First taste of fame, circa 2001

I don't know what made me think of it, but back in 8th grade I entered this peace poster contest through school. I'm pretty sure it was a requirement to enter, but still. I turned in my piece, and by some miracle I ended up a finalist in this huge international competition. I cried when I heard the news (like, a cry so hard it made my bff think my dog died). It earned me a lot of awkward dinners with some old folks of the Lion's Club, which totally extinguished the thrill, but whatev. Twas exciting at the time.

I'm convinced the reason I made the top 25 was definitely not because of my craftsmanship (that world is not a circle, fyi, and I'm pretty sure that was made with crayons), but because it was my very first attempt at the ol' Pakaste verbal + visual = message system.

There are so many awesome things about this, but mostly just the fan club section:

Aw. It would be sweeter if my dad's name was Greg.