Each blog post I have done somehow centers around how I am grateful for something. I decided early on in the year, way before we started blogs, that I needed to focus on the positive and great things that my life has been blessed with, and show my gratitude for them.  This is my last required blog post and I think the only way I can end this blog is by expressing my humble gratitude for Holbrook High School. (Sorry if I’m super cheesy and sentimental right now. I think I’m preparing myself to leave this quaint town for something bigger and better, but most of all, different.)

I remember back to my freshman year and think of my little, very insecure self. In choir I hated doing lifts because I was too fat. At first, I wouldn’t even make eye contact with the seniors because they were too cool and way older than me. I thought I was really immature and clumsy. I was quiet. I was shy. I was scared.

During this time, I learned to really appreciate my sister, Cierra. I had only been in school with her a few years and high school meant we would be together for two whole years!:) In all of my  insecurities, I hid in my beautiful sister’s shadow and felt her confidence cover me.  All of a sudden I didn’t have to be scared when I was with her. I knew as long as I had my sister, I could take on anything. TOGETHER we made best friends with the cool senior boys. TOGETHER we took the stage by storm and sang together all the time. TOGETHER we studied for classes and worked on homework.  Never in my life had I depended on someone so much, just to be myself.

Sophomore year went by beautifully and although my senior friends left, we kept in touch. Cierra and I continued to be the best of friends and I’d say that we were pretty cool, but I might be slightly biased. We made some great memories and spent as much time together as we could, before she graduated and left for college.

One of my favorite times to look back on is our car rides. It takes a while to get to town from our house, so we would enjoy car rides together full of laughter and love. We sang songs as loud as we could and goofed off the whole time. Our favorite song to sing and rap was “The Way” by Ariana Grande. It was quite a sight to see two white girls rapping and singing ‘whistle tones.’ We thought we were so cool. :P

Then, quicker than I could say bye, she was gone. She was loving college life and talked to me once or twice every few weeks. I felt lost and alone. My best friend, and amazing person to hide behind was gone. HHS helped me realize that although I missed her like crazy, I could be fun, and myself, and interesting without her. My junior year was when I truly found who I was and I let my crazy, weird personality shine through. It was a rough ride, but finally I was happy with myself. Doing this brought more fun friends. I felt much more confident and a lot less awkward. I finally was comfortable in my own skin and the dark fears of judgement were chased away by my confidence.

This year has been much like the last. I know I’m weird, and although I’m not as loud as I was with my sidekick at my side, I don’t have to be afraid of being myself. I honestly could care less about what a lot of people think about me, and I love it! I feel so happy and free!:) 

High school was the place where I got to find myself and explore the things I grew to love. I am so grateful for Holbrook High School and the welcoming environment it has. Because of the great teachers and kind atmosphere, I was able to find myself. Soon I’ll pay it back and HHS will be able to say, “You know that famous girl, Savana Shumway? Yeah, she went to school here.”

Thank Goodness

Growing up my dad always had a huge video camera in our faces. Any birthday or party he would pull out the video camera and get a nice shot of each person in the room. It never really bothered me, and I actually never thought much about it until I was older.

Sundays are usually really relaxing days at my house. By three, my whole family is usually asleep. Today, however, after a nice dinner, we put an old tape in the VHS player. The title on the tape was “Birth of Cade.” For about two hours we watched all of the fun things that happened in 2005, starting with my youngest brother’s birth.

 

This video brushed over some of my favorite memories, not just in 2005, but throughout all of my childhood. After Cade’s birthday the video skipped to a beautiful spring morning, in our luscious, green backyard. All of us kids were in pajamas on the backs of our two miniature horses. We rode horses all the time growing up. I remember Sunday afternoons we would get in pajamas and read on the backs of lazy horses. During the summer, these horses would stay in the backyard and ‘mow’ the lawn all summer long. While in the backyard, we would ride the horses until the sunset and the stars came out.

The video then skipped to the Navajo County pageant. My family spent years immersed in the pageant, as my mom choreographed the dances and Cierra was in it every year for about twelve years. I can remember back to the rehearsals where they gave us free soda! For hours I would walk around the fairgrounds and sing the songs the pageant girls danced to. In 2006 I decided I wanted to be in the pageant, so I practiced hard and got pretty dresses. By September I was well prepared and ready for a good time. I sang “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid and surprisingly enough, I won! I had a lot of fun, but one pageant was enough for me.:)

Christmas was next on the tape and we watched our young bodies crawl out of bed as Mom and Dad sang Christmas songs. I was so excited to get toe socks from Santa. He was good to me back then.:) Christmas was always so much fun, the whole family all together. Some of my favorite times were listening to old Christmas music when it got closer to the happy holiday.

