This is what I wore on the bus to Greensboro, NC, where the competition was held. My dog is behind me, looking sad that I was leaving. We stayed at a hotel that was across the street from a huge mall, so that's where we ate all of our meals and spent our free time. On the first night, we had an opening ceremony, where everyone wore things to show off their school pride. There were many different schools that came to compete! After the ceremony, everyone went to the dance hosted by DECA, which was very fun!

The next day is when the actual competing began. I was in 3 events, which were 2 Retail Merchandising role plays and 1 Financial Operations Research written event. The role plays were early in the morning and were running late on schedule. The scores of the role plays were combined with a test I had taken at school a few weeks before the competition. I had to quickly finish my role play before rushing to my next event, which is the one that I focused more of my attention on. I did this event with a partner. We wrote a 30 page paper in class prior to the competition and then created a presentation that we presented at States. Once I finished all my events, I went shopping with my friends at the mall and hung out. We ended up getting bored, so we took a Marketing Fundamentals test that they offered, as an extra way to earn an award. I ended up getting proficiency in that test, which means my score exceeded a set grade. Later, we went to an awards session for winners of the role play events and tests. Above is a picture of my friend and I with our crazy hats that our school wore. We also had light sabers and many other glow up toys to show off our spirit. 

I won this award at role play and tests award ceremony. I got to go on stage and receive it, because I was one of the top 10 performers on the Marketing Fundamentals test, which I wasn't even planning on taking! 

The next day we had another awards ceremony for the winners of the written events. There were finalists medals and then the groups that got top 5 in their event got a trophy. I ended up getting a finalist medal in the Financial Operations Research event and going on stage for the second time. My friend also got one of these medals for her Community Service project. 

I also won 3rd place in my research event and was awarded this trophy! I was really excited and happy. A lot of my other friends won trophies too. The people who won trophies have the option of competing internationally, which I decided to do! I also got proficiency pins for my role plays, as well as my research event. We left Greensboro after this ceremony and drove back on the bus for a few hours. I had such a great experience at States!