Overall Theme

I think the theme of my senior year would include hard work, dedication, along with, love, fun, and enjoyment. My senior year has consisted of ups and downs, and fast and slow moments. I would say my senior class as dealt with the most events in a long time at Creekview. I am so grateful for being a Creekview Mustang. While we might not be the best at everything, I don't know another school that can come together as well as Creekview. I want to conclude this Senior Memory Blog by saying that I couldn't be happier with the way my senior year turned out. I have learned so much, but I know that I still have a long way to go. So therefore, the overall theme of my senior year is as follows. There will be challenges, but always enjoy every opportunity presented to you because the best is yet to come.

Inspirational Letter to Holly

Dear Holly, 

This is the letter I wrote to my 6th grade science teacher, Holly Shockley.

 “For you, a thousand times over”
―Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

Timeline

This is the Timeline I made in English.

Band Banquet

Band Banquet is an event I look forward to every single year. Ever since my first band banquet my freshman year, I have loved band banquet. It is a time to reminisce on memories and events that happened over the school year and also, for underclassmen, to get excited for the upcoming years. Since this banquet is such an important event to me, I got very happy and sad that this was my last one I was going to attend. I'm glad I made it through all four years in the band program but its sad that I am coming to the end of my high school band experience. It was such a bittersweet emotion. I got to sit with a lot of my senior friends band friends so we all got to experience it together. At band banquet, it didn't really kick in that that was my last one. However, now that I am looking back on that incredible banquet, I am slowly realizing that everything is coming to an end. I think it won't fully hit me until graduation or senior walk when I will not in the band playing the music I have played for the past three years at those events. Every year at the band banquet they play a movie/slideshow with a lot of pictures, that is one of my favorite things at banquet. I was in the first picture in the slideshow!! That never happens. I'm so glad I get to have a copy of that because I know I will be able to watch it when I want to remember my senior band days. In the end, band banquet was a memorable experience this senior year. I'm so blessed that I was able to go to banquet and be apart of the Creekview band program.

Prom

Oh Prom. Most people say it will be the BEST night of your life or THE night to remember. I had a great time at prom but it wasn't the best night ever. I loved my dress so much. I bought it two months before prom, on the first day I went shopping for a dress. I had band banquet the night before prom so I was completely exhausted all day Saturday. I had a hair appointment at 8:30 after a long night. I did my own make up and got myself together. My date was great. He was a friend from band that is a lot of fun and I always have a good time with him. I got to see a lot of my friends and enjoy a fun evening. It was a pretty expensive process but I'm really glad I got to be apart of it. Some of my friends didn't go and I feel like if I hadn't gone, I would have regretted that decision later because I think everyone should go to their senior prom. Prom is such an interesting event. It is designed to be the best experience of your high school experience and so since it is held to such high standards, it can easily not measure up and a lot of students can get disappointed easily. I wanted to experience every part of high school so I'm glad I got to go and have a fantastic time.

Graduation Invitations

I didn't realize how much work graduation invitations are. You have to create party invitations, find addresses and invite people you haven't talked to in ages because they were apart of your life at one time or another. Once the party invitations are finished (they take the longest) you can't forget about the graduation ceremony invitations. Those are the really fancy ones that usually only get send to family members. We only ordered fifty, you think it wouldn't be that difficult right?! Wrong. You have to put them in two envelopes, put a senior picture in them and of course, find more addresses. There always seems to be that one person who you have to send an invitation to but you can't find their address to save your life. It is like they don't even live on planet earth anymore. And remember when I said I took a lot of senior pictures?! Deciding which picture to put in the invitations is extremely difficult. I don't have enough wallet size pictures of one pose to put the same pose in all the invitations so I have to put different pictures in other invitations. Then, some family members get more than one while others just get one. Should I put the fancy, graduation one in the invitation, or the fun, senior picture one? Once all the invitations are sent out, then you have to focus back on the graduation party because people start to RSVP. As much work as this whole graduation process is, I am actually really enjoying it because it means I am almost done with high school. It still doesn't feel like I have been at Creekview for four years. My senior year has flown by and I know the days leading up to graduation are going to fly by as well. I am excited to walk across the stage because then I know I will have finished a chapter in my life and It will be time to start a new one.

Senior Night

Every year at one of the last football games, the seniors in football, cheer, chevals, and of course, the band get recognized for all their work over the last four years. I had seen all my friends from past years get to walk across the football field and get recognized and it was finally my time to do the same. I remember it being extremely cold but I was so excited that I wasn't bothered by the weather. With my last name starting with a T, I was near the end of the band kids getting recognized. I waited my turn and then finally got to go. Even though I just walked across a football field, the same one I had been on SO many times in the past, it was still incredibly special because I got to share it with my family and my band family. During half time, the band still had to perform but the seniors got to wear white plums. Before the red uniforms we wear now, the Creekview band used to wear white uniforms with white plums. Therefore, when the uniforms and directors changed, the band students wanted to remember their past so they got to wear white plums. That tradition has carried through out the years and I'm glad it didn't stop with us. I felt so important because I had wanted to wear that white plum for so long. I had seen my older friends wear them and I felt like it would be forever until I was able to wear the plume. Getting to marching an amazing show, wearing that sparkly, white plume, was a great conclusion to my last marching season. I wouldn't trade that night for anything. It was definitely one of my all time favorite football games.

