So Very Finished

Hello fellow strangers and people I have pestered to read my blog,

Here we are, the final bow, the closing scene, the final chapter, the last 100 feet, the final stretch. This is the end of the school year as well as the end of this blog, which to those rare visitors that do not know me, is a school assignment. I didn't really consider it to be a school assignment since it was so fun, and previous 9th graders had raved about how wonderful it is. I have to agree, but all good things come to an end.

Ali's birthday party (Picture credits to Ali's mom) From left to right, Taylor, Faith, Claire, me, Ali, Holly

I started this blog to appeal to an audience consisting of my friends and trying to make them laugh and tell others about my blog and for me to become popular, but over the course of the year, I have stopped caring how many people view my blog and begun thinking more about my own needs and what I wanted to write about. This is also what happened to me over the course of the year, I stopped caring about what others thought and more about myself. I let myself wander into my own mindlessness and release my inner child. (see above picture)

At the beginning of the year, I wasn't shy, but I didn't openly approach people in order to befriend them, as well as being extremely mopey about my academy placement, but got over that and took it as a learning opportunity to be a better dancer, plus got some of the most amazing friends I have ever met, including Bella, Maddie, Carlee, Lena, Maria, Allison, and more. I grew close to them and I believe I grew as a person. I consider myself to be a pretty selfless person, but that wasn't always the case. I was pretty selfless last year but never though about others and was too busy trying to share my part of a story to really listen to others. Now I think I do this pretty well though I'm not perfect.

Plus, I got moved up in dance and will now be with my old dance group in Senior and Intermediate C, plus some freaking amazing new people that I danced ballet with. I am so excited to be with my 'family' again, but it has been nice finding new friends. If I have learned one thing from taking an hour every 10ish days to really think about myself by blogging, it has been that the only thing holding me back from greatness is myself, and I don't care how cheesy it is, I know that I can do it, and help the people that are in the place I was last year with either being held in place or moved back. I hope that they realize how wonderful the entire experience will end up being.

Lots of love, I'll see you when I see you next,
Alicia.

So Very Short

Hello fellow strangers and people I have pestered to read my blog,

So if you know me in real life, you probably know that I'm kind of short. By kind of, I mean quite short, but recently I have began to grow to be about average sized. This came as a bit of a shock and I don't really want to grow anymore, because honestly being short is pretty freaking great, no matter how much I complain about it. Why? Well I can tell you.

• It makes you unique.
• If you're short, people notice that about you and tease you about it, which can be annoying but it's just them pointing out that you're short and that they kind of like it.
• You are easily spotted... Well if you're not in a crowd, because you'd get lost among taller people.

Me and Taylor at the White Barn (Photo credits to Faith from our shared album)

• Hugging is fun with pretty much everyone
• If you are short, with friends, or more than friends, you get to go on your tiptoes to hug a person and you get the comfort of resting your head on their torso. (As seen in the above picture)
• You automatically know where to put your arms in the hug.

• You get hand me downs.
• Honestly I'm pretty sure that over 50% of my closet is hand me downs (Thanks Taylor and Faith, major contributors) and it's freaking wonderful. I get all these wonderful beautiful clothes for free
• If you like someone's fashion taste, you can gain a little part of that from hand me downs and develop it to be your own.
• You get picked up and are part of stunt things.
• I was trying to avoid dance in this, but being short is good when you're a dancer. The short people are the ones involved most in stunting, which is something I love.
• It's easier to convince people to give you a piggy back ride.
• More room
• I've heard many tall people complain about how cramped certain things like cars and planes and desks and most seated positions can be. I don't have to worry about that
• I get to lay in bed and stretch my legs straight and arms above my head and still have room.
• Prime spot in groups
• Whether this refers to pictures or to gathering around a phone, I always manage to get near the front because people can see over my head.
• People see me as less of a bother when trying to see near the front.
• Navigating crowds
• I don't know why but I can always just slip easily through crowds. Maybe I see gaps taller people don't or people don't mind me sneaking through
• If I don't want to weave through them, I can always stand behind someone taller and allow them to part the crowd. 

So to summarize, before you get annoyed at someone using your head as an arm rest, again(which is never funny, just rude btw), think about the advantages you have to being short.

