Internship [part 2]

I was so nervous to begin my little interning experience at the local news station. I was greeted by the news anchor Arturo Santiago who showed me the broadcasting room where he said I would later use the teleprompter(you know, the little box the news anchors read their scripts off). I was quickly shown how to use this little dial that makes the words keep moving forward(or backwards if you go too fast!) and then told I wouldn't be needed until 5pm when the first evening news show started. I had organised with Arturo to come in every Thursday and Friday during summer at 4pm. I wondered what I would do until 5pm and wandered round til I found the main newsroom but I couldn't find Arturo at first and I just stood there super awkwardly whilst everyone else took phone calls, discussed news stories and worked at their computers. Luckily I found Arturo who said I could just sit at the assignment desk with this young guy, Tom. The assignment desk was a raised 'work station' at the back of the room and is where they had all these police radios. Tom was super friendly to me, even though he looked really stressed out. He received the breaking news first and was to assign new stories to different people at the studio. He took phone calls, listened to the radios(which were constantly rabbiting on; half the time I could barely understand what was said although I did catch an alert of a possible suicide attempt which was rather intriguing), alerted everyone else in the room of breaking news updates and wrote articles for KCOY's website. He was telling me you basically have to be A.D.D. to do his job which was very true. You have to be able to divide your focus between various tasks, something I didn't envy. I just sat next to him for most of the time whilst reading the latest articles on the website and he asked me various questions about my exchange in the US. He told me he was from Philadelphia and that the people over there are really friendly but he didn't want to move back there as vacationing there made it that much more special. I wanted to ask him more about why he moved to California but he was in the middle of writing articles and such. I mean I wanted to be more social but I didn't want to disturb him either. Then at 5pm, it was the first evening news show of the night and Arturo was like 'Are you ready, Shivi?' and told me to go back to the broadcasting room. I didn't really think I would be using the teleprompter as I was barely shown how to use it but that's exactly what they wanted me to do. My heart was beating so fast. I mean, it was live television and the teleprompter is what the anchors rely on. At the beginning it was really hard to control it but after a while I got used to each anchor's speed at which they speak. Each time it was a commercial break I had to stretch my hand and roll my eyes as I had to be so focused and still during the half hour which went by so quickly. Then in my break before the next show I went back up to the assignment desk and this blonde-haired girl came up to me and asked if I was interning. Turns out she's a foreign exchange student too but on a college program and she's from Germany. She even knew one of the German exchange student from my group too! She was so friendly and was telling me that she's interning 6 days a week during the summer and this was her second week at KCOY. I told her I was doing the teleprompting and I think she was a tad jealous as she said she'd never got to do it before so she came and watched me for the 6pm show. I found out I was to do 3 shows each day so I finished up at 7:30pm. I felt really empowered by the end of the day as I really had to come out of my shell and interact with all these adults. I was telling my host sister that during my last year of high school back in Australia I didn't have many opportunities for meeting new people or speaking to adults so I was really proud I was able to cope.

I'll let you know how the second and last day of my internship went in my next post; Internship [part 3].

Internship [part 1]

Let me tell you about an event in my life recently that has passed much sooner than I had hoped.

I wanted to do something this summer that was some form of work, that would get me out of the house. Ideally I wanted to get a job to earn some extra cash but because of my visa I can't do any paid work. I can do 'cash-in-hand' jobs such as babysitting but it's pretty unlikely to find work in that area. Believe me I tried, I stuck up flyers all around where my old host family lived and nothing came of it.

I was reading online about how many ex-seniors do summer internships in their summer break before starting college to get some extra experience to help them with college and getting jobs later on in life. Usually with internships you work for free or sometimes you may get paid a very small wage. So I thought that would be perfect to do in my summer holidays as I needed some sort of work I could do because I didn't want to feel purposeless or bored. Plus I thought it would be great to experience a real work environment as when I got back to Australia I'm going to have to apply for a part-time job.

