11th Year

It feels like just yesterday I was writing my back to