My singing solo in Angels

I have had a lot of solos over the four years I have been in band and choir. However, they have never been very big solos nor has a piece ever been centered around me. This year, Mr. Ruangtip chose a song for UIL entitled Angels in the Architecture. It is a beautiful piece with a gorgeous vocal solo at the beginning and the end of the piece. I was chosen to sing the big solo. I was so excited because I knew I could do a great job at it. There were times later when I didn't want to do it because it was a lot of responsibility. All of that went away at UIL when my performance was spectacular. The solo sounded beautiful and the band did such a great job on the rest of the piece. For a while, the Wind Symphony wasn't sure if it would receive a solid one rating at UIL like it had every year in the history of Creekview High School. However, even without the two assistant directors, we pulled it out at the end and got all ones. I had never been more proud of the band before until that time. It still amazes me how, when everyone fights for something, we always seem to achieve it. I couldn't have been happier with that Wind Symphony performance and with my own. I was and still am extremely honored that Mr. Ruangtip chose me to sing. I look at it as a award for all my past work in the Wind Symphony because I have been in that band since my freshman year. In the end, the solo was a huge responsibility but I'm glad it ended up being my responsibility. It was a great way to finish my senior year in the Creekview Wind Symphony.

“Every moment has its pleasures and its hope.”
―Jane Austen, Mansfield Park

Mr. Jordan and Mr. Anker Leaving

I didn't realize the importance of three band directors until Mr. Jordan and Mr. Anker resigned right before UIL. I guess that proves the saying "You don't know what you have until it's gone." Those two individuals replaced Mr. Gibson and Mrs. Hoeflinger, the assistant directors my freshman year. Having Mr. Ruangtip new to the band this year, It was nice to have Mr. Jordan and Mr. Anker also as directors to help us get through all the changes. It was their third year with us so they had most of the band's routine down. Just coming off an AMAZING Disney trip, I figured the rest of the year would be smooth sailing. I could get through UIL and then just enjoy the senior privileges in band with all the directors like all the other seniors had done in the past. Then, Mr. Jordan and Mr. Anker leaving really threw everyone a curve ball. Suddenly, the one piece of the band that wasn't new was gone. Everyone was sad, it brought upon a negative energy across the band program. Some seniors were really upset while others just dealt with it silently. It hurt a lot of the underclassmen because that meant the next years for them were unknown. No one knew what to expect for the future. I wasn't extremely sad, but I wasn't very happy about it either. I didn't like seeing the band having to deal with anymore hardships. I wanted to finish my senior year on a happy note, with all the directors. As time has past since that event, it has made me realize how important those two guys were for our program. Coming close to graduation, I wish they were able to be there and see how far I have come over the three years they have taught me but I know that isn't possible. So, I will just continue to be appreciative and hope both individuals do the great things they are capable of doing in the future.

“The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly.”
― F.Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Disney Trip- Hollywood Studios

On the fourth and final day of the Disney Trip, before going to the airport, we stopped off at Hollywood Studios. It used to be called MGM. I actually really enjoyed that park. It isn't as extravagant as Magic Kingdom or Epcot but it had a peaceful, old Hollywood vibe about it. It has the famous ride, Tower of Terror which was a lot of fun! Mickey's huge magic hat that he wears in Fantasia is located in the center of the park. Everyone was pretty tired by the end of the trip so Hollywood Studios was the best park to finish the trip with. There were still rides to have fun on but it was also more laid back than the other parks. I had a great time. All the band kids were miles past exhausted but everyone still had a smile on their face. It is amazing how one place can bring so many kids together and make them all feel so very special. I don't know one person that didn't have a great time on the Disney trip. I had the four best roommates in the world and some of the closest people in my life to me were on that trip. I couldn't have asked for a better Disney trip experience. I will cherish all of the memories made in Disneyworld forever.