My previous host sister actually works as a news anchor on the local morning news show as part of the KCOY news station and my old host mom had suggested maybe I could  do an internship there during the summer and although we talked to my host sister about it nothing ever came of it. Then after moving to my current host family and when I revisited the idea of interning I decided that just because I no longer had a contact within the company didn't mean I couldn't try to look into it myself. So I found the KCOY website and sent a message to one of the contact emails listed on the site. Honestly, I doubted I would get a response but I did. I had a reply from the evening news anchor! We arranged a meeting where he told me I would be job shadowing. Basically it's just a simpler version of an internship. Apparently I had missed the deadline to apply for internships so I was fortunate that they were still trying to accommodate me. I think perhaps with an internship there you would have been paid. The news anchor, Arturo told me that I would be helping with various things such as editing, writing news articles, working the cameras and the teleprompter.

I'll let you know how it all went down once I started working there in my next post- Internship [part 2].

Acquiring A Sister

Several weeks back I said 'adios' to my dear friend and exchange sister, Hannah Mathis. She's from Austria(something that always confused people during introductions being that I'm from a very similarly named country) and was a fellow exchange student I lived with for 6 months with my old host family. She was honestly my rock. People always thought we were sisters. We are, just not biologically. Hannah was a very intelligent individual and her english was pretty good right from the start but it improved in leaps and bounds during the course of her half-year stay. Overall we were pretty different people. Hannah is sophisticated, trendy, polite and caring. I'm more....rough around the edges. She's a year younger than me but probably more mature. She put up with all my craziness(like listening to my numerous rants and watching me pose in front of all the mirrors in our house) and my lazy/messy-ness.

But we were very similar at the same time too- we loved all things girly like makeup and fashion. Shared a love of cooking and food and we both thoroughly enjoyed our Desperate Housewives & Keeping Up With The Kardashians marathons. Towards the end of the six months she spent in the US we started to finish each other's sentences and even laughed at the same time. 

The sign I made Hannah for the airport

Finally the day came that Hannah was to go back to Austria and I wondered what school would be like without her by my side and what home life would be without someone in the same situation as me, to chat to. I felt really happy for Hannah as I knew she was ready to go home and excited for life back in Austria. I was kind of jealous to be honest as I, myself felt ready to go back too. I didn't cry when she walked out of the tiny little airport to hop on the plane. I'll admit I did get a tad teary the next day when I saw her room void of all her belongings and replaced with children's games and toys(as the room was previously intended for my hostmom's granddaughters). 

Although we're no longer in the same country, we're still tied together. We're sisters now and forever. And I've told Hannah that she's coming to my wedding- there's no way she's getting rid of me!

Hannah's farewell card

What are your hobbies?

I hate that question. I've had a lot of people ask me it here in the US and I know they mean well but the whole point of this year is for me to try and 'find' myself, as cliche as that may sound. I don't know exactly what I'm passionate about just yet and what if I'm just the kind of person who potters around, flitting between hobbies. For example, I take photographs every now and then but I wouldn't classify it as my hobby.

When people ask me this question I stutter and stumble. In my downtime I watch a lot of television and go on the internet but it's almost embarrassing to call that a hobby. But the thing is, watching tv itself isn't really the 'hobby'. Same thing with the internet- they are both so diverse that people of polar opposite personalities could say their hobbies were watching tv and surfing the internet yet you wouldn't be able to distinguish the individuals in the slightest.

I don't want to lie to people either. I don't want to say I craft because really I'm only putting my toes in the ocean of craft and definitely not on a regular basis.

I like to switch things up and would like to take up new hobbies such as gardening, crocheting, surfing, volunteering and sewing but those things are not always possible when you're on exchange. Maybe if I had opportunities to do those things I would have a more exciting answer to the question but just because I don't doesn't mean I'm boring or have no interest in creating a more well-rounded life for myself.

A question I prefer much more on the other hand is: What are your interests?
Here would be my answer: being environmentally friendly, alternative food lifestyles(ie. veganism, raw food & organic), fashion, eco-aware beauty, organising, business, crafting, self-empowerment, nutrition, fitness, meditation, collecting, travel, writing, blogging, books/magazines, board games, outdoor activities, gadgets, music, disney, jonas brothers, the kardashians, america, live shows/concerts, volunteering, shopping, hanging out with friends, philosophy, growing my own fruits/vegetables, skyping, making music, old children's tv shows, home decor, vintage finds, thrift stores, photography, foreign languages, guys, playing with pets, bike-riding, children, animals, mental fitness, puzzles, dancing......and the list is ever-expanding.

So to answer the other question. No, I don't have hobbies. I have things that interest me and my life is ever-changing and I don't have the desire to dedicate my time to only a handful of 'hobbies'.