I loved the chance I had to sit with my family and laugh at the silly faces, high pitched voices, and little bodies that used to be ours. (Thank goodness my voice changed and my teeth grew back in!) My family is usually going in seven different directions, so I really enjoyed the time I got to spend with them and reconnect with the past. I loved looking back and remembering some of my favorite times when my whole family was together.

Nowadays, my brother is off at NAU, my sister is in Korea, and I will soon be leaving for EAC.  It’s crazy to think that my little family will be all spread out and my parents will only have two kids at home. I am scared to take the jump into a completely new life, but I am so thankful that my parents prepared me for the fun journey ahead. Looking back, I can be nothing but grateful for the memories they have helped me create, and I also feel excited to go make more. They have raised me so I can make good choices by myself and I look forward to relying on the principles I learned while in such a humble home.

Livin' the High School Musical

Here was my super fun prom date from Snowflake. We didn't know each other before the date started, so it was a fun surprise to get to know him so well in such a short amount of time. Shayna and her date also made prom a ton of fun. I'm glad I got to spend it with these amazing people. Here is a picture because, cute.:)

I love the High School Musical movies! I have ever since they came out ten years ago. I honestly can watch them over and over, and somehow never get sick of them. As if they are not good enough, they have a musical number thrown into every scene.  I absolutely love music in general, so a great, cheesy movie, with amazing songs in it could not be better. I love all three of these movies but lately I have started to love the last one, High School Musical 3, a lot more.

To understand why this movie is so amazing, especially at this time in my life, I’m going to have to set the stage for you. This movie is specifically about our favorite characters’ senior year, as they are preparing for their final performance at East High School. (Which I am totally doing in choir as well). They are trying to figure out what to sing and dance about when the main girl, Gabriella Montez says, “I think we should stage the perfect prom.” They decorate the stage in magical lights and whimsical decorations. There is a staircase, and vines throughout the whole stage. Everyone is dressed to their best and the music adds to the fun atmosphere. Gabriella takes the stage with her hot boyfriend, Troy Bolton, and they dance and sing together in perfect harmony.

At first, the guys don’t really  want to put in all the trouble for a silly dance and the girls can’t wait to get dressed up in fancy dresses and have a “Night To Remember.” (The guys lyrics are in parentheses just to help you understand a little more)

“  It's gonna be a night, (can’t wait)

To remember, (aw man)

Come on now, big fun, (alright)

It’s gonna be the night, (I guess)

To last forever, (lucky us)

We'll never ever ever forget

(Her mother opens the door, I'm shakin' inside)

He's here, it's time, the hour's arrived

(Don't know why, her father's staring me down)

Where's my purse? Lip gloss?

Now I'm really freaking out

(Then something changes my world

The most beautiful girl right in front of my eyes)

It's gonna be a night, (oh yeah!)

To remember, (that's for sure)

Come on now, big fun, (alright!)

It's gonna be the night, yeah tonight

To last forever, forever more

We'll never ever ever forget

Everything about this song describe my feelings before prom. Before I got asked, I was planning on staying at home, probably watching HSM.:) I didn’t realize how sad I would have been to miss out on such a fun evening. This song is so fun to watch and listen to, but now it also has a bittersweet feeling attached to it. I had such a great night, as I’m sure all of you did, and now it’s over. Not to put a downer on the mood but, we will never go to another high school dance.

Simple  like this blow my mind. I can’t believe that just a few years ago we were listening to the famous Mr. Phaturos speech about getting on the graduation train. Folks, the graduation train is slowing down to a stop, right at graduation station. We are almost there!

Gabriella says, “I wish it would all just stop. At least slow down.” My sentiments exactly Gab. :)  It feels like life is going so fast, full speed ahead all the time, but I don’t think that is going to change. For these last few weeks of school I am going to try to enjoy every second, every minute, every laugh, every bittersweet moment. I’ll even try to make it like a high school musical. Enjoying everything as if there was music playing in the background, setting the mood. You should try it too. I think when we look back on high school we will remember it as a much happier, better few years, and we definitely can look back on it as a time to remember.:)

Experiencing Quite A Few LASTS

As we get closer to graduation, we are facing more and more lasts. Last meeting. Last Prom. Last lunch. Last Monday. I honestly don’t know what to do except cry. :)

This past week, some of my favorite people and I were in our prayer circle that we always do before a show. I firmly held the hands of the people next to me and looked around our very large circle, and couldn’t help but smile with tears in my eyes for this one last circle. I expressed my love for all of them and encouraged them to work their hardest on “sharing our show.” After my heartfelt prayer, we cheered and went our separate ways, starting the ending of Mary Poppins. We experienced a lot of lasts Friday night. Last love circle. Last cheer. Last prayer. Last Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Last thirty two second costume change. (Pretty fast right?;) All before our favorite last: Mary Poppins.

