Why did you decide to apply to be a Discovery Girl? How did you find out about the Summit?
I have been a big fan of Discovery Girls since I was 10 years old when I got a subscription from my mom for my birthday. I decided to finally apply to be a DG because I saw the ad to apply in the magazine. I thought it would be fun to try and be in a magazine.
How long did it take you to put your questionnaire together? How did you feel after you submitted it?
At first, I started filling out the questionnaire in January when the application became available online. I asked my mom to print out the questions for me and I started to work on them a little at a time. I filled out a lot of the questions but when I checked the website, I noticed that I had missed the first deadline to submit. Luckily, I still had time to submit before the final deadline so I started working on the new questionnaire. The questions were similar so it took me less time to complete. I worked on the questions in the evenings and on weekends, and it took me about two weeks to think about how to answer, write, revise, and finalize everything. I felt so relieved when I finished because the deadline was the next day! My mom helped me type everything up, and she uploaded the application for me. It was a lot of work but I’m so glad I did it! I was super proud of myself when I finished too.
How did you find out you were selected as a Discovery Girl? How did you feel when you first found out?
My mom had gotten an email that said to call the DG office the next day so we weren’t sure if I was selected or not. I was so nervous that it was hard to concentrate on anything else that evening, and I had a hard time sleeping! When my mom called the next day, I was at school. I made her promise to text me as soon as she found out. We are not allowed to use our phones at school except for during emergencies, but I considered this an important emergency! I was in PE when my phone vibrated with a message from my mom that said I got accepted! I was so happy that I let out a scream! Everyone around me turned to look at me and asked what was going on. I told them the exciting news and my friends congratulated me. It was so funny!
I was so excited to find out i was selected.
What did you do to prepare for the Summit? How did you pick your profile outfit?
To prepare for the Summit, I went shopping with my mom and my friends for possible outfits to wear. In the end, I couldn’t decide what to get for my profile outfit, so I ended up buying a few different ones! Then I packed and packed and packed! It took me forever to decide what to bring. Thankfully, I live close to Monterey (where the Summit was held) so I could pack tons since we weren’t traveling by plane. When I got there, I realized that I definitely packed too much and I sadly couldn’t wear everything. But, better to pack too much rather than not enough! I had five possible profile outfits, and my DG roommates helped me narrow it down to two outfits. On the day of the profile shoot, I just chose the one I was most comfortable in.
Decisions, decisions, decisions!
What was the trip to California like?
I live in Northern California so my mother and I drove to the Summit. It was about an hour and a half drive. I slept most of the way. While I was asleep, I had a dream that I was already there and having a blast with all of the girls on the beach. Then I woke up and realized that it was only a dream but we were now only 5 minutes away from our destination. I was even more excited to arrive at the Summit than ever by that point! When I got to the Summit, all the girls came running up to me and gave me big hugs! Everyone was so welcoming and that just made me feel so special!
Meeting some of the girls for the first time.
It's like we have known each other for awhile.
What was it like meeting girls from all over the U.S. and Canada? What surprised you most about the other girls?
It was amazing meeting other girls from all over the US and Canada! We all had different personalities and assets and all of us really blended well together and became great friends. I was most surprised that even though we lived in different places, attend different schools, and have various different hobbies; we all were basically facing the same issues in life. It is such a small world after all!
Some of the girls hanging out in the courtyard area after lunch
What issues that tween girls face did you talk about? How do you think talking about those things helped you?
At the summit we mainly talked about being bullied and our insecurities. I realized that I really am not alone. I also realized that when I need it, there will always be someone there to help me get through my problems in life.
What was the funniest thing that happened?
The funniest thing that happened was during one our behind the scenes photo shoot on the beach. Trinity, Celeste, Jane, and I were all trying to balance as we were learning to do yoga but we kept on falling over. We had so much fun just laughing, stumbling all over the place, and just being silly on the beach. I guess we never found our inner-peace during our yoga session!
What was the most important thing you learned at the Summit? Will you do anything differently because of your experience?
At the summit I learned that it is most important to just be myself. When I’m myself I am the best me that I can be. I hope to inspire my friends to be themselves too. I want to encourage everyone to not worry about what others think and just have confidence in themselves.
Jane and I getting ready to head to the beach.
I’ll always remember…
I'll always remember when we were playing volleyball and frisbee on the beach during another one of the behind the scenes shoots. The frisbee kept flying into the fly infested seaweed - it was so funny but so gross at the same time. Jane was so brave and eventually went and got it for us. Just hanging out with all the girls and getting to know everyone was the best part of the entire Summit.
