Midnight in Madrid: Senior Prom

Hey everyone! High school Prom is one of the biggest events of senior year and mine was held last weekend! Prom is an opportunity to get dressed up in long dresses and tuxedos and have a great time dancing and celebrating our last few weeks of high school.

My friends and I met first to take pictures close to the beach and then boarded a “Party Bus” to take us all together to the Prom. Prom was held in a venue right outside of Disneyland which made it even more special. During the night one Prince and Princess from the Prom Court were selected as the King and Queen of Prom. It was a really fun night and one of the highlights of senior year! 

What do you do at the end of your school year? Let me know in the comments!

xoxo

Ready for the End and the Beginning

New Year's Celebration

Hey everyone! Happy New Year! The celebration for New Year's Eve was very hectic for me this year! First, I hosted a New Year's Eve party for all of my friends. They all came over to my house and we danced and played games until midnight when we all counted down to 2013. We all blew streamers and noisemakers, wore funny hats, and celebrated for the first hours of 2013! Unfortunately since you have to stay up to midnight, I didn't go to bed till late and I was very tired the next day! 

Happy New Year

Last minuete submittals

The next day was January 1st and the last day to submit college apps. And guess what, I submitted a college app that day right before the deadline. I know I am crazy! But better at the deadline then never! Good thing my late night didn't hurt my application. It's always good to submit everything you want and never miss out on any opportunities. So now that the deadline is officially over, I can say I am officially done with all my college apps. No more last minute submittals for me! Now I can truly enjoy the last couple of days of break before I go back to my hectic school schedule on January 7th.

How did you spend your New Year's Eve and the first day of 2013? Let me know in the comments!

xoxo

Holly College-y Christmas

Hey everyone! This last week at school has been pretty hectic because it is the last week before the two week Holiday Vacation we have here in the United States! All high schools have at least two weeks off around this time to celebrate Christmas, New Years, and all the other holidays and most colleges have up to a month off! Because of this large time frame off of school, its the perfect opportunity to spend with family and friends, especially if you have been away at college until now.

For students like me who are in the middle of college applications, Holiday Break is the final time to finish and submit your applications. Since almost all applications are due to schools by the beginning of January, the days off school beforehand are perfect for checking over your applications and making sure they are perfect before you submit them. Once you have submitted all your college apps, you can celebrate by getting together for the holidays with all of your family and friends! I know I will be! I already had a cookie party with all of my friends, where all made and traded different cookies and desserts we made from scratch together. It was delicious!

What do you plan on doing during your Holiday Vacation? How much time do you get off school? Let me know in the comments!

xoxo

Glad Grads

Hey everyone! As schools across the country end and summer break begins, seniors (12th grade) graduate high school through a special ceremony called graduation. On this day, students receive their academic degree and become graduates. There is a procession of students in their academic dress (long robes and caps) and speeches by students and advisors. Then each student is called up one by one to receive their diploma.

One of the most important part of graduation is the cap and gowns. This is the attire each student wears. The more clubs and activities the student is involved in, the more tassels they can get to wear with their robe on graduation day. The top five percent of the class gets a big medal to wear as well. At my school, since the school colors are brown and gold, everyone wears brown robes except for the International Baccalaureate students who, due to their heavy work load, get rewarded with wearing a gold robe.
At the end of graduation, everyone takes pictures with their friends and family. Families normally reward their grads with flowers, balloons, and gifts! Then straight after, everyone goes to Grad Night! This is a celebration the school and PTA (Parent Teacher Association) puts on for the students. Its a huge party and celebration at the school that lasts all night until 5AM. The main reason for this is to ensure that all the students will have a safe graduation, before and after. It has evolved into one of the most anticipated events all year! The theme this year was: Life's a Game, Play It! There are rides, raffles with huge prizes, hypnotists, a photo booth, and more! But only seniors can see it, making the graduation process truly special.

Do you wear caps and gowns at your graduation? Do you have a Grad Night? Let me know in the comments!

xoxo

Party Prom!

Hey everyone! This weekend my school celebrated a highly anticipated high school event, prom! Prom, short for promenade, is a formal dance that occurs at the end of the school year. At some schools, only seniors are allowed to go but at most schools juniors and seniors can attend. Girls wear long formal dresses and receive flower corsages from their dates. Each year, a prom court of 5 princesses and 5 princes is selected by the school faculty and a queen and king is voted on by the students at prom! It is always fun to see which seniors win.
People go all out for the event, before and after, by taking pictures at fancy locations like the beach, riding in a limo or party bus, and going to an after party! Everything before and after adds to the event as a whole. Prom is always a night to remember!






