A 25-year-old woman who is enjoying all the spoils of Schoolies for the first time says she has ‘absolutely no shame’ in being seven and eight years older than her fellow attendees.
Adelaide influencer Jenna Hudson, known to her TikTok followers as Jenna with the Pink, flew to the Gold Coast last week for the city’s iconic end of school celebrations that kicked off in Surfers Paradise on November 19.
Despite graduating high school almost a decade ago, Ms Hudson told Daily Mail Australia she never went to Schoolies because of an overprotective boyfriend she dated when she was younger.
‘Going to Schoolies as a 25-year-old definitely isn’t something I thought I’d be doing but here I am,’ she said in a TikTok where she filmed her experience.
‘I actually never got to go to Schoolies.’
Influencer Jenna with the Pink attended Schoolies in the Gold Coast for the first time at the age of 25
Jenna is living it up alongside the teenagers celebrating finishing Year 12 after being hired to host the event with Schoolies TV.
She revealed that when she graduated high school and her school mates were heading off for their own Schoolies experiences, her older boyfriend at the time shunned her from going.
‘I had an overprotective boyfriend that really wasn’t happy about me going, he was very jealous and insecure, so I didn’t go to please him and I definitely regret it,’ the TikTokker told Daily Mail Australia.
‘He was very much ”I’ve been to Schoolies in the past and you’ll hate it, you’ll probably end up doing something you don’t want to do”.
‘And being young and impressionable and wanting to impress my older boyfriend, I didn’t go.’
Jenna will be living it up alongside the teenagers celebrating finishing Year 12, and has been hired to host the event with Schoolies TV
The influencer said she didn’t know what to expect at Surfers Paradise this year and while she had seen a lot of partying and ‘drunkenness’, most of the teenagers she came across were very respectful.
‘Most people think I’m a Schoolie as well, even though I’m seven years older,’ she laughed.
‘But I think kids these days are growing up quicker, the internet is making them mature a lot faster and walking around you can have a lot of intelligent conversations with a lot of kids.
‘I’ve been having a blast and I have no absolutely no shame being a Toolie.’
Toolie is the nickname given to those older than 18 that attend the annual end of year celebrations despite not being in the graduating class of 2022.
Jenna is seen with DJ Tigerlily at Schoolies. She said most of the teenagers she’d come across in the Gold Coast had been very ‘respectful’
Jenna said she was more than happy to finally live out her Schoolies experience, and got to run out onstage at the Schoolies Nation music festival.
One of the artists featuring at the festival, DJ Havana Brown, wasn’t allowed to attend the event either when she was young because of her overprotective father.
‘She’s just like me, she gets to relive those moments as an adult and to be honest it’s even better,’ Jenna said.
The 25-year-old, who was hired by Schoolies to be the host of the event, also heaped praise on the Red Frogs volunteers.
Volunteers from the Christian charity spend the week helping Schoolies in need, and even make them pancakes for breakfast.
‘Coming from South Australia, I didn’t know Red Frogs was a thing but they’re doing the absolute most to make kids feel comfortable,’ she said.
‘There was also a large police presence but they were all very friendly.’
Jenna said she’d never been to Schoolies before and had gone to host Schoolies TV
Jenna is seen at the Schoolies Nation Festival. She said she was having a ‘blast’ at the event, despite being seven years older than most of the attendees
More than 25,000 Schoolies will descend on the Gold Coast alone this year during the three weeks of celebrations.
The Queensland party spot is the most common destination for those wanting to celebrate the end of their schooling years.
But many will also travel to Byron Bay, the Sunshine Coast, Airlie Beach and Lorne and even further afield to Fiji and Bali.
Police made 165 arrests during the first week of celebrations, but less than a third were Schoolies.
The Adelaide influencer said she ‘regretted’ not going to Schoolies when she was younger due to an overprotective boyfriend
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