Decisions, Decisions... for the Graduate

We’re celebrating graduations this week on the Buzz Blog.  To do my part, I'm posting a few photos from senior year, including my prom pic with my best guy friend back then, Michael -- what a cutie!

For me, senior year was a little weird.  All of my best friends were a year or two ahead of me in school, so after they left, it was time to make new friends.  I spent the year hanging out with my peeps from my drama and art classes, or the kids (like Michael) I worked with at the local fast-food joint.  Yes, I was a drive-thru queen that year. 

It wasn’t a bad job.  The people (mostly from other high schools) were fun, and it was only embarrassing when the kids who didn’t have to have after school jobs came into the place or whizzed through the drive-thru.  It was great to have a little spending money and to get some work experience, even if it was handing paper bags of greasy food out a little window. 

I could tell you so many stories about the shenanigans that went on there -- The grill boys who blasted the song “Hell’s Bells” after closing to annoy the very conservative manager.  The night some guy said lewd things into the drive-thru speaker to the girl taking orders, making the high school football star that worked with us so mad he nearly crawled out the delivery window to rip the creep's face off.  The day an ex-boyfriend who’d unceremoniously ditched me rolled through on his Vespa to pick up a burger.

It was a YA novel in action all around me.

Anyway, when graduation rolled around, I set my sights on going to the local liberal arts college.  My dad was a single parent who owned his house, so financial aid was really limited for us.  I basically chose a school we could afford.  I had finished in the top ten percent of my class, was a National Merit Letter of Commendation winner, and got a partial scholarship based on my art skills and plans to major in film, but somehow though, when I learned that the boy who was right behind me in the class rankings was going to Dartmouth, I questioned why I hadn’t applied to any Ivy League schools -- that maybe I’d set my sights too low.

Through that summer, I thought a lot about the purpose of college, about wanting to learn in a focused and collaborative way.  My chosen school, The Evergreen State College, seemed like it was the right choice after all.  I realized it didn’t matter what anyone else was doing -- it only mattered what was right for me.  (Good realization, kid!)

When I arrived at Evergreen in the fall and took my first drawing, photography, and creative writing classes, I felt at home.  And later, when I started my film courses, I really dug in.  By the time I graduated college, I knew one thing for sure -- I was born to be an artist and to tell stories.  I have Evergreen to thank for that.

It’s a very weird time, high school graduation.  You have to make some choices based on a future you may or may not have.  You’re pointing your little boat out into the waters with only a little lighthouse of a possible career to guide you.  By the time you make it to the other shore, you may find it’s not what you thought it would be, that you’ve grown and changed as you navigated the currents.  It’s terrifying and exhilarating, and only the very beginning of your journey. 

I would love to know if you had any moments of doubt about the school you chose (or are choosing now).  How did you pick the right one for you?  Were you influenced by friends or family members who wanted you to go somewhere? 

Remember, if you comment on any of our posts this week, you’ll be eligible to win a $25 Amazon gift card!  Tina will draw the winner this weekend...

Congrats to all the grads and their families!


Heather
www.heatherdavisbooks.com
Wherever You Go - Harcourt November 2011
The Clearing - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 
Never Cry Werewolf - HarperTeen
Sometimes by Moonlight: A Novella - ebook original June 2011

Hats off to the Class of 2011!

Congratulations to all of the graduates in the Class of 2011! I bet you thought you'd never get here. Hats off to you for your accomplishment and best wishes in your future endeavors where ever they may lead you.



I remember being in middle school and counting ahead to the year when I would graduate. It seemed so far in the future. Now, I look back and it seems so far in the past. Why, when I graduated in 1885...errrr, I mean 1985, the members of the class of 2011 weren't even a twinkle in their parents' eyes.



Even though Tera already posted a link to old photos of me, I'll go ahead and toss some up.

Here I am last year when I visited "the hill," where Pike Liberal Art School sits in Troy, Alabama. The campus has changed quite a bit, but there was still the same familiar feel on the soil that I walked for twelve years.



Here's my senior portrait. Keep in mind, this was back in the days when thick eyebrows and girl mullets were the fashion. LOL!



I had twenty-eight (28) people in my senior class. We were a really tight-knit group through our years together from first grade until twelth. It seemed as if our world would end being "busted up," but so many people have gone on to wonderful lives. Careers that include, the military, lawyer, policeman, several school teachers, nurses, and even a district judge! Then there's little old me...the published author. Who'd a thunk it? LOL!

Here's our senior portfolio. I'm on the top line because I was a class officer. This is hanging in the hallway at my alma mater, along with all of the other classes. (Check out the big hair on everyone!) Sadly, there's a prayer hand notation on one of my classmates who passed away.