Treasuring Myself

I'm the kind of person who is selfish. Not in a nasty sort of way but I tend to focus on myself a whole lot in terms of my mental state(I wish I was one of those Italian mothers who cooks masses of food for her family and runs around making sure their every need is taken care of and doesn't even worry about her needs in the slightest). But I believe that the best way to help others is to firstly help yourself and frankly I don't believe I can start forming relationships with others if I don't have a good relationship with myself. Anywho, this brings me to my favourite book as of now: Treasure Yourself by supermodel superwoman, Miranda Kerr. A book written for young women(although I see no real age boundary) about how to make the most of what you've got, which Miranda believes is a whole lot. I guess it's about realising your potential. To me it's almost a bible for life but of a non-religious kind as it's basically about how to be a good person and contribute to this place we all like to call home; Planet Earth. One of the analogies Miranda uses is the book is that every lady on the planet is a flower, each slightly different than the next but all still equally beautiful in their own unique way. A rose is just as beautiful as a daffodil. This, along with a day's worth of free time at school due to statewide testing that I was not allowed to participate in, led me to doodling in a journal about what sort of flower I was. This is what I came up with:

I really wish I had a vase of tulips in my room right now, they are simply the symbol for me, Shivi. I think this was a really powerful exercise and I think I'm going to google tulips a little further. Miranda uses so many other analogies and self evaluation question exercises in her book but most powefully she uses powerthoughts or affirmations which are simply statements you repeat to yourself about life/positivity/happiness/etc which are like exercise routines for your brain. Go check out the book and the other beauty products Miranda is selling here.

Track and Field

I really knew I wanted to take advantage of all the school sports available at American high schools for my exchange year in the US plus I have a little bucket list for the year and one item to accomplish was 'win something' so I had hoped doing a sport would help me achieve that. One of the sports available in the 2nd school semester was track and field. I had done running in PE classes when I was younger and had never come last in the sprints(nor had I come first or second either...) so I thought it would be something I could have a go at plus it seemed such a 'cool' sport as you get to hang out with both guys and girls, go to big track meets and it is frequently mentioned in movies. Plus it's not really a team sport and I am not a fan of team sports for fear of letting others down. I don't think I realised that instead of having to worry about letting others down, in track and field you just have to worry about embarrassment whilst everyone stares at you when you come in last or 'scratch' at the long jump. Unfortunately, since I'm not the fittest person in the world I got injured very quickly during the season. First it was my left foot. Then I had shin splints. And lastly I injured my back during spring break(on a trampoline!) and probably made the injury worse by going to a themepark the next day and riding on the rollercoasters. So this whole season I have only ran 2 races and participated in the long jump for a record....2 times at the meets! I didn't even bother going to the last meet as I knew I wouldn't have been able to run at all with both my back and shins hurting and I watched as the track team walked past my class to go on the yellow school bus to their meet. It was really sad. I'd hoped that I would actually improve by the end of this season but I've always been last and now in two days in the final meet of the season and I don't even know if they'll let me run in it anyway since I've missed so many meets. I really wish I would have gone to an American highschool all through my teen years then I would have had the opportunity to start track in my freshman year or even in junior high and would really have improved. I'm still ever so greatful for the experience and participating in track allowed me to meet some really great people that I'm closer to than almost anyone else at school. I was thinking about perhaps doing track at an american college as part of another study abroad program but I'm assuming by that stage the students would be really elite but I can always do running and weight training in the mean time and build up my fitnest level. At the moment I'm trying to decide what sport I should do for the next season in the new school year which I've realised will only be about four months(time is flying....). I'd really like to do cheerleading but that's a whole other kettle of fish....

My exchange sister from Austria.

Persistence, Luck and Success.

