Flashback to Freshmen Night and More!

Hi everyone,

Yesterday was such a busy day regarding this project and I was a bit overwhelmed but everything worked out fine. There is a famous line in one of my favorite Indian movies and I can really relate to it right now.
"Just like the movies watch, in our lives everything becomes fine till the end.... a happy ending." So I just need to tell myself not to panic and that everything will be okay. This is one of the last times we will be blogging for 20-time and for me it's crazy to think that everything is coming to an end, this project and junior year. Time flies when you are doing something you love and I can proudly say that I fell in love with my 20-time project.

So yesterday I did something crazy. In order to get ready for freshmen night I printed 300 copies of m flyer in color! I'm sure I killed like 40 trees. Just hitting the print button was painful, it felt so weird to do something like this. But I made sure with 5 staff members because no way would I be able to pay $300 for the unauthorized printing.

After school I also went to the Key Club meeting to talk about Freshmen First. I gave them a little synopsis on the program and said that any incoming junior or senior would be welcome. The Key Club board was so nice. They made a separate sign up sheet just for my program. Sadly, I couldn't stay for the whole meeting to see who signed up but I picked up the sheet today and I am really happy with the mentor list.

I arrived at school early because I was speaking to the parents about freshmen night. The teacher that was running the parent portion of the night is one of the best English teachers at Dow and she encouraged me so much before I went on to speak. Even when she introduced me she told the parents that they should be thankful for me and my program and that I was a great student. I was so honored, I have never felt so happy. I have my speech to the parents and at first my voice was shaking but then I looked at my parents. They both had smiling faces and my confidence levels shot up. I finished really strong and the cafeteria roared with applause. I got to spend the rest of the night with the freshmen helping them get around to each of the designated areas. It was a lot of fun!

When I came home my parents told me how many people had come up to them to tell them that my program was great. My parents were so happy and proud. That was a great moment for me. Seeing the glowing faces of all my family members was bigger than an award I could get. I knew they were proud of me, especially after all the struggles. I feel proud even as I write this blog. Failure is the key to success and my failures at the beginning of this project are what brought to one of the most proud moments of my high school career! I can't wait to see where this project takes me.

Now I really have to sit down during the weekend and plan everything in detail. I have a lot of ideas in my head but I actually have to think about an organization system and how I will implement the ideas. This part of the project will be hard. I have to pick the dates and time for the meetings as well as the purpose of each meeting. It is hard to do without the school calendar for next year but I think even if I have tentative dates it is better then having nothing. I also have to prepare and meet with the mentors before the end of this year. So much to do and so little time. I am glad to say that even though the year is coming to an end for school so many new things are beginning. This should be an exciting journey for everyone.

Shout out to the parents and the freshmen! I know coming to high school can be a life changing event for a whole family but I am hoping Freshmen First can relieve the stress a little.