Disappointment vs. Joy

Disappointment sucks. It always seems that disappointments come in groups. If it's one disappointment, another is bound to follow. I tend to be a list maker, whether it be in my head or in my planner. So naturally, I make a list of all of my disappointments. The list goes on and on, and eventually, I start looking for things that make me unhappy just so I can add it to my "list". Why do I do that? Couldn't tell ya. I've always been a pessimist, I guess. 

But today, I'm telling myself to be happy. I don't have to be everything, get everything, have everything (even though I always think I do). Disappointment is a part of life; you have good days and you have bad days. I've been lucky enough to have a really good life with really awesome blessings. But, somehow those disappointments always overpower the blessings. I can be surprised with a gift or spend the day with John, but the minute I get a bad grade, it all goes down hill. I'm sure a lot of you can relate. 

So now, I choose JOY. My life is in a bit of a transition phase (graduating, realizing who my real friends are, etc.) but it doesn't matter. JOY is what matters. So, in honor of my list making, here is a list things that bring me JOY.

-My Mom & Dad & Grandparents

- JOHN

- My puppies and long walks with them

- Eating healthy and feeling better about myself

-Coke (scratch eating healthy...)

- Gideon... especially my baby, Mukunth

- Blogs

- People having babies and finding out people are preganant

- Starbucks new sweet tea lemonade

- This weather 

- Wearing baseball caps

- Jesus Calling

My list could go on and on, but I'm sure you don't want to read about every single blessing in my life, since you have several blessings of your own. So today, I challenge you to choose joy with me. It'll be hard, but it's worth a shot.

(Thank you Leah Witham for some more senior pictures!)

PROM!

Prom wasn't quite what I expected, but still it was awesome, nonetheless. 

My advice to girls going to prom: Don't create the perfect night in your head. It won't happen. But that doesn't mean it won't be awesome. You won't have the magical moment walking down the stairs and you're date staring at you in awe (although he will think you're beautiful). You won't have the most romantic slow dance you've ever had (although you will slow dance). You won't spend the entire night with your date (he'll probably get distracted). But again, that doesn't mean it won't be awesome.

The morning of I attempted to sleep in but couldn't make it past 9:00. As soon as I woke up, the prom festivities had already begun. I packed my bag, bought food for the after party, got my hair done, and anxiously awaited putting on my dress. My mom had done my make up and as soon as she was done, I slipped into my dress. The dress was beautiful. It was the perfect shade of pink with pearls and silver. My grandma even said it was the kind of princess dress I used to dress up in when I was little. It was perfect.

John came to my house before pictures and boy did he look so handsome. He gave me my corsage (which was so pretty) and we took some pictures. The real group pictures came later. 

Our group had about 38 people in it, more or less. Yes, it was huge. But, going with such a big group made it more fun. There was no forced conversation, there were just lots of laughs and lots of pictures. Later we had the most delicious dinner (Nick and Sam's - heck yes) and boarded the party bus to head to prom. After some technical difficulty with the music, we made it to the dance. 

John and I danced like crazy. Usually dances are awkward and crowded and no one wants to dance. But, the dancing at prom was so fun. My favorite moment of the entire night was sprinting to the dancefloor to dance to "Come On Eileen" (Perks of Being a Wallflower, anyone?) John and I probably looked like idiots, but hey, I wouldn't have it any other way. Later that night, John won prom king. So yeah, I'm dating the prom king. ;)

The after party wasn't quite the after party I had envisioned (we laid around and later slept the majority of the time) but it was still fun. Having a sleepover with 30 of your best friends... what more could you ask for?

(Us in a nutshell)

Now that prom is over, I'm realizing that so is high school. All I have to look forward to now is graduation. I had quite a few sentimental moments:

1. Looking at John and thinking, man, I've dated this guy for almost 3 years and now he's my prom date. How lucky am I? And maybe even one day we can even tell our kids about it (maybe)

2. I looked at all the kids I grew up with and realized just how much we have grown. Like, seeing my first grade love and how he looked like a man. All the boys looked so nice and grown up... 

3. Knowing that I will never have another prom. So, make the best of it. 

Prom had quite a few hiccups and things that didn't go as planned. But it's okay. I hope that one day when I look back on prom I think of all the happy things, like corsages & John & my dress & how beautiful my friends looked & dancing like a bunch of goofballs. 

Happy Monday, everyone. Oh, and hook 'em!

See ya later, Lariettes!

Carl & Mack. Best lieutenants I could ask for.

Lariette team and officer tryouts for next year were held last Friday and Saturday. It was weird seeing the tryouts and meeting new girls knowing that I won't be on the team next year. After being captain for two years, how do I just walk away from it all?

Senior comes with several endings, but Lariettes may be the biggest ending of all. With the end of drill team comes the end of my dance career. Everyday someone asks me if I plan on dancing in college, and the answer is no. I'm not sure why I don't want to dance anymore, but I just don't. I've danced since I was four years old, so 15 years of dancing seems like enough. 

Although Lariettes came with it's fair share of drama and freakouts, I really will miss it. I may not miss everypart of it, but when I think back to high school, I'll think of those crazy stressful Lariettes times. It's time for me to say bye to 7 am practices (although I'm not too sad about that), no more whistle blowing, football games on the field, cheering for John, sore mornings (not sad about that either), white fringe, and high kicks. It's bittersweet to say the least. 

On the next chapter of my life (Austin, here I come!)

Bye Lariettes, you've been good to me.