So Very Hangry

Hello fellow strangers and people I have pestered to read my blog,

Today I will be talking to you about dance competitions. I had one yesterday and the day before and they are stressful. They are challenging and they will make or break a friendship depending on how you react during them. As I have been through many and still have all my fingers, toes, and dance friends, I thought I would make a list of things that I do to help those of you who are just entering the competition world or could use more advice.
Step 1: To avoid stress, make a list

Generic one I found online that has everything necessary. Link here

This is the first year I made a list but my friend made one for our group last year and it was the most useful thing ever. It helps you to make sure that you have everything you need. Of course if you have a list, make sure to include EVERYTHING, from the exact makeup you need to the costume accessories to bandaids and safety pins. This will make it so that you don't forget anything at home and so that you stay organanized. 

Step 2: Get organized and stay organized

This is not particularly my strong suit but recently I've gotten a lot better at this. With the help of your list, organize each costume together. My recommendation is to get a costume bag(also known as a garment bag). I have two for four costumes and they have 4 pockets each (see above). The big one is for your costume and has a hole in the top for a hanger, and two pockets for something like a headpiece or gloves, then a long pocket for stuff like hairspray, tights and shoes.

Step 3: Pack an excessive amount of snacks

There is a reason this blog post is called so very hangry. Dance competitions take up so much more energy than regular classes for whatever odd reason. This may have to do with the fact that there is a lot of running around and adrenaline induced energy, plus multiple dances and warming up, plus more energy is used in each dance, thanks to the adrenaline induced rush. All of this means that you will need fuel, and that fuel is food. Make sure to pack extra in case someone forgot some of their own, plus you might need to eat more than you thought. 

Step 4: Expect tension

There will be a lot of stress in the air, even if you follow these rules, and stress plus occasional hanger will probably mean tension. We can't also forget that dance competitions usually start early and end late, meaning you will be tired. You probably know what people are like when they're tired, hungry, stressed or any combination of them. Try to be as nice as possible toward everyone, but if you do end up arguing, be the bigger person and apologise. You will think back on this and just know that it was the competition. 

Good luck,

Alicia

So Very Admiring

Dear Allie Brosh,
Welcome to my blog that has partially been written based off of yours. Not word for word or blog post per blog post because that'd be creepy, but you have inspired me quite a bit. Your voice is heard really well in your writing, and you always manage to make me laugh. I love your drawings, not because they're comparable to the Mona Lisa in quality, but because they are uniquely yours (Though I suspect your version of the Mona Lisa would be pretty fabulous). I don't really draw on this blog but that's beside the point, we are both really awkward bloggers that are trying to get people to laugh. (I would add a picture but the copyright monster would fight me and I don't want that)

Screenshot of your pageloads at the moment in which I am writing this...

Thank you for helping me push past the boundaries of writing so that I seem like a pretty good person in general and do things pretty well, to writing about my true self, no matter how awkward or strange that person may be. Because of you, I have figured out how to translate my voice into writing. Perhaps my current 800 something page views is not quite as impressive but I do hope you enjoy reading this awkward(ly amazing) blog now that you are here and reading it.

You are a talented and amazing person that blogs well and managed to encourage me to be my true self and introduce me to the world of blogging. Thanks to you, I now spend my free time randomly browsing through the many blogs on the internet making myself laugh, though none of those have made me laugh as often as your blog did. In fact, I distinctly remember reading every single one of your blog posts once I discovered your blog within a week. That took some serious dedication and time out of my hands, but it was totally worth it.

When I was told to write a post about someone that inspired this blog, and someone I would be so proud if they read my blog, and I had no clue who to write about. This was because I write about myself, for my own sake, getting to know myself. Then, I remembered how I first started reading blogs really and I immediately knew who to write about. You are like a cooler, better version of me and are extremely relatable. Thank you for bringing joy into my life for that one week that I actually read your blog and the many times I have revisited it.

Now that you've read some of the most awkward 450ish words I have one more small request to you. Would you mind commenting so that I know you read this blog because that would encourage me so much and it would let me know that you read it and just would generally be an amazing experience.
Sincerely,
Alicia Whitty
PS: You're a pretty witty person ahaha get it?