Kat's Debut

What can I do with this fire?

I'm a a little over two weeks away from my 17th birthday, which is pretty insignificant compared to last year. I'm already old enough to drive, old enough to emancipate myself, and old enough to...be too lazy to get my license. But the one thing that's important about turning 17 is that I have to start preparing for my debut. Yea, us Filipino's are completely nuts. Kat Is Becoming A Woman.



So for all of you who don't know what a debut is, it's pretty much a coming-of-age for a Filipino girl. It's similar to the Jewish Bat Mitzvah, the Spanish Quinceañera, the white girl's sweet sixteen, and the brown girls...menarche. There's some ceremony, one of them being cotillion, where the girl's friends perform dances. Mostly they're traditional Filipino dances and ballroom. The other ceremony is 18 Candles and 18 Roses, where the girl is presented with...18 candles and roses by her friends and family. Men give the roses, women give the candles.

I wasn't sure if I wanted a debut or not...I can just imagine everyone going nuts near May even without dance rehearsals and stuff, but my Lolo and Lola have always dreamt of my debut. Apparently for Filipino boys it's 21, but I don't think we did anything special for my brother. So I have a lot of questions...

1. Do you want to be a dancer? Please, please say yes! I have like, nine girls, and none of us can dance.
2. Do you want to be an 18 Candles/Roses person? Please, please say yes! I have...my cousins are all really old, and I don't really want to be giving 3 year olds candles.
3. Should I have a head-table? I don't like the idea of sitting above everyone, or being stared at. But my friends want one. I was going to just have a table for us, but I'm not sure.
4. What should be the theme? I'm all for a Sea Otter or Jellyfish theme, but my mom wants spring. Maybe I'll compromise and be Groundhog. You know, groundhogs come out in spring and all.

SERIOUSLY, I need help. I was never big on the debut thing, but I'm getting kind of into it. I just don't know what to do!!!