The FBLA Experience....so far.......

So tonight there was "Incoming Freshman Night", where all the 8th graders come and sample electives that they are thinking of taking as freshman next year.  I was volunteering on the FBLA side of the business area.  With constant freshmen reluctantly asking questions about the business club while their parents hovered over them was truly a humurous site.  As I was pitching my regular FBLA spiel to a particual 8th grader, I decided to add some of my experiences about FBLA and all the things that have changed because of it.  In the background I could also hear my fellow FBLA-er, Chris, recalling memories from his parli years=).  As the night progressed while I was sharing my wonderful FBLA experiences, I realized exactly how much I have grown over the last three years (not only physically ha ha ha) but in terms of my high school experience.

I remember when I was a freshmen, not really knowing where I would fit in the crazy high school atmosphere, but when a few very enthuastic senoirs came into my business class to talk about FBLA, I knew was hooked for life.  Through my freshmen year, learning the ins and outs of FBLA was somewhat difficult.  My competition teammates were absolutely amazing, and our state champion win is something I will not soon forget (Tammy and Sasha! =).  Last year was by far one of the most interesting years, and its probably when FBLA impacted me the most.  From the start of the year, with school being really hectic, I always knew that there was someone I could turn to talk to in FBLA, especially my fantastic Parli teamates =).  Parli would have to be one of the most interesting and fantastic experiences of my life.  From the first meeting when I didn't really know my teammates, to the evolution of my studying routine, fyi ever since that first study session, I can always compare how hard something is to Parli homework, and I must say not much has been able to match it =).  All our hard work leading up to States was completely worth it, for I know that those 10 seconds on stage knowing that we had claimed first place is something I am sure I will never forget.   It was soon followed with an absolutely amazing performance at Nationals where I got my first National trophy! It was one of the greatest experiences of my life and I want to thank all my past teammates for such an amazing experience.

All this was running around in my head as I was trying to explain exactly what FBLA is to these soon to be Class of 2013 freshmen.  I can only hope that no matter what they decide to do, they pick the right choice and get a lot out of it, because I know I did.  Now the only thing I don't know is how much more my life will change because of FBLA  in the next year.  While next year I will be a second semester senior and counting the hours until graduation, FBLA will be one thing that I will not be so quick to leave behind in this hectic life that we call high school.