - Because of all the crazyness this year, I have spent very little time with both my best friends, and those I am not that close to but would still like to spend time with. My goal this summer is to make more time for my friends in this mess I call my life, in between my summer class and orientation and getting ready for UNT.

•    Explore my Home - One of the things I am finding is that the more and more I explore Texas the more I realize I haven't seen. I still want to find my way around Austin, San Antonio, even Dallas or Fort Worth, which seem so far away but are so close. I want to go to more museums, take more walks downtown, eat at more dives and find more places that no one has heard of.

•    Better Myself - If there is anything I've forgotten this year, it's that sometimes I need to take a moment to relax and take care of myself. Because of previous medical issues, when I get stressed my body literally goes into meltdown mode and tries to make me sleep the majority of the day. If I don't sleep, I get physically sick. So this summer, I want to take the time to relax. Have self spa days, give myself a manicure, maybe a scalp massage or two. Sometimes, I just have to remember that I need a little pampering too.

Check out my summer to do list on Pinterest:

This summer is going to be (hopefully) one to remember; one more step on the unevenly paved road to my future.

Let's see where this ride takes us.

The Butterfly

"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty." - Maya Angelou

Before I joined DECA, I really had no idea what I wanted to do in life. I was perfectly content graduating high school and becoming a chef or something similar, continuing life on only a high school diploma. I walked around in America's Next Top Model sweatpants and Birdville t-shirts, and had no further hopes for myself. Then, when my high school career began, I realized just how much image can change how people think about you. Sad but true, the way you look can be the difference between popular and unpopular. It can mean you're beat up every day, like I was, or revered as the prettiest girl in school. 

Best picture to show the length of my extensions
(at one of my favorite spots in Disneyland while in CA for ICDC)

When I was little, I would look at girls in magazines with long shiny hair and tall, slim bodies and think that it was the picture of perfection. As a child model, I bleached my hair blonde for years, to the point where, now, I have a slight keratin deficiency. This means my hair and nails don't grow at a normal rate, and they both break and look fried frequently. 

So, since my sophomore year, I have been wearing hair extensions. Most people at school know I have them, because they witnessed my transformation years ago from a chubby, brace faced freshman to the 5'8, long haired, still socially awkward girl I am today. However, the majority of the people in DECA, and at the BCTAL, and those who haven't known me since Freshman year, do not know about the changes I have gone through over the last three years to be the person I am today.

Visiting Las Vegas my Freshman year with Mom.

I can clearly remember the day I truly realized how much image mattered; the girl I considered my best friend starting high school sent me a laundry list of things I needed to change about myself before I would be "forgiven" (for what, I still don't know) and allowed to be a part of her group again. It hit me like a ton of bricks, realizing how truly mean people, specifically girls, could be.

So for the next three years, as I learned everything I could about leadership, social media, networking and more, I spent my extra energy basically changing my whole persona. Within a period of a year, I'd lost 30 pounds, had my braces taken off, got my extensions. I went from the overbearing, loud mouthed, busy body in the back of the room that the majority of people in my grade refused to be seen with to a more reserved, professional, well dressed student leader, being told I would one day lead the country (imagine the size of my ego as I decided to run for National Office). But I realized, during this time, that I was destined for greater things, besides becoming a chef. I found out my passion, my strengths, where I wanted to go to school. I gained my purpose, because of my transformation.

My hair recently without extensions.

Sometimes, I look back and wonder if it was all worth it. If I'd stayed the person I was back then, who would I be? If I hadn't spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars of my parents money on hair, tanning, makeup and clothing, what would I look like? If I hadn't worked on controlling my tongue, becoming a better leader, would I have all the friends I have today? These are all questions I can't answer. I don't know what I'd look like, who I'd be, who I have in my life. 

For now, the best I can hope for is going back to the basics. As graduation nears, college approaches, and sleep is becoming more and more precious, I'm beginning to realize that spending an hour and a half to get ready every morning may not be the best of plans. So I'm simplifying my routine, going back to short, natural hair and less makeup. I've stopped tanning, stopped worrying about loosing weight. For now, I just want to be me. I want to just BE  the person I've become, instead of trying to continue evolving into someone else.

Today, I'm just Holly. Not Officer Holly. Not Leader Holly. Not fashionista Holly.

Just. Holly.

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The Beginning of the End

It's so weird to think that this is my last year of high school. Four years ago, I started out this week as an awkward, 5'5, brace faced, nerdy girl on color guard with no social skills or fashion sense whatsoever.

Did I mention I also sprained my ankle the week before school started? No? Well, now you know. My first day of Freshman Year, and I was in a boot. My awkwardness exceeded THAT level.

Four years later, and looking at the way things have changed is kind of amazing.

Myself, Miranda and Kami from Block Forensics

Okay. Well. From that picture it really doesn't look like things have changed that much. But I've grown about 4 inches, lost a good 15 lbs, and underneath my new Forensics jumpsuit (yes, you heard me right, Forensics! My fourth science class is a total win) I have, in fact, gained a fashion sense. You can kind of tell from the earrings and sandals. You can't? Oh, well, pretend you can.

Four years ago, I had no idea what I wanted to be when I got out of school. Back then, I think I was leaning towards cooking or writing books for a living, neither of which I seriously consider a viable career for myself anymore. Now, I'm looking at a career in Public Relations or Event Management, thanks to a little organization I joined called DECA as an equally as awkward Sophomore.

I know I brag on DECA a lot, but I think it was the turning point in my high school career. DECA made me really think about my future and where I was and am going with it. DECA made me challenge the processes in a lot of things, including the way classes for students are set up at our school (say Hello to the Birdville Center of Technology's only full time student!) and has given me the chance to grow as a networker and as a public speaker (I also just realized I forgot to mention-while in LA for ELS last month, I was chosen as the first Social Media Correspondent for DECA Direct, DECA's new national publication. More on that soon). I just finished a call with the other members of the State Action Team, where we put our plans into place for the fall, and I am SO excited for this next year with my organization.

The 2012-2013 National DECA theme is Thrive, and I think Thrive we will!

The new official picture of the 2012-2013 officers. President Kate looks so awesome.

I feel like everything in the last four years has kind of been a build up-all getting me ready for this novel climax worthy year at the end of my high school career. I've got a lot planned for the next 9 months in school, I don't know how I'm going to do it all, but it's going to be so worth it in the end.