can you answer these 10 etiquette questions?

Hi, I'm

Sydney

I’m a North Carolina farm girl turned etiquette instructor with a passion for cutting through the awkwardness and getting to the heart of smooth social interactions.

I never thought I'd be an etiquette instructor.

I actually grew up on a farm and wanted to be a farm mom.
Whoa. 180, right?

Well, it turns out I married a man who works in agriculture and we have four awesome kids; so I still get to be the farm mom I dreamed of!

But when the opportunity arose to start a cotillion, I jumped at the chance!

Back in 2015, I was looking around for a local cotillion for a few of my younger cousins to attend. I noticed there wasn't a cotillion program within several hours of my little town in northeastern North Carolina.

It had been (ahem) a few years since my middle school cotillion days, but I still held very fond memories of the experience. I had also reached an age to have the hindsight to realize the many benefits my cotillion days brought into my adult life.

I vividly remember writing thank you notes and waltzing but, most notably, I remember learning to be kind, respectful, and socially confident.

Those are the lessons that stuck.

I loved going to cotillion!

Visiting our friends' tulip farm in Greenville, NC.

Then my thoughts drifted to all the hard stuff my cousins and other middle schoolers face today:

My sweet cousins at my cotillion.

• the desire to fit in
• awkwardness
• social media
• building friendships
• changing friendships
• drifting friendships
• cliques
• new social situations
• digital communication
• social anxiety
• solidifying their morals and beliefs and learning to stand behind them

I knew in my heart those time-honored lessons in kindness, respect, and social confidence could help young people navigate the issues that inevitably come with growing up.

I knew I could help guide my cousins, my children, and the children in my community towards a HAPPY AND HEALTHY ADULTHOOD.

it's... a lot.

Within six months I was running my own cotillion and I haven't looked back.

Can you?!

TAKE THE MANNERS QUIZ

Can your kid answer these 10 etiquette questions?

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