Being the brave 17 year old that I am I got my mum to ring up about this scholarship business and the lady who is supposedly in charge of the scholarships was extremely vague about the whole thing and didn't even give my mum the scholarship due date. After a long pause she managed to say they were due in August but still no date and she told us she would get back to us about it after she had a look into it. More than a week later we had no phone call back so my mum tried to get in touch another two times with her- we left messages with other people in the EF office and were told she would call back and that she was on the phone. I think this lady is actually a tad scared of my mother, who gave her a right telling off over the phone about the information that had been sent out to us about the US Visa application(it was all out of date, mixed up and just very hodge-podge, not acceptable for such an important matter). Then yesterday I saw I had an email reply from this lady about the scholarships; I'm guessing her nerves got the better of her and she decided she couldn't deal with another confrontation. Reading this new email she sent you wouldn't think that a couple weeks earlier she'd just told me I was too late for the scholarship. I'd say something fishy was going on there... But I'm not complaining because I got it! I won the scholarship! Well as my mum reminded me, I earnt it. As I'm sure you know from this post I really struggled with writing the darn thing and it took me a weekend or so to complete it so at least it wasn't for nothing. Unfortunately I didn't get the $2000(but I expected that, especially with all the dodgy-ness surrounding the issue...) but instead $500 has been wiped off my invoice so I am quite pleased with myself and....ridiculously happy!

You know, earlier in the year I really wanted some extra money to come my way for the exchange and I've always been one to try to get a hold of any 'luck' I can so I pulled out my 'trouble dolls' from my dresser. They were a present from my Aunt and Uncle when I was younger from one of their numerous vacations. Here's the little blurb that came on the piece of paper tucked inside the little box:

In the land of Guatemala the Indians tell this old story. They teach that when you have troubles, share them with your dolls. Remove one doll for each problem. Before you go to sleep, tell the doll your trouble. While you are sleeping the dolls will try to solve your troubles. Since there are only six dolls, you are allowed only six troubles a day.

I asked one of the dolls to help me get some extra money to pay for my exchange and popped the jelly-bean sized doll on the corner of my bed-side table. I knew this would be no small feat and that I may have to wait a while but several months later my trouble has now started to wither away and I owe part of it to that tiny little doll. My trouble dolls have never failed me, every trouble I have EVER told to them has been diminished in some way or another and usually obliterated completely. I have always felt much more relaxed going into an exam when I've told my trouble dolls, the night before, about my worries of forgetting all I have attempted to memorise.  I think it is much more reasonable to ask a jelly-bean sized doll to help with a trouble you have rather than expecting them to grant you a wish, a much more difficult task I would assume, although I'm no expert in the field of magic, luck and pixie dust.

The Scholarship Fiasco.

I got some really gut-wrenching news the other day in an email "Unfortunately your scholarship application is too late. I am sorry that you have missed out". Thinking about it, I think in the next couple of hours I progressed through the seven stages of grief, for my loss of a scholarship...


Stage 1: Shock and denial
I re-read the email several times and just sat looking at the computer screen in complete disbelief- this was my worst nightmare.


Stage 2: Pain and Guilt
Then the tears started flowing and I ran to my favourite crying spot- my mother's ensuite bathroom. Gosh, I was such a mess! At the same time I was also thinking to myself "Why didn't I just do it earlier in the year?!"


Stage 3: Anger
Then the rage flowed through me and went a little like this... 'Stupid EF! They stuffed up once again! It's all their fault! They told me I had until November! RAWRRRRRRRRR!'. Something like that anyway...


Stage 4: Depression
Then I started to feel awful and was in a complete slump and felt like my life was taking a turn for the worse. I'd just had my high school graduation the day before and was already feeling sad that a big part of my high school journey was over and that university is getting closer. This news just made me feel even worse as the exchange was something to distract me from my troubles and instead it just added to them. Plus I felt all my effort was wasted and the quote "if you work hard you will succeed" was a load of balony.


Stage 5: The Upward Turn
The crying stopped.


Stage 6: Reconstruction and Working Through
I knew I had to do something about this whole scholarship thing and since the lady who sent me the email was one of the head staff in charge of EF in Australia I knew I had to go higher so I started searching for other places of contact internationally. I told my mum about it all and she's contacting the head office in Australia about it, although they've yet to return our calls(last time we had a problem with EF we had to phone twice to speak to someone about our issue and it looks like we're going to have to do that again). If we don't get a good response from them we're contacting the US office or even the Swedish office as that is the country the whole program stems from. I am thinking of posting my application to one of those offices to see if they think my application is still worthy.


[I should probably add here that I emailed the Sydney head office earlier in the year about the scholarships as I'd received no further information on the topic since being accepted in the program. One of the staff members said as long as I sent it in before the end of November that it would be fine. I even emailed a couple of weeks ago before I started writing the scholarship to check it was still by the end of November but had no reply. I've still yet to find out when this mystery deadline actually was.]


