This year, I have taken the time to reflect on the amazing things I have done as a young girl. One of those things is becoming a debutante. The history and culture behind coming into your own through the experience of being a debutante changed my life in many ways. My mother wanted to give me this experience as a young girl blooming into her own.
After a deep reflection, there are five key lessons that I have learned being a young debutante that I would love to share.
Respect Each Other
Kindness is not a weakness, and respect is everything. Respect those who come together with you to build a beautiful event together. How you dance with your partner to how you engage with your community; deals with equal amounts of respect. This mutual respect was passed from my peers to my instructors. Respecting one another even in times of frustration highlights the level-head mindset needed in life.
Etiquette
The art of etiquette is not only for how you dine and eat. It shows that you care for others and respect their cultures to learn how they develop, act, and speak. My mindset around etiquette changed during this time of my life because of this concept. It is mutual respect, but it gives you a basic level of unspoken communication with others. From how to pass a dish to someone to greet them, etiquette is something that everyone can adopt and use in their lives.
Self Confidence
It is not easy speaking in front of an audience. It takes some self-confidence to stand and dance in front of people. This lesson I learned early as a pre-debutante that is more than just beauty. It takes practice and time to understand you can trust your judgment. That gives you the ultimate self-confidence in cases like being a debutante.
Charity
Becoming charitable is not only for a moment of your life. It is a lifestyle. Just as being kind to others. From this moment, I realized that I truly love to give back as much as I can. My time, money, and skills are the three ways I learned to give my best to my personal causes: young girls and education.
Community
I understand that my community is something that I cannot ignore. I challenged myself to get to know the young women who were debutantes like myself. I thrive on building a connection with someone as an extrovert and establishing something in common. Even though not every girl had the same tastes, we had a common factor of being a debutante and learn together on this journey.
As my younger sister is soon to enter her season this year (fingers crossed), I hope she gains the lessons I have learned from this experience. It is not only becoming a princess for a day or introducing yourself to society. It is becoming a genuine, charismatic young woman that thinks of others.