Do you have prom at your school? Would you go to prom? Let me know in the comments!

xoxo

The End of the Beginning

Hey everyone! This week is very stressful for students at my high school, since its final exam week! Our school is based on a semester system which divides the year into two parts. We have final exam periods at the end of each semester. Each class gives one large test, that takes about two hours, which influence your end grades! Most finals are 20% of the final grade! With this is mind, this week and the days before are very stressful and filled with studying! Many people get together in study groups to productively study for a specific subject. Once this week is over, we have a formal dance to celebrate!
This dance, winter formal, takes place the weekend after first semester finals each year. The unique part about winter formal is it is a girls ask guys to be their date dance! This means that girls have to ask guys to be their date to the dance! Many girls carry out elaborate and cute methods of asking, like with balloons, puzzles, cake, etc.
Its a fun twist to a formal dance, since guys usually ask girls to be their date. It makes this end of finals dance truly memorable. Plus, since it is a formal dance, everyone wears their favorite dresses and gets their hair and makeup done! For the boys, they get suits with ties matching their date's dress. Its a fun way to coordinate! Also, the dance takes place in a country club, so there is lots to do along with dancing. Last year there were casino tables set up with pretend gambling! It was a fun way to have an activity that everyone liked that was all in good fun.

How do you like to celebrate the end of a stressful week? Let me know in the comments!

xoxo

Holiday Happiness

Hey everyone! This week is a great time for American high schoolers because its winter break! Since the holidays are just around the corner we get two weeks off from school to celebrate! We begin our break the week before christmas and then go back to school after New Years. Its a great time to relax before the hectic holiday season, along with doing many winter activities like skiing trips and seeing Christmas plays. Many people travel during these two weeks off from school, either to the mountains or a tropical location. I love to downhill ski, but many Americans are into snowboarding! Either way, they are both fun activities to do during winter break.

Disneyland ride!

Christmas Pajama Party

Some other fun things to do around this time of year is go shopping for Christmas gifts or have holiday parties with friends. Also, winter is a great time to go to Disneyland! I live only 20 minuets away from Disneyland, so this vacation is a perfect time to go. In the winter, Disneyland is filled with holiday decorations, including a huge Christmas tree and snow falling on Main Street. Its the perfect way to kick off the holiday spirit.

What do you enjoy to do on your vacations from school? Let me know in the comments!

xoxo

Age of Excellence

On Saturday night, I went to my friend's Sweet Sixteen party! Her party was very fun, and the theme was Hollywood, so there were movie posters hung everywhere, along with a Hollywood backdrop to take photos on, and special balloons everywhere. It was very fun, as all Sweet Sixteen parties are. The age when most American teens have the biggest party is when they turn sixteen. It is almost like a coming of age party! Turning sixteen is a also big deal in the United States because that's when you can get your drivers license. I will be turning sixteen and getting my drivers license very soon! I am very nervous, because you have to take a rigorous driving test before you can get your license. So wish me luck! 

In the United States, turning different ages means different things. At sixteen you can get your drivers license, at eighteen you become a legal adult, but it is not until twenty one that you can drink any alcohol legally, even beer and wine. Becoming older is very fun, but with more age comes more responsibility. 

What is your favorite age and why? Let me know in the comments!

xoxo

Friday- Fun Day

100 points for 11th grade.. thats me!

performers at the pep rally

Hey Everyone! Friday was our school's first pep rally, American football game, and dance! Each friday before a big game or event we have a pep rally, where the cheerleaders preform, the band plays a song, and students participate in funny games. And I was chosen to be in it! I had to stick my face in a pie and find the piece of gum at the bottom! Eww! Then I had to be the first to blow a bubble. And guess what, I won! I won 100 points for my grade. We have an ongoing competition between grades to see who can get the most points, and I'm glad I got some for my grade.

American Football in action

Cheerleaders in a stunt

That night was the first football game! Our school mascot is a hawk; it's the animal that represents our school. It's something for us to cheer for at games. The school we were playing were the timberwolves. So of course, we have to beat those timberwolves! The game got off to a rocky start, with us loosing in the beginning. Then in the final seconds, we kicked a field goal to win! Go Hawks! In the middle of the game we have a fifteen minute break, or half time, where the cheerleaders, band, and color guard preform. Color guard is dancing while twirling and throwing flags.

Beat those timberwolves!

Cheer performing at half time

Band and color guard performing

Lastly was the dance! The theme was Ahoy! A Dance At Sea, so everyone came to the football game in their underwater outfits. The game ended at 9:30 p.m., and the dance started right after that and went until 11p.m. Dances are a really fun was for the whole school to hang out in a social environment! Unfortunately, we only have about five every year. I guess the shortage makes it even more special!

Mermaids at the football game

football running through the sign

If you could have any animal as your mascot, what would it be? And what would you wear to an underwater themed dance? Let me know in the comments!

xoxo