Stage 7: Acceptance and Hope
I'm starting to feel okay about it all now as I know that all that I can do is contact some of the other EF headquarters that are 'higher up the ranks' than the Australian one and if nothing else make sure that the Australian staff get 'told off' so that this never happens again. 


I am still very hopeful that my application will be considered and that I may be lucky enough to get some funding. They are only partial scholarships of up to $2000 but when I need to buy a new laptop, video camera and winter clothing any extra money is going to be of use.

The Plan.

So I've kind of mapped out my life for the next 5 years, after that I have absolutely no idea what will happen so I'm trying not to think too much about that.

2011-spend a year abroad in america to attend high school & become more confident and mature

2012- return to Australia to commence my bachelor of business at the nearby university, spend time with family, get a part-time job and raise a guide dog pup.

2013-go on a university exchange for the year to the University of Missouri-Columbia and live in the university dorms and hopefully join a sorority

2014- Back again to Australia to find another part-time job and complete my final year of university and do work experience

2015- take part in one of the Disney International Programs in the US and take a course in human resources, experiential learning and/or organizational leadership (more on this in a future post...)

That way I get to spend lots of time in America so I can fulfill my desire to live the American Dream as much as humanly possible but still keep things going in Australia.

As I was filling out my US visa application today I was reading the conditions on one of the forms which I have to sign to say I agree to and came across the point "TWO YEAR HOME COUNTRY PHYSICAL PRESENCE REQUIREMENT". At first I was a having a major freak-out because I thought it meant that after my high school exchange I had to stay in Australia for two years which would have completely abolished my dreams of completing part of my university degree over in the states. However, I started to calm down when I read the fine print underneath:

"Exchange visitors whose programs are financed in whole or in part, directly or indirectly by either their government or by the U.S. Government, are required to reside in their home-country for 2 years following the completion of their program..."

Which means it won't apply to me as I've paid for this exchange trip so I'll be able to go on the university exchange. The only problem is that the university exchange is going to cost around $20,000 and I highly doubt I'll be earning enough in my part time job to cover that so I was planning on getting a government loan for it which would pay for half of the trip(so $10,000) but I think you can now guess my dilemma; if the same visa condition still applies I may not be able to participate in the Disney International Program which I desperately wanted to do. My university does do partial scholarships of $2500 for the exchanges but that is only going to be marginally helpful. I really hope this doesn't put a spanner in the works for my 5-year life plan.

My mum did buy her first lotto ticket today so maybe if the cards are in my favour she'll win enough money so that I won't have to rely on the government assistance for the university exchange. *Fingers crossed*

To go or not to go?

I've actually been wanting, hoping, wishing and praying to go an exchange for several years. I'm going with an organisation called Education First(EF) which seems to be the front-runner in the exchange business as it's one of the oldest companies, having been around for over 40 years. I actually have to thank my school for exposing me to it(as much as I hate to admit it as that place has only given me grief for the last 5 years) as they had posters and flyers hanging up in the school library.

At first my parents didn't mind the idea and originally I was hoping to complete my final year of high school on exchange but after contacting my school about it they said I'd have to repeat a year once I got back as the schooling systems overseas would be so different. That was something I definitely didn't want to do but luckily I discovered you could still go on exchange after you finished high school and have it as your gap year before commencing university. Unfortunately as my parents gradually found out more about the program and how serious I was about going on exchange they began listing me all the reasons why I shouldn't go. They didn't want me to go to America as they wanted me to go somewhere I'd have to learn a new language, they said the cost was too expensive, they said I'd be wasting my time doing another year of high school and that I should just do a university exchange when I'm older.

I started to have panic attacks that I wouldn't be able to go on exchange- I couldn't get to sleep, I was constantly on edge and experienced this horrible feeling of anxiety that I'd never experienced before. The thought of going straight to university after year 12 petrified me. I had worked myself up to going to the states- suddenly I felt I was destined to go there. I was so determined to go there I pulled out every trick in the book in order to get myself a place on that exchange program. I listed all the reasons why I should go and also any arguments to counteract my parents' excuses of why I should stay in Australia. I told them how I didn't have a passion for any other nation as much as I did for the USA and that their high schools are so much more community spirited. I told my parents of all the new clubs and subjects I'd be able to try out for the first time. I told them I didn't have enough time in Australia to learn a language to enable me to go a foreign speaking country and that it wouldn't have been as enjoyable. I told them about how different the United States is in comparison to Australia and that it would be a completely different experience. I told them I needed this extra year to mature and prepare myself for university. I told them I truly believed the experience would be a huge investment into making a difference for the rest of my life. I told them I wanted to experience the life of American teens and how I'd met Americans on my school trip to China and they were the most wonderful bunch of people I'd ever met.

