Video Podcast Episode 3 : Celebrate Yourself : : Leo Season

I enjoy celebrating my birthday. I am not one to wait for other people to plan stuff for me. When I turned 16, I spent the entire day by myself at the mall. My parents gave me birthday money and the keys to my mom's orange Ford Aerostar van. EVERYBODY in high school knew my mom's van because I was always driving it and all of my friends were piled in it, even on our weekend cruising adventures.

The celebration of my birthday, like many people, is usually a day spent partying and having a good time. I used to celebrate 'the day' then it turned into celebrating birthday week and now has extended to the entire Leo Season. This means that I celebrate from July 23rd to August 22nd even though my birthday is August 4th. I make it a point to be a little selfish and do whatever I feel like doing. Celebrating for an entire month takes some planning but for the most part, I wing most of it. I don't worry about the money I spend on myself because I deserve it. I deserve to spoil myself. I worry about the money part later. You can always make more money but you can never go back and make more memories.

When people would ask me what I want for my birthday, I say the same thing. I like homemade stuff like chocolate chip cookies or banana bread. I also like earrings and ANYTHING with hearts on it or LOVE on it. I like smell good stuff like Scentsy stuff or Bath & Body Works home fragrances and candles. But my favorite thing? My favorite thing to get are handwritten cards and if they're accompanied with flowers -- even better! But if you are just itching to gift me something from Amazon, here is my current WISH LIST.

Best Video Card I ever received. The ONLY video card I ever received.

In a previous post, I touched on how I was raised to not value my physical beauty, that it was somehow bad to honor the reflection in the mirror. Also, kids are mean and can really mess with how a person views him or herself. I had to consciously overcome those feelings of insecurity in relation to my looks.

In similar fashion, I have to overcome the "training" I received from my mother to SERVE everybody before myself. I watched her put everyone's needs above her own, which ultimately stole her health from her. I have had to find the balance between the wonderful values I was raised with and the ME that says that I need "ME" time. So celebrating myself during the month of my birth, Leo Season, is about me making time to do ME. It's my most favorite time of the year.

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Homecoming 2014: Red Raider Legacy

It's the eve before my High School Alma Mater's homecoming. It is absolutely my favorite event at my Alma Mater. Since my dear friend and classmate became the Student Activities Coordinator, I have volunteered many hours in assisting him with the social events at the school. For the last couple of years I have done the portraits for the Homecoming Court and I'm preparing to do it again this year. This time around though, I'm going to attempt to make it a fun event and help the kids loosen up BEFORE we do the actual photo shoot.

The theme this year is Welcome to the Jungle. I have no idea what the inspiration is behind the theme choice but the students and alumni really got into it. Perhaps its because our opponent is the Leilehua Mules. One of the most cherished activities is the homecoming cheer fest. Every class gets together and choreographs a cheer and dance. They practice for weeks. It's a cheer competition between the classes, pep rally style. The entire community comes out to watch it on the Football Field. This video features the alumni this year.

 
We are truly proud of our high school alma mater and the ties we all have to each other. We have a really good time. Many alumni help each class with their cheer and their choreography. The prize is bragging rights. Even now, we talk trash about the types of costumes that other classes used during our high school years.

I think the Seniors should have won this year but they placed third. There's a very strict judging and penalty criteria involved in selecting the winner; from staying within the time parameters to not using vulgar words or dance moves. The winner truly gains major bragging rights until the end of time. It's that serious! Here are the seniors. They did so good!


So as I gather my thoughts for my photo shoot tomorrow, I look back at all the tradition we have carried throughout the years. I will remind my little homecoming court about tradition and legacy, about courage, about loving self, about having fun, and mostly about choosing to be happy. Let's do this young raiders!