Well.

That was my last time competing in DECA.

Not my last time at states. Not my last role play of the year.

My last time competing in DECA. Ever.

Because I didn’t qualify for ICDC.

And honestly? I’m still a little shocked writing that.

Let’s rewind.

This year we had 24 people from Dripping Springs competing at states, which is honestly kind of insane. Our chapter has grown so much over the past few years, and it was really cool seeing that many of us there together.

Out of those 24, eight people made state finals, which is actually a huge deal.

But here’s the crazy part.

None of us qualified for ICDC.

Not one.

And yes… that includes me.

Whaaaatttt.

The Exam

Let’s start with the exam because that might explain part of the story.

Usually the exam is one of my strengths. I normally walk out of it feeling pretty good, like okay that wasn’t bad, we’re fine.

This time though?

Tough.

Like halfway through I was already thinking… yeah this is not my best work.

The exam counts for one third of your total score, so if that goes sideways it definitely matters. And yesterday I found out I got an 81.

Which is fine.

But at states, “fine” can easily turn into not enough.

So maybe that was part of it.

The Role Play

Now here’s the part that surprised me more.

I thought my role play went really well.

The prompt was about promoting a new idea where the restaurant would offer half portions for half the price. Basically a smaller meal option for people who didn’t want a full portion.

My idea?

Launch the promotion on the restaurant’s half birthday.

Yes, I completely made that up.

But the whole promotion would revolve around this idea of “halves.” Half portions, half price specials, fun social media promotions, the whole thing.

I also suggested doing a Choose Two option, where customers could combine two half portions for the price of a full portion, kind of like how Panera does it.

And here’s the thing.

My judge actually told me he really liked the half birthday idea.

So naturally I walked out feeling pretty good.

Which is why I was a little shocked when I didn’t advance.

Actually… more than a little shocked.

Because here’s the thing.

I’ve advanced in this exact event the past two years.

Last year I got second place in the world.

And now suddenly I’m not even going to ICDC.

That was not on my DECA bingo card.

The Moment It Hit Me

Standing there during awards, waiting for them to call finalists, I kept thinking okay… maybe the next one.

Maybe the next one.

Maybe the next one.

And then the list ended.

And that was it.

No name.

No advancing.

Just this weird moment where you realize something you expected to happen… isn’t happening.

Where It Might Have Gone Wrong

After replaying my role play in my head about fifty times, I realized there’s one moment that might explain everything.

I forgot to talk about one of the performance indicators.

And if you’ve done DECA before, you know that’s kind of a big deal.

Performance indicators are where a lot of the points come from. Even if your idea is good, if you don’t clearly hit those indicators, your score can drop really fast.

So yeah.

That might have been it.

One missed indicator and suddenly the entire outcome changes.

The Weirdest Part

The weirdest part about all of this is honestly how shocked I was.

Not devastated.

Just… stunned.

Because when you’ve had a certain experience the past few years, you start to assume the pattern will continue.

Advance to finals. Compete again. Maybe qualify.

But DECA doesn’t care about patterns.

Sometimes everything clicks.

Sometimes it doesn’t.

The Last One

The strangest realization though is this:

That role play I did at states?

That was my last DECA role play ever.

The last time I’ll walk into a room, shake a judge’s hand, and pretend the business I invented five minutes ago has been running successfully for years.

And I didn’t even realize it at the time.

Which feels weird.

Still Worth It

Even with all that, states was still fun.

Competing one last time with my team. Watching people from our chapter make finals. Running around the convention center. All of it.

And honestly, there’s one very clear upside to this whole situation.

I will never have to take another 100-question DECA exam again.

Which might be the biggest win of the weekend.

One Last Post

This might have been my last competition, but it’s not the end of DECA Diaries.

The next post will actually be the final one: a reflection on my four years in DECA and everything this organization gave me.

Because even though my last competition didn’t end the way I imagined…

These four years were still pretty incredible.

And I wouldn’t trade them for anything.