Dana+B

http://animoto.com/play/S5nu3PIldftTg7LzPICN9w Dana’s Four Years at Green Hope As all stories go, we must start at the beginning. Awkward, obnoxious, and with gangly arms and legs, I entered 9th grade. Determined to do well in high school, I was a studious kid, always doing all my homework, and deathly afraid of getting in trouble. I remember one day freshman World History teacher Mr. Koller took me outside his classroom to scold me as a joke and I broke down crying. Yeah, it was bad. I had two friends. Literally, two friends: Linelle Gorman and Haley Westervelt. Friends from my 8th grade math class, we all huddled together in the cruel jungle that is the high school cafeteria for protection. Of course, I always had my neighbor, Tyler Hood, to fall back on. She has been my rock as long as I can remember and I honestly don’t know what I would do without her in 9th grade, or the rest of high school for that matter. As 9th grade progressed, I began to branch out. I started meeting new people, and became involved in new things such as volleyball and leader’s club. Little did I know that these two things would carry on with me throughout all four of my high school years.

Possibly the most vivid of memories was my first volleyball season, freshman year. Coming into high school as a scrawny 5’1, 90 pound girl, I would be of little benefit to the volleyball team. The first day of try-outs, the coach made fun of my size and put me in the back row for the entirety of the try-outs. I was matched up against this HUGE volleyball senior, you know, just to “see how I would do”. I could hear the coaches burst out laughing when Huge Senior Volleyball Hulk smacked that ball 90 miles per hour straight into my face…. But I made it! And officially became the team joke.

Leader’s Club. Sounds corny, but it seriously has made the biggest impact on my life. Awkward at first, this club really forced me to come out of my shell and become the person I am today. As a freshman, I thought that there was no way I could lead a group of teenagers in service and devotion. However, over the years, and hundreds upon hundreds of service weekends, mission trips, and retreats, Leader’s Club gave me the confidence to run for Chaplain and Vice-President of the club. I met some of my best friends within this club, and I honestly don’t know who I would be today without them.

Alright, so back to the good stuff: 10th and 11th grade. To sum it up, I met a great group of girls in 10th grade. I have to admit, we were pretty darn cliquey. Other than that however, it was surprisingly how well all of us got along. Nine girls usually equals disaster, but for about a year and a half, no matter how different we were, we all became best friends. I would have to say 10th grade was my favorite year. I met a lot of friends, became captain of the volleyball team, started my first job at the YMCA, got my first real boyfriend, and finally started having some style in my fashion choices. 11th grade however, was really tough. Academically, that is. With new AP classes, I was still determined to get all A’s and studied whenever I had a free moment. I would stay home studying on weekend nights, and when AP exams came around you better believe I studied 24/7. Unfortunately, by the end of junior year I was burnt out, and glad to have the summer off to work and hang out with friends. That was the summer I began working at Kindercamp, and realized my true love for kids.

At the end of 11th grade, start of 12th grade, my big group of girl friends slowly started drifting apart. Ready to branch out again, I started hanging out with different people, but in the midst of college applications, volleyball, and four AP’s I had little room for anything else. I started hanging out with my two closest friends: Kylie Chalker and Linelle Gorman. Especially this year, we’ve become really close, and I honestly can’t picture my life without them. All of us are going to different colleges this year, and it’s going to be hard to adjust to daily life without them. This year was also one of my favorite years in leader’s club and volleyball. As Vice-President I got to play a bigger role in the action functinos of the club and made some great memories with the other members of the executive board. For volleyball season, we ended with a great record, and with 7 senior girls on the team, it turned out to be one of my favorite seasons. After getting into my dream college, winning best dressed as a senior superaltive, and finally joining the Newspaper, I think 12th grade is wrapping up quite nicely. Senior year has definitely had it’s up’s and down’s with senioritis and friend drama, but I can look back now and say that is all behind me. I’m looking ahead now to Greece with my best friends, working as head girl counselor at the Y this summer, and going to my dream school, UNC. I can’t wait to start a new life, and I thank the years at Green Hope for shaping me into the person I want to be and for giving me the start I need to be successful wherever I go. I’ll miss everyone, until next time.