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Moved from Wisconsin to Kentwood Michigan for my dad's work. I was very young, so don't remember this move. -
Lily Mae Medalen was born at 11:37 a.m. in Columbia St. Mary Hospital in Wisconsin. She weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces and was 20 inches long. -
I took my first steps and began walking when I was 13 months old. -
I began my first tap and ballet dance class at Caledonia Dance Center. -
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Moved from Kentwood to Byron Center because my parents liked the school district better. -
My brother, Andrew Henry Medalen, was born on September 21, 2009. I became a big sister and the middle child of our family. -
I began preschool in the Byron Center school district. Started to meet friends, that I would set up playdates with. -
Our family rescued a Catahula Leopard dog/Australian shepherd mix and brought her home as our first pet. Our dog's name was Bella. -
Our family moved from Byron center MI, to Port Washinton, WI for my dad's new job offer. I began first grade in a new school. -
My Grandpa Pete unexpectedly passed away on April 13, 2011, due to a heart attack. -
Our family moved out of our rental home in Port Washington and bought a house with land in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. -
I went skiing at Sunburst Ski Resort for the first time. Took a skiing class, and then took on the big hills with my family. -
I performed in my studio production of The Nutcracker for the first time. I had 3 roles. A candy cane, a gingerbread man, and a soldier. -
Found our final home in Byron Center. Choose to live two houses down from our previous home in Planters Row. Reunited with old neighborhood friends, and met new ones for the last two months of second grade at Brown Elementary School. -
Played AYSO soccer with my neighborhood friends for the first time. -
My siblings decided we wanted to have a hamster, and named it Gizmo. -
I went to Kalahari with my family. I tried out all the waterslides and arcade rides/games that I was tall enough to do. -
My Grandma Kathy was cleared from breast cancer, after over a year of testing and chemo. We celebrated at our family cottage. -
I passed out in music class and had to do several medical tests such as an EEG, CAT scan, and more to try to figure out the cause. -
Tried running dynamite dogs in third grade to do something after school with my friends. -
My great grandma (Nana) moved in with our family because she was not living safely anymore in her apartment. She did so much with us and provided a lot of laughter. -
I made the competitive dance team this year at DDA and joined the junior large groups and line classes. Met my second family, and fell in love with competitions. -
This was the best year of my early education experience. I had my favorite teacher and met my best friends to this day in this class. I also won the Bud Fryleing Award this year. -
I went to Europe for the first time in my life and visited a family friend in Greece. We got personal tours of all of the coolest spots from our friend Chris. We hiked, swam, boated, and tried new cultural foods. We visited Santorini, Crete, Lotos, and Athens. -
My dad's mom passed away due to health complications, causing a time of grief and stress in my family. -
I traveled with my dance team to the Wisconsin Dells for our national competition. Got to grow my friendships with my dance friends by having fun in the waterpark, and also competed in a very advanced competition. -
My nana who lived with us for 3 years passed away at the age of 93 due to declining health. -
I tried track in the spring of my 7th-grade year to do an extracurricular with my friends. I was a sprinter and a long jumper. -
I went to Camp Geneva with my friend for the first time. and loved it! Started going to Christian overnight camp for next several years. -
Picked up Louie, our French bulldog puppy on Christmas night. We call him our "covid puppy." -
Covid spread throughout the world, causing everyone to go into a season of quarantine. The school was shut down in March of the 8th grade year due to the spread of COVID-19. We did not go back to school until freshman year, but we had to wear masks and do a hybrid schedule for freshman year. -
My first pet died because she had a mass in her stomach that was bleeding. We put her down to end her misery at Dorr Vet Clinic. -
I nannied a 3-year-old boy in my neighborhood for the whole summer. Spent a lot of time outside swimming, and playing imaginary games. -
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We had two foster care kids come into our home for 7 months. We had one 3-year-old girl with Down syndrome and her 12-month-old sister. -
I competed my first solo at 6 competitions my freshman year, and placed pretty well in my age group. -
We got a 1-year-old boy to stay with us for 4+ months until he moved in with his grandma. -
Placed first at most competitions in our category, and scored the highest in our studio. We really improved as a duet this spring competition season and realized what we were capable of. -
Went to Puerto Rico for our final family spring break with my sister. went hiking, to the beach, Luminescent Bay, and saw a sea turtle snorkling. -
Passed my drivers test, and started driving on my birthday! -
Began my final year of high school at BCHS. -
Finished all of the testing for junior year. I got good scores on my SAT, work keys ACT, and M-step tests. -
I was a counselor for a camp of people with special needs for a long weekend. It was the most memorable experience of the summer.