Disney Trip- Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom, where dreams come true. On the third day on our trip, we got to go to the Magic Kingdom. It was everything I had ever imagined it would be. The castle was unbelievable. I couldn't stop looking at it and it really reminded me of my childhood. There was a show put on by Mickey and Minnie and some other Disney characters in front of the castle and it was like all my childhood Disney memories were coming to life right in front of my life. One of my friends that graduated a couple years ago works at Disneyworld and I got to see him.We were suppose to leave at nine but all the band kids talked the directors into staying for the electrical parade and the famous Magic Kingdom fireworks. I have never seen a parade more beautiful than that electrical parade. All the carriages and floats were huge and lit up to perfection. I was in awe. Once that was over and I didn't think it would get much better than that, the fireworks began. They started off with a pre show that was projected on to the huge castle. That took my breath away. I almost started crying because that was my whole childhood being played in front of my eyes. Then the fireworks began. They were the BEST fireworks I have EVER seen in my ENTIRE life. Not only where the fireworks absolutely breath taking, there was music to go a long with it to add to the effect. The power of music amazes me. It adds so much. It can create certain emotions just by cords and different rhythms. I wish I could tell the people that put the firework show together what an incredible job they have done. I will never forget that night at the Magic Kingdom for the rest of my life. It is still so vivid in my head and I plan to go back one day. Everyone should experience that at least once in their life time.

Disney Trip- Universal Studios

On the second day, we headed out to Universal Studios. That was a cool park, it had a lot of different rides and attractions based on a lot of movies made through out the years. I enjoyed going to the Harry Potter world even though I have never read any of the books or seen the movies. That world was created so well, It was extremely impressed. There were so much crazy roller coasters there, I went on all of them because I love roller coasters. That evening when we got back to the hotel, all the band seniors that went on the trip got to go out and get some frozen yogurt. We all sat outside and got to reminisce on all our past band memories since freshman year. Some people's memories were very sensitive while others were hilarious. It was so interesting to hear all the memories that made people into the people they are today after four years in the band program. All the seniors coming together, sharing laughs and love, was just a such to sight. I remember sitting there on the ground, in front of Jose Trujillo, and just looking around at everyone and thinking how blessed I was to have made it this far. I cherish every person in the band program because they have all helped me in some way or another. That night was one of my favorites nights during my time spent in the band program.

Disney Trip- Epcot

The first park in Disneyworld that we went to was Epcot on the band spring trip. First of all, I just want to say that this was my first time to ever go to Disneyworld ever so everything was a new experience. Epcot is such a cool park, it is different that most theme parks. It is split up into different sections, one including a lot of different countries. You can go have lunch in French and then walk over to Italy and enjoy some Italian food for dinner. I really enjoyed it, it was so gorgeous. That day we also performed as a band with this hilarious guest conductor that was incredible. He challenged us to be the best and we got to play some really cool Disney Music. Then they set our playing to animation! That was so much fun! Also, the fireworks at the end of the night were spectacular. The combination of music and gorgeous fireworks just made me feel like anything was possible. Going to Epcot the first night in Disney was a great idea because It started the trip off on the right foot. It got me so excited for the rest of the days at Disney.

TMEA

The Creekview A Cappella choir got the privilege to perform at the annual Teacher Music Educators Association in San Antonio, Texas. It is every choir directors dream for their choir to get selected to go. I remember the day I found out. I was very excited but I was also coming off of Midwest and that had been such a stressful and negative experience. I was proud of the choir but I was also honestly I little disappointed because that meant my senior year in choir was going to include a lot of work. Sounds Lazy right?! But coming off of Midwest with Mr. Crazy (Hazzard) I just wanted a break. However, my choir experience turned out to be completely different. Mrs. Sikon worked with us on the music with a sense of professionalism and patience. I ended up actually really enjoying my TMEA experience. It included a lot of hard work and dedication but I loved every moment of it. Performing in the ballroom at TMEA was an experience I will never forget. The choir sounded amazing and I was so honored to have been able to sing with such incredible peers and an outstanding director. I remember tearing up because I realized I had put so much into choir over the years and I was going to be my last opportunity to sing at an important event like that. That will be memory that I will remember for the rest of my life. I am so blessed to have been able to perform at TMEA.

Mr. Johnson's Class

I have enjoyed many classes during my time at Creekview, but Mr. Johnson's economics class is probably my all time favorite high school class. I have never had such a funny and talented teacher. I can be having a rough day and his class can always cheer me up. I look forward to going to my fourth period everyday. Some of my friends have 4th out so they have a long lunch, but I'm glad I have Johnson 4th. Since that is the lunch period, I get to go to his class everyday and it is always an hour long. I enjoy all his funny news stories that he talks about at the beginning of class everyday. He always adds a funny, red neck story that somehow always is able to relate to a news story. It is nice to have a teacher that genuinely enjoys their job and loves the kids they are able to teach. I admire Mr. Johnson because he has taught me a lot of things, not just about economics, but also many life lessons. He is such an inspiration and I am so blessed to have had him as one of my teachers. I have had a lot of great teachers over my school years and Mr. Johnson will definitely go down as one of my favorite teachers of all time.