For months I have dedicated hundreds of hours on making the character of Mary Poppins come to life.  I worked on my accent, my wardrobe (goodness was that a tricky one!), my lines, my songs, and I focused a lot on myself. Who would blame me? The musical is called Mary Poppins for a reason.:) But then I realized, this was my last high school musical. This was my last chance to perform with these wonderful people I grew to know and now love so much. I focused on trying hard to enjoy every moment backstage, not focusing on myself. I tried to hug EVERYONE, literally everyone backstage got at least one hug from me, to show that I truly loved and appreciated them for all the work they put into making this a great musical.

After putting in so much effort into this project, the moment finally happened. The show started at 7:01 and I was getting ready to “appear” in scene two. Everything that I had prepared for for months was culminating in front of an ecstatic audience. The night went practically perfectly. Everything on and off stage was running smoothly. All our magic worked! All our songs were perfect! It was one of the most fun times I have ever experienced. And now it is over. 

I am terribly sad that we won’t have practices going until midnight on school nights and that I won’t get to call Mrs. Caffey old any more.:) But I am mostly so grateful that I was able to be changed by this experience.  I feel so grateful that I was able to improve myself at singing and acting, and I was able to be tested in patience, which I think all will prepare me for college. 

Just because it is over does not mean we have to forget. Thank goodness we have pictures and brains that will help us remember the good times we have shared. Everything we know is going to change, and I am so excited to start this new adventure, but at the same time I am going to miss it so much! All we can do is remember the great ride we have had and be grateful for every memory we will cherish for the rest of our lives.

I would also like to publicly thank my sweet grandparents for making the wonderful effort to come all the way from Florida to support me in this role. I love you two very much! Also, thank you Uncle John for enduring quite a long trip just to come see me. I love you all so much!

Love Without Words

October 13, 1964

November 23, 1991

December 18,1997

These dates are some of my favorites.:)

My dad was born October 13, 1964.

My parents got married November 23, 1991.

I was born on December 18, 1997.

I absolutely love my family. I have been blessed with such amazing parents who love us crazy kids and are great people to everyone. They have raised us to be kind to others and I always strive to be like my parents. All of these dates brought me my family and I can’t ever show enough gratitude for them.

Although my mom says differently, my dad has always told me I was a daddy’s girl.  He would always take us on amazing outings, hikes, and camp trips. I loved these adventures and I was never more than two steps behind Dad, jumping off cliffs or climbing up trees. I don’t know what it is about teenage girls but when I became a sassy teenager, me and my dad weren't so close.  I guess I lost my footing and fell a few steps back from him, but he has never been too far from me to see how great he is.  

I have his bright green eyes. I have his stubborn attitude.  Sadly, I also have his bad communication skills. We used to not talk about anything but surface discussion topics.  He would ask about my day, I would reply, “It was fine. I gotta go do homework.” Although we didn’t talk much with words, he spoke a very clear message to me about how much he loved me.

When I was about thirteen, I decided to paint my room from gray to tan.  For some reason, this task was way harder than I anticipated. I painted for weeks. Little patch here one day. Little spot here another.  I could only reach about five feet from the ground so there was a gray area for about four feet along the whole room that I couldn’t seem to get done. After a long day at school I went down stairs to my room and every wall was painted light tan. I was dry and perfect. My dad never mentioned anything about it but I made sure to thank him. He blew my gratitude off like it was nothing but I think he knew how much it meant to me.

I see him doing small acts of service for my mom all the time as well. He hates doing the dishes but he does them almost every single day, just to make her happy.  He has made our house a playground and spent countless hours building swing sets, fire places, and even a pool, so we can have fun.

My dad may not be the most outgoing or loquacious person I know, but he shows his love for our family, and for everybody through his kind acts of service. Sometimes I forget all he does for us and I have to remind myself of all the things he has done willingly without ever being asked.

I am so grateful for my dad and the wonderful man he is. I’m so glad that I have such a great person to look up to as a dad. He has instilled a sense of service in me and made me want to be like him when I grow up.  Finally, I am able to talk to him now and I get the chance to learn more everyday.

Service With Smile

First of all, happy Easter!!! I love this time of year where we get to celebrate new beginnings of life in the Springtime and also celebrate Christ’s life!  They both make me really happy, along with a few other delightful things. I am mostly happiest with my family and friends, but there is one thing that makes me truly happy, even if I’m doing it alone.

