"We were just dirt pur,'" Granny said. That's my granny's explanation for the reason she and her family never traveled anywhere when she was growing up.
The small things in life are the most rewarding.When someone smiles on campus as I pass by, when a cashier at Chik-fil-A says "My pleasure" or when a teacher puts "Good job" at the top of an assignment, these gestures make my day.It may not seem like it, but small things can make a big difference.I hope the small things I do will make a difference later in life when I am searching for a career.Two years ago, I saw an advertisement for Teen Vogue Fashion University in New York City.The weekend-long conference would be open to anyone interested in fashion, meeting designers and learning from the magazine editors how to get a foot in the door of the fashion/magazine world.Boy, was I interested.Of course, I applied.But my first thoughts were, "Why would a magazine in New York City accept someone from Podunk, Ala., (actually Holly Pond, but just as bad) who will probably never have a chance in the fashion world?""Will the proper, up-scale designers and editors laugh my Southern accent back home?"These doubts made me try even harder.Much to my surprise, I was accepted, Southern accent and all.The next month I boarded a plane for the first time in my life and was on my way to arguably the greatest city in the world.I would soon stand in the presence of figures in fashion that I have only been able to see on the glossy pages of the magazine, much less ask questions and be in the same room with.While in New York, I attended seminars by Vera Wang, Tommy Hilfiger, Tim Gunn, Redken hairstylists, Maybelline New York make-up artists and all of the editors at Teen Vogue, and then saw all the sights and shopped till I dropped.It was jaw dropping being surrounded by so many people at one time and looking up and not being able to see the tops of buildings.Where I live, I can drive to the top of the tallest building (a parking deck).Standing on top of the Empire State Building, overlooking the buildings probably four times taller than the lowly parking deck I am used to, was life changing.In two weeks I get to go back to the Big Apple for the fourth annual Fashion University.