Actually, when I left high school for The University of Alabama, I had planned on getting a degree in psychology and then going forward into medical school. That all changed after my freshman year at Bama when I my creative juices took over in my communication and writing classes and I longed to go into marketing/advertising/public relations. Now *that's* a switch!

That's the great thing about this time in your life. You can change your mind. You can try on dreams and ideas and see what fit. The only thing that matters is that you discover who you are...and who you want to be...and don't let anyone or anything hold you back from your dream, whatever it may be.

So...congrats to the class of 2011! I wish you success and happiness!

Hugs,
Marley = )

High School TLC

My senior picture.

This week we're celebrating high school seniors and graduation. High school graduation feels like forever ago, and I've done so many crazy things since then. On the day of my graduation, I planned to go to Columbia University in New York City to study architecture and eventually become a world famous architect like Frank Lloyd Wright, Frank Gehry, or Robert A.M. Stern. But plans change. Here's what really happened:

Went to Columbia, University of Colorado, back to Columbia, SHSU, and Tufts. Lived in New York, Colorado, Missouri, Texas, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Oklahoma. Wanted to become a lawyer, architect, environmental biologist, actress, muralist, scenic artist, teacher, professor and finally writer.

My graduation picture.

I often wonder what my friends have done since high school. I'm not in touch with most of them, but every so often I hear from one. Sometimes I try to track someone down on Facebook or something. I know my best friend is married with babies. Many of my friends are still in or around the town where we went to high school.

I always had bigger plans than my friends. I wanted to go farther away, do more exciting things, be a bigger name in the end. Maybe it's because I grew up moving around the country, so big changes didn't scare me. They still don't, obviously, since I'm about to move across the country again. (Seattle here I come!)

I've always been a planner, but I've also always been willing to let me plans change. And I'm definitely happy with how my plans are working out so far.

So, what are/were your plans when you graduate(d) from high school? Big or small? Close to home or far away? Did you/are you/will you accomplish them?

Hugs,
TLC

PS. If you want to see more embarrassing high school pictures, check out my post from High School Week back in 2008. Tina, Marley, Steph, Heather, Dona (sort of) and ex-Buzz Girl Simone shared, too.

teralynnchilds.com
@teralynnchilds

High School Regrets

Happy graduation to all the high school graduates out there! As Tina mentioned yesterday, to help celebrate we will be highlighting a few things about our high school years. Should be fun! Plus, comment each day for chances to win the $25 Amazon.com gift card Tina is giving away!

This is me when I graduated high school. Sorry it's blurry. Anyway, I think one thing we can see from all these high school photos, regardless of how fuzzy they are, is that I had bad hair. I'm not sure if this is just the way it is, kind of like how no matter how hard we try to choose bridesmaid dresses that are actually pretty and can be worn again someday (yeah, right), or if it's just me. I slept in curlers or braids to give my straight hair more volume and oh, man, those bangs! Straight across and puffy, not a good look! Additionally, I sometimes wore a bow in my hair when I played sports (don't even get my husband started on that one).

In the next photo, you'll see the front of my alma mater, Araphahoe High School in Littleton, Colorado. I'm here with my friend, Amy, showing our school spirit. Yep, big hair. And I chose to share the (bottom) photo of us in our fancy dresses (big hair again) because prom is another huge highlight of the high school years. However, since I didn't have a boyfriend, my girl friends and I would grab a few guys from other schools and go in a big group. At the time, I was sad no one asked me, but now, I realize going with friends might've been more fun anyhow. So while I regret my high school hair-styling choices, I don't regret going to dances with friends.

Now it's your turn! (And don't be shy; there's $25 up for grabs!) If you've already graduated high school, is there something that at the time you were happy about but now you regret (like your hair) or something you regretted back then but now are happy about (like going to dances with friends instead of a boyfriend)? If you're still in high school, what about your junior high years?

Pomp and Circumstance

I'm keeping today's post very short because my hubby and I are off to Florida for my niece, Stephanie's high school graduation! Congratulations Stephanie!!!




For those of you who've read my two SORORITY 101 books, the character of Jenna was based on Stephanie. In the books, Jenna struggles with being a diabetic and how it affects her college life. Steph was diagnosed with her diabetes when she was eight years old. She has handled her disease in a very grown up manner and has been very responsible. I'm so proud of her.


Do you have a special teen in your life who has overcome trying circumstances? Please share with us!


Until next week...







Hugs!

Marley = )





SORORITY 101: Zeta or Omega? (Available Now! Puffin Books)
SORORITY 101: The New Sisters (Available Now! Puffin Books)
GHOST HUNTRESS SERIES (Coming May 2009, Houghton Mifflin)