Day 14:

I think it is safe to say that every little girl, at one point or another, wishes she were a princess. Now I'll admit I'm not in the "little girl" category anymore, but I never really gave up on this dream. There must be a lesson to be learned from continuing to dream because yesterday I basically lived a Cinderella story.

Let me explain: So it is homecoming week here at my University, which means it is time for the President's Ball, a glowing, glittering ball where guys where tuxes with bow ties and girls dress up in poofy dresses and much dancing and merriment occur. Now, I'm normally not a fan of dances; I didn't attend either one of my proms and I hold no regrets about that. So when the President's Ball was announced, I wasn't manic with excitement. In fact, I figured I wouldn't even go because I hadn't even brought a formal dress with me to University, and I didn't really want to spend a huge chunk of cash on a dress I didn't really need. I still felt this way come Friday morning, despite the pleas of my hall-mates to attend--they were all going as a group.

I told them it just wasn't that big of a deal; plus, I was obligated to be at the opening of an art show from 4:30-7:30 pm, because I have work-study in the art gallery here on campus. Hence the first outfit of the day:

I was required to wear black and white to this event, but being me, I had to give the outfit my own spin. The men's trousers (which I argue can be more feminine than skirts depending on how you wear them) with the white tee were fine on their own, but add the silk scarf from Talbots? Outfit transformed! This ensemble is similar to the one from Day 3, but I opted not to wear all black and I used a different kind of scarf. This one is good for tying in bows, whereas the previous one was more of an ascot.

Anyway, I wore this outfit all day and then to the art show, where I stood around for three hours talking with another girl who works in the gallery and occasionally stealing the food when no one was looking. (See the Cinderella aspect here: She wanted to go to the ball, but she didn't have anything to wear and she was forced to work?)

I then returned to the dorm where everyone was getting ready and where my friend Sara achieved the title of Fairy Godmother. Sara is from Winston, so she had gone to her house and gotten all of her formal dresses and brought them back to campus for me to try on! I narrowed it down to about three, but eventually went with a simple black dress. However, true to form, I had to make it my own and threw on some hot magenta tights, ratted my hair Madonna-style, and donned my Chuck Taylors. The finished product?

 
True, instead of Prince Charming I had the girls from my hall. Instead of a pumpkin-turned-chariot, I had a charter bus. And instead of glass slippers, I had Allstars. But really? I think we can all see the clear relation to Cinderella here.

If you were wondering, the Ball was pretty crappy. Lots of people drinking and a band of men far too old to still be wielding guitars made for a not-so-great dance. However, I had a great time with the girls putting on makeup, taking photos, and swapping stories. And really, I would have chosen that over anything else.

Oh, and I didn't lose one of my converses only to have it be returned by the prince, nor did I have to arrive home at the stroke of midnight or face turning into a pumpkin. In fact, we didn't even make it till the party until after midnight. But, you know, the general story was the same. Right?