I also told my parents that I was willing to pay for the cost out of a bank account under my brother and I's name which had money we'd inherited from relatives who have since passed away. I think that was the main clincher that made them agree to let me go. Whilst I really did want to use the money to pay for university I knew that this was a much more worthy cause.

Being able to go on this exchange has been like a carrot dangling in front of my nose. It's helped motivate me to do the best I can in my studies this year. When I was at a point where I didn't think I was going on exchange I almost felt like, 'why bother with exams and study in 12th grade?'. If I did well at the end of it, my 'reward' would be going to university. It seemed more like a punishment.

It almost feels like I've won the lottery now that I've got my parent's permission and EF's acceptance for me to spend the next year in the United States of America. It's going to change my life and I know I'll be able to embrace university head on when I return- something I'm now excited about.

And you know what the crazy thing is?! Now my parents go on and on about how good the exchange program will be for me and boast about it to any person they meet. Even before I've stepped foot in America I've learnt something new from the exchange program; if you really want something and you persevere it will come your way.

[photo credit]

When one door closes another one opens.

So I am finally free of the grasp of the Australian school system, exams, homework, terrible teachers, repulsive canteen food and people I'm sick of seeing each day. It was such a stifling environment, I don't feel at all prepared for the real world. Highschool in Australia has made me more reclusive if anything and I've felt the most antisocial I've ever been during this past year.

I don't even know what to do with myself now, I don't think it's really set in that I will never have to step foot in that school again. I do have my school graduation on the 29th though but I can cope with that, I'm looking forward to it- an excuse to wear my heels from the school ball again.

Originally the plan would have been for me to chill for the next couple of months until I started up university at the campus five minutes away, probably with most of the same people I've shared these high school years with. It would be something new and out of my comfort zone but I don't think I'd be able to take full advantage of it when I'm my same reserved self in the company of the same high school peers who expect me to stay that way. Deep down I know I'm more outgoing it's just that I've got stuck in a rut. Not only that but I'm afraid of getting older- I'm afraid I haven't made the most of my time and think people will expect more of me as I age although I don't feel any different. I can honestly see myself spiraling into a meltdown or some form of depression/anxiety.

I just couldn't let that happen. I knew I needed more time to prepare for university but staying in Australia wasn't going to help so I decided to take a high school exchange year abroad to the United States of America! I'll be doing an extra year of high school but as we finish school the year we turn 17 here in Western Australia I should be roughly the same age as all the American teens. Plus I'll be with a new year group at university so once again I can start afresh and make new friendship groups. In America I'll be able to start over, create a fresh new me and the wonderful thing is that no-one will know about my previous self in Australia. I'm going to introduce myself to everyone as Shivi(my real name is Siobhan) to reflect the new identity I'll be creating for myself. As long as I'm confident, cheery and chirpy on the first day I'll have no problem- I just need my first impression on people to be a good one and then people will just expect it of me.

There's a lot I'll share with you all about the exchange program but I'll leave that for another day.

The Ball.

I've never really expected much from my school, it's not the kind of place where all your high school dreams come true and it's never like it is on television. So I was quite surprised when I received a shiny envelope containing quite an elegant looking invitation. Of course it lacked the personal touch of my name being written on the front of the envelope but we won't focus on the negatives too much.

I had always felt my school ball was years away but then all of a sudden it seemed to be just weeks away and I was desperately rushing to get all the last minute essentials. I honestly did not realise how many embellishments there were to getting ready for a school ball. You have the coursage which has to be kept fresh in the crisper and picked up on the day on the event. There's the ring which has to be not to obtrusive to get in the way of your clutch but not too small that it goes unnoticed. Plus there's the matching earrings. You must then trawl through magazines to find a suitable hair colour and choose a hairstyle, something worn by a celebrity, of course. Next you have to find a decent hairdresser and book in appointments carefully timed so that your hair colour won't fade and so you won't have to wash your hair on the day and so that it will last the night. Next comes emailing makeup artists for samples of their work and booking that in around all the other engagements booked in for the big day, such as having your nails painted but not buffed because your manicurist forgets to do so.

