MIST DAY 3

DAY 3 – Most Mistified

It was finally time for the final official day of MIST – the awards ceremony. Everyone was thankful and we all agreed that it would be a good day. Why? Because not only did White Oaks perform well and enjoy themselves the days before, we also got to sleep in a few extra hours (we didn’t have to show up for the bus until 3:15!).

After waking up at 9:30, I got up and checked the MIST group chat, only to find that everyone was freaking out about who was going to wear what- colors, patterns, ties, suits, scarves, dresses – Everyone was being super indecisive. Me personally, I don't have a problem, I’ll just wear whatever’s acceptable. But this whole clothes drama went on for hours before everyone finally decided on something. I had the choices between a red, blue, or black shirt, and settled on going all black.

Once we got to WOSS, it was pretty empty, we were the first ones there. However, once people really started filling in, I immediately started getting excited—everyone was dressed at 15/10. Everyone. in other words, was looking A1 :D

We set out for the awards, where we blasted music on the speakers, everyone singing English, Arab, and Hindi music, having a good time. Eventually though it got a little crazy when the girls all started yelling about the songs they wanted or didn’t want—to the point where we were border lining a riot and we had to shut off the music…

But it was OKAY, because literally seconds later, we were pulling into the awards building.  We stepped out and met up with the seniors from their bus and instantly started banging on the tabla and began roaring. Within minutes, the entire banquet hall knew that White Oaks had arrived.  There were a bunch of photographers inside, along with the stage, and it was filled with seats. We were escorted to the back right of the room and after dropping off our stuff, went off to get our own little photo shoot done!

Soon enough, the room was filled and every seat was occupied. The MCs walked onto stage and the entire room went wild. 

There are no words to express how much energy was in the room—Honestly the WOSS Science Fair Team should have thought of making a way to use the power in the room for electricity. Haha, anyways they got our room to quiet down (somehow) and we immediately started, first by calling up a young man, a former hip hop artist, who presented a spoken word that left me, and the rest of the audience in shivers.
 

The amazing speech was followed by the top three scoring short films (which were a blast to watch) and then we finally began the awards ad performances that everyone was looking so forward to. It was incredible to watch the awards get called up-- different schools cheering and people going up to accept their awards. Every time WOSS was called out we stood up and cheered, showing the entire auditorium just how spirited we really were.

And then they prepared the award for Most Mistified. The audience cheered in belief that their school would be the one to win—And when they called the Wildcats to the stage, our cheers were louder than ever in the competition, everyone screaming “White Oaks, White Oaks!” as the ambassadors collected the honor from the stage.

We breaked for prayer and for food to take a short break, got some oily slices of pizza, and then decided we’d order pizza later that evening. The hype train was rolling fast, and wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. More and more WOSS Wildcats picked up awards. 

My squad personally was enjoying ourselves thoroughly, even though many of us didn’t get awards as one of us was calling out at the judges and we got a kick out of his reactions to their “bipolar behavior bull”. We all took turns, guessing which schools were going to win what award—Would it be MUA, IFS, RH? We all placed bets (friendship dollars) and made it an incredibly big deal, cheering embarrassingly for every time we guessed correctly. That one fact alone made the night incredibly cheery-regardless of whether WOSS won an award or not.

That isn’t to say we didn’t win—because we kept ourselves up there. The Science Fair team, French Essay, and Social Media, were some of the teams who came out successfully. Not to mention, our amazing MIST ambassadors this year, and girls’ basketball team, all picking up their awards with pride. 

The bus ride home was a party, yet again, this time more than ever. We blasted music on the speakers, put up a disco ball for a little bit, danced, sang songs, chanted for White Oaks, performed rap battles against each other (where there were some pretty fire bars shot), and just had an absolute blast. 

There are no words in English to describe the experience, so I’m going to put it into some words you might never have heard at all—but words that are definitely going to work.

Mashallah – We had so much talent go out from WOSS these past few days

 Alhamdulillah – We did phenomenally, coming undefeated till the end in bowl, coming first in a handful of competitions, and picking up awards and spirit points on the way.

 Subhanallah- It was an amazing trip, and the muslim student spirit still roars, and continues to grow

 Inshallah – The MIST competitions in the future will continue to grow and become more hyped each year

White Oaks did amazing this year, and this was a MIST that I will never forget. I don't know a single person who isn’t excited and already hyped for next year and the years to come.  If you can go, make it your mission to go.