On my 19th year of life...

This past Thursday I celebrated my 19th birthday.  Things got pretty cray, and I had a really great time, but it's also the beginning of a new chapter in my life, my 20th year.  So, rather than write about why I hate Valentine's Day, or about the Olympics, I figured a retrospective on this past year of my life would be more appropriate.

February 13th, 2013 I returned home from school to run over to 7/11 and buy myself some lottery tickets, and to my dismay, I was not asked for an ID.  That Friday I went to a Cutthroats hockey game with two of my best friends and received a message on the jumbo-tron from my family (a "trout out") before heading off to Sonic for tater tots, malts, french fries, and Disney tunes.  It was a great way to welcome myself into adulthood.  But a lot has changed since then, even in just one year.

I no longer live in Colorado, I now call Nebraska my home.  I no longer attend Denver School of the Arts as a high school student, I am a college student at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln.  I am still a Theatre major, but I now officially have an emphasis on Performance and am pursuing minors in French and Film Studies.

I spent my last few months at DSA fairly miserable, nothing seemed to be working out for me.  I caught noravirus (the absolute worst day of my life), I wasn't cast in anything, and I felt like my senior year of high school was culminating in exactly the way I would expect my terrible 5 years at DSA to end, with me being on the outskirts of not only my major but of everything.

I began a job at a movie theatre near my house and found it to be the perfect summer job for me.  I got to see free movies, surround myself with other film fanatics, and spend all day helping people do my favorite thing: experience the art of film.

I went to Prom with my best friend in a gorgeous Calvin Klein dress I was able to purchase for myself (thanks to all my hard work).  It was a wonderful fancy night, and one of my best friends was voted Prom Queen!  I then went to StarFest with aforementioned best friend and also relaxed in the hot tub after killing our feet dancing in heels the night before.

I had my senior theatre banquet and finally got to give a tearful speech, thanking my wonderful family, my beautiful best friends, and those teachers that really did help me along my path as an actress.  I also had my graduation, which was an amazing day in my life.  I got to proudly wear cords for Thespian Society, Student Council (for which I served as Vice-President), Arts Endorsed Diploma, and the Harry Potter Alliance (which I co-founded), along with a cool National Honors Society collar.  I even received my diploma from one of my favorite teachers of all time, Mr. Hughes.  My graduation party was Hawaii themed, in honor of my birthplace, and I wore my mom's old hawaiian print dress and had some delicious POG.

I frequented The Church nightclub all summer with two friends, dancing all night long and becoming friends with the DJ.  I went to Denver Comic Con as my first full convention and spent hundreds of dollars of graduation money on all things wonderfully nerdy before going Sci-Fi Speed Dating and getting a couple of dates out of it.  I went and saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show at Red Rocks with two of my besties as a final goodbye before I headed off to Nebraska.

I went through Panhellenic Formal Recruitment and received a bid from Alpha Delta Pi and have joined an international sisterhood that I am so proud to be a part of.  I began my life as a college student, making friends, living in a dorm, meeting frat boys, hanging out in the lounge, and of course going to classes to study my love, acting, and also the dreaded ACE (gen ed) classes.  I went to every home game for the Huskers thanks to the season pass my mom's friends got me for a graduation gift and tailgated with my cousins and sorority sisters.

I went back home to see my little sister in Beauty and the Beast, the all-school musical at DSA and also got to go a Broncos game.

I went to my first ever sorority formal, we were grouped with Theta Phi Alpha, Beta Sigma Psi, and Acacia.  While it was a bit of a cluster, it was a great bonding time with my wonderful sisters.  I was initiated into the Alpha Delta Pi sisterhood and met my wonderful big Diamond Sister.  Oh how I love the pin they let me wear.  <3  I got to welcome in the next Alpha Class to ADPi as a Delta (the Alphas from open rush) and it was delightful to greet so many wonderful new sisters.

I went back home for Thanksgiving and Christmas to my lovely family and even worked for a week during my Christmas break.

I then returned to college as a full-fledged college student, used to walking across campus despite the wind whipping my face and waking up early despite being up until 3am the night before.  I joined the staff for Seeds entertainment and am now an officer for my sorority.

And this all led to here.  My first birthday without my family.  But at least I had a great time staying up until midnight with friends to open presents, and then going out with friends to celebrate my birth.  While 19 doesn't mean much in most places, here in Nebraska it's the legal adult age, so it's my second birthday celebrating legal adulthood.  I can now buy lottery tickets here in Nebraska and sign legal documents for myself.  C'est la vie.

Anyway, a lot can change in a year, and this year was full of exceptional changes.  I only hope the rest of this year proves to be as amazing as I hope it will be.