“No social stability without individual stability.”
― Aldous Huxley, Brave New World 

Texas A&M Univeristy acceptance

The first time I visited Texas A&M was my sophomore year in high school. As soon as I got there, I immediately fell in love with the school and College Station. Texas A&M is a school full of excellence and tradition. One of my favorite aspects of the school is it's Corps of Cadets. I knew that that was the school I wanted to attend for college. I wasn't in the top ten percent so I wasn't automatically accepted. In other words, It toke them until the beginning of March to get back on me concerning their decision on my application even though I applied in August. Even though I had to wait a while, when I found out I got the opportunity to go to my dream school, I was so excited! That was such an incredible day.I will now be able to get a great start on my future in the Communications world. I will be living in an apartment with three other girls and I'm excited for this new adventure and life style change. I know Texas A&M University is the best place for me and I can't wait to be down in Aggieland this coming Fall.

Homecoming

 Homecoming has always been a fun experience for me through out all my high school years. My freshman and Sophomore year, I went with my boyfriend at the time, Greg Cline. I wasn't able to attend my junior homecoming but my senior year, I went with Jeff Woodson, my boyfriend at the time. My last homecoming this year was a great experience. Jeff was head drum major my freshman year and has been my of my best friends ever since. He attends Texas A&M and this past summer, I guess we just both realized how much we liked each other and decided to be in a relationship. I wasn't sure if he would want to come back to a high school homecoming dance but he pleasantly surprised me by wanting to go. We took pictures together and then headed to dinner to meet up with my best friend, Amanda Altenhofen and some of my other band friends. The dance ended up to be a lot of fun and then we went back to his house and watched some Star Trek, our favorite show to watch together. This homecoming experience is one I want to remember for a long time because it was my last one and I got to spend it with someone that means so much to me.

Senior Pictures

I love getting my picture taken! So when I got the opportunity to get my pictures taken by Shannan Matson, I got really excited. She does incredible work and she took all my senior pictures. I did two shoots, one inside and one outside. My photo shoot inside was a lot of fun. I got to take the typical graduation pictures like the ones in my letter jacket and with Creekview Stuff. However, the outdoor shoot was an adventure. It was out at the Old Cotton Mill in McKinney. It was beautiful but also really hot and dirty. The pictures turned out great and getting senior pictures done is such an awesome opportunity I got to participate in. They give you something to look back on and they make you feel so important. I loved getting them down, and I will always cherish them.

“I wish I were a girl again; half-savage and hardy and free.”
-Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights

Toc Competition

TOC stands for Tournament of Champions, it's a band competition held at Standridge stadium. It is one of the annual competitions that the band always goes to it. Every year we have made finals but usually, the band always moves down in rank during the finals performance. However, this year, the Creekview Band moved up from 7th place to 6th place in the finals! It was an exciting time because the school hasn't done that in a long time. And on top of everything, the school that we beat was the school Mr. Ruangtip came from. Also, we beat Liberty HS, which is the school Mr. Hazzard moved to. This TOC competition was the best one out of the four years I've been in the band. It made me realize how great the band program is and how proud I am to be apart of it.I remember being on the field looking up at drum major, Michael George and just seeing the biggest smile on his face for the whole performance. I almost cried right there out on the field because that was my last TOC competition ever and the band was performing so well. I thank God for moments like those. That competition meant so much to me and I will carry it with me always.

Marching Season

So once summer band ends, the season is far from over. Marching Band season lasts from the beginning of school until around mid November. For those three months my life is crazy. I have no free time but I do end the season with a nice looking tan. During those months, I have 2 and a half hour rehearsals every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. I also have multiple competitions every Saturday during the month of October. While marching season is extremely tiring and most of the band kids constantly smell, it is my favorite time of the school year. I love all the football games and pep rallies where the band gets to play tunes and perform the marching show we all have worked so hard on for months. I get to spend so much time with some of my favorite people and the bus rides are always hilarious. I always finish every marching season with so many cherish able memories that I get to carry with me for the rest of my life. I'm glad this marching season went well this year. We broke some records that have been set in the past by the previous Creekview band. Lastly, I was so proud of everyone because even with a new director, we all came together and had an incredible marching season.

Summer Band

Summer band starts at the beginning of August and proceeds all the way til the first day of school. So in another words, I have no life during the month of August. I have never had the month of August off during my time in high school.This year was my last year to experience summer band. It was just as hot as it had always been. I don't think the weather is capable of being cooler during August in the state of Texas. I got to learn my last marching show entitled Pictures at an Exhibition. We didn't learn the show as fast or as soon as we did in past years and we were more successful this year. I actually loved the music and the drill. I haven't felt that way since my freshman year. Mr. Ruangtip also had a lot more patience than Mr. Hazzard did. Besides my freshman year, I would say that this past summer band experience was one of my favorites and I would definitely do it all over again. Honestly, I am sad that all my marching band years are over but I'm glad I ended them on a good note.