About six months ago, I was driving down the small town back road, heading home after a long day.  Lining the entire street there are multiple cute houses occupied by little old people.  This one neighbor, a short woman with speckled gray hair, had recently gotten hip surgery and I saw her often enough that I knew her, but we were not close friends by any means.  As I passed her house, I slowed down just enough to see her slowly climb out of her car and begin to struggle with her walker, groceries, and papers from her equally long day.

I tried to justify my circumstance; she was close enough to her house, and she would make it before I even got out to help her. I continued to watch and her struggle just worsened. She dropped some papers and I couldn’t help but jump out of my car and grab her heavy bags and pile of papers.  It was just a few short steps to her door and into her house where I silently put her things on her table.  She repeatedly thanked me and apologized for the “messy” house she had.  As I left, she thanked me over and over.  

I couldn’t figure out what the big deal was.  I did the simplest act to help her out, it took less than five minutes, and yet, she was so grateful.  After I got in my car, I couldn’t help but smile myself. I was grinning all the way home, and thought back on what a great, yet simple, experience I had.

A few weeks later, I saw this sweet old woman again and she placed a card and two bracelets in my hand and whispered, “ I know this was a long time ago but I really wanted you to know how much I appreciate you helping me out that day.” The card was completely written out of a kind and grateful heart. I felt nothing but love as I read her sweet words of gratitude to me. Again, I couldn't believe what great happiness this brought me, and I could tell, had brought her as well.

This experience has made me want to be a happier person, in both giving and getting.  I know there are so many times where I could help someone in need, and a lot of times I don’t.  There are also times I remember where people have helped me and I didn’t thank them enough. My goal for the next week or so, in order to make it habit, is to look for more service opportunities and to act on them. I would hate for my pride and busy schedule to get in the way of someone else’s happiness, and my own. I hope you can do the same to help this world become a happier and better place.

Music Maniac

I thrive on music. There is not one day that passes that I do not indulge on music in some way.  I feel like I have always been this way, but in the last few years, love for music has grown into a magnificent fire that I constantly have to feed.

My freshman year, I had the chance to travel to NAU one weekend to go to the All-State choir with a cool senior that knew I would enjoy the trip.  During their hours of rehearsal, I would sit in the back of the two-hundred person choir and hum along to the beautiful songs. I intently listened to the magical sounds that the choir created. My love for classical music blossomed, and I wanted to part of creating it.

Throughout the next year, I worked my tail off in sight reading and classical music preparing for the audition in the spring.  The audition date came around and I felt confident in my performance, but I didn't know how likely it was that a sophomore would make it, so I didn't expect much.  The next day I was thrilled to find out that I made twenty-fifth chair out of fifty altos in the whole entire state of Arizona! I received and learned my music, struggling here and there, but still did my best to prepare.

FINALLY the time came! I traveled to the valley with my sister, Cierra, and my awesome choir teacher, Mr. Gardner.  The weekend flew by, but somehow, I held on to every amazing moment, no matter how small, and I still look back and I am grateful for all the things I learned in that short amount of time.

A few times during rehearsals, I would just stop and listen to the melodic sounds of the choir I was finally part of.  I found myself smiling, or even laughing, when the words could not have been any more beautiful and the notes were perfectly harmonized.  It was more amazing than I ever imagined.  The concert came too soon, and just as fast as it came, All-State had left me wanting more.

My junior year I was lucky enough to make it again! The only problem was that I got my music about six days before the festival and I felt like there was no way I could learn all the music that fast (especially all the foreign languages!!)  So, sadly, I missed that chance, but it increased my desire to make it my senior year!

Auditions for All-State were last Friday and I spent weeks preparing for the short performance I would give in front of a judge who would decide if I was good enough to make it into such an elite choir.  I felt a lot of stress coming from many sources to make it, and I think I psyched myself out a bit. Long story short, my audition went horribly.  I forgot the words to my solo and I completely missed the notes on the sight-reading.  Monday rolled around and I got the awful text, "Sorry guys.  Nobody from Holbrook made All-State this year."

I was crushed! I had been looking forward to this for years, and now my dreams were smashed.  I can’t adequately describe the feelings I had and the thoughts rushing through my head.  I wanted to make it so badly, but after a short time, I felt a kind of relief.  Already, I have been preparing music for Mary Poppins, my EAC music scholarship audition, and a church performance I have, all coming up in the next few weeks. I still have to learn to fly!

During Spring Break I became truly grateful that the load on my plate had become lighter.  Don't get me wrong, it was very hard at first, but after taking a step back, and broadening my view, I realized this honestly will not matter in a few years and it is such a simple problem compared to things others are experiencing right now.  I know that everything happens for a reason and because of all I am involved in right now, I would have been so stressed out that I probably would not have been able to function!

Sometimes things don't go the way we planned or the the way we thought they would, but it is important to remember to take a step back and recognize the blessings because of the way things turn out.