Do you know how ridiculously hard it is to find a decent looking ivory clutch? Prior to searching I was not aware of this fact so I had assumed a couple of accessory store's worth of window shopping would do the trick. Perhaps if I had been searching for a black clutch or even a bright orange clutch things would have been easy but because I had already chosen ivory shoes I had to have my clutch match. After two shopping centre trips, a look in the city and several hours on etsy I discovered you can find the perfect one for less than $20 including postage on ebay in about 15 mins. Well, where there's a will there's a way - and there definitely was a strong 'will' involved.

I do think my dress was quite stunning if I do say so myself, but it was a tight squeeze to get the final alterations done in time. Just four days before the extravaganza the dressmaker had cut my floor-length dress in two pieces!

Things went fairly smoothly the day of the ball, except for the fact the first time I had my makeup done I looked like a ghostly porcelain doll. After going back to this salon to get it re-done it still didn't look a whole lot better as the beautician just caked on an extra layer of product, so much so that it was starting to crack. A tissue to wipe 50% of it off did the trick though.

Once I'd been dropped off at a friend's house for the 'pre-ball' I knew I could relax. It was lovely to see so many girls who'd normally be in bland school uniforms, dressed up like princesses in floor-length ensembles. I hardly recognized one friend who I'm used to seeing with straight hair and no makeup, have her hair curled up around her head and wear beautifully blended eyeshadow. It's nice to feel special every now and again, sipping fizzy pop and nibbling cupcakes while have 3 people take your photo at once. It may sound contradictory but seeing everyone all dolled up really makes you appreciate the fact that everyone is and can be beautiful and it's amazing how a fancy dress and a dash of makeup can do that.

5 o' clock came and with that so did two limos, one black and one white. I couldn't wait to get inside, I'd have time for my feet to rest; I haven't worn proper heels in years! After a quick stop at the city foreshore to have one photo snapped before realising that a couple of minutes more and our hair would be swept up with the wind- no matter how much hair spray one used- we drove to one of the city's major hotels for the gala event.

A huge commotion errupted as we arrived at the entrance and I can truly say that we all felt like celebrities as we stepped out of the limo, all eyes on us. It almost felt daunting walking up the steps to the other magnificently dressed belles and beaus, everyone looked so sophisticated. The classic tuxedos, the ridiculously puffed-out tulle skirts, the voluminous hair , the iridescent makeup and matching clutches- it was the definition of eye candy. And with each new group of students rolling up in their classic, vintage or modern hummer-style limos, the discussions got louder and necks were craned to take a peek at who was arriving next and to see the transformations that had occurred with each individual's new attire.

The ball itself was something I'll never forget, there was I unity I felt between these 300 plus young people that made you feel connected to those you had never uttered a word to prior. I guess that's what happens when you're surrounded 360 degrees on the dance floor by your peers who all seem to be having the time of the lives(many of the beaus seemed to enjoy crowd surfing and wrapping their ties around their heads while the belles swished around gracefully as much as was possible in dresses that fit as if made for statues).

A huge Eiffel tower replica and old-fashioned lamp posts really made the ballroom feel like a "Night in Paris" - the theme of the evening. The addition of a mime who went round to tables with imaginary salt and pepper grinders seasoning our dishes and who somehow managed to set off a huge game of tug-o-war with all the beaus, really heightened the theme. Not to mention the tealight candelabras at each dinner table(which was a twist of fate as the event coincided with Earth Hour) as well as the 'frenchy' circus-style music. smoke and balloons that flooded the ceiling as the door to the ballroom opened at the evening's commencement.

This fabulous evening cannot of course be relayed in words, so to emphasise the sheer splendor of the night I shall let the photographs do the rest.

(photo credit: all year 12 students at Woodvale Senior High School)

I'm alive....

...and snapping! I simply couldn't write another blog until I had a decent camera, here she is(taken with a lot of effort from my old camera):


A letter on its way to New Zealand, whoever could it be for?


And I received an invitation to what endeavors to be one of the most enjoyable evenings of my life!


More shortly!

I can't wait to read everyone's blogs and see what I've been missing in the blogosphere!