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My First Concert
One's first concert is an unforgettable experience, mine happened to be on my 9th birthday when I saw Miranda Cosgrove in concert with the opener of Grayson Chance. Looking back on it, I do wish my first concert was to someone slightly cooler and it's kind of embarrassing to bring up the fact that my first concert was to the star of iCarly. It's also funny to remember see that I had won upgraded tickets to the tenth row for this concert and I actually stood in front of the stage, excitedly. -
First Pet Death
While I had experienced the death of many pet goldfish, I never had a pet that I had a bond with until my guinea pig Tiger. I had him for 5 years, and throughout middle school I would talk to my guinea pig while playing with them on the floor or on my bed. We noticed one day that they weren't eating, so we brought them to the vet and learned that Tiger was actually a girl, and that she was really sick. 3 days later, she was dead. It hurt a lot, and it was the first real death I had to deal with. -
First Panic Attack
I was in gymnastics class and my instructor had asked me to attempt a specific move involving depending on my upper body strength. A few years before this, I had attempted the same move and nearly broke my wrist, so I was doubtful I could do it even though there was a large difference in my strength. I kept saying I couldn't do it, and eventually I was helped over but I began crying and I felt like I couldn't breathe. I looked it up later and it had been a panic attack, and it wasn't the last. -
Joining High School Stage Crew
Up until this point, I had been dedicated to following the career path of being a movie director. I had done one show as stage crew before, but it was in middle school and didn't have a fantastic production value like the high school shows did. This show made me realize that my future may lie in theatre and not movies. Every show I did after that one slowly pushed me more and more into theatre management as a career and over 25 shows and three years later, it is a surprising but perfect change. -
Thanksgiving Without my Abuela
This was the first thanksgiving without my grandma, who was the chef of the family and typically made most of the meals. She had only died two days before and the funeral was two days away, so we were all in a state of grief. It was definitely quieter than usual and we missed out on some recipes that we didn't bring back until the next year. This was my first family death, and Thanksgiving was the holiday where we most appreciated her skills and now it's the day we most grieve and miss her. -
Changing Friend Groups
At the end of freshmen year, my friend group had dissolved into me and one other person that I never talked to because we didn't have any classes together. It was really upsetting because I didn't have anyone to hang out with over the summer and I felt like a huge failure at the time. Eventually, I realized that the reason friend groups change is because you have more room for better people, so it led to me having real friends the next year. At the time, this was a fail, but it worked out. -
Adopting my cats
Pets have always been a major part of my life, so convincing my mom to get two cats despite her being mildly allergic to them was a major success. Thumper and Flower were 2 out of a group of 5 cats that were saved by the Putnam Humane Society and until I adopted them I had thought I was a dog person, turns out I'm just an animal person. The day I went to pick them up, I actually passed out at the society and had to go to the hospital, but I knew I was fine and was more concerned for the kittens. -
Trying to get a job
The day I turned 16, I started seriously looking for a job. I knew I would begin driving soon and many places only allowed you to work there after you turned 16. Within the next 4 months I had applied to a large amount of jobs and didn't get a single call back. I had a short summer job, but it was through a friend, not an application. The next year I attempted the same thing, I believe I applied to 13 different places and eventually found one, but I struggled for over a year first. -
My Sweet 16
For six months up until my sweet 16 party, I had been planning out a theme, decorations, and everything else a huge party entails. My dad had given me a budget of $2000, which is what some people spend on just their venue. By January, I had a venue and all of my homemade decorations complete, I just had to buy some I couldn't make. I had also booked a DJ and a photographer/videographer that I had met the previous summer through work. I ended up going over budget by $30, but it was a big success. -
The Metros
The spring musical Mary Poppins was nominated for a metro award, a high school equivalent of the Tonys. Despite it not winning, it was my first show as stage manager and I was really proud of it getting nominated and for us to be able to perform one of the songs in the show. This was my first experience of being invited to the Metros and it's truly a day I will never forget, I was surrounded by many of my closest friends from stage crew and I got to relive a moment from the best show I've done. -
Crashing my Dad's Car
While practicing driving in my dad's car, I had attempted to turn onto a street that was narrow. Since I was new to driving and didn't know how early I had to turn, I missed the turn and almost drove onto the grass. My dad told me to back up and I did, then I got ready to fix my mistake but I forgot to change back the gear shift to drive instead of reverse. I felt the whole car shake as I backed up into the guard rail and he made me get out of the driver's seat. It was a big setback and failure. -
Junior Prom
I didn't expect my junior prom to be great, I had been to the previous year's junior prom and didn't love it and this year my best friend was in Puerto Rico and couldn't go. I ended up bringing another of my very close friends who was a sophomore, it was her first prom so she was extremely excited. It turned out to be a great night involving a chocolate fountain and eating popcorn on a staircase, and I got temporarily very close with this friend, despite us being friends for only three months. -
My First Panic! at the Disco Concert
Panic! at the Disco was the first band I ever truly loved and I was introduced to them by my father. My dad was a fan of the group and the song "Nine in the Afternoon" was in the video game Rock Band, so I quickly fell in love with it at a young age. In February, the band announced that they were going on tour for their 6th album and they would be in New York right around the time of my dad's birthday. I saved up some money from my birthday and bought us both tickets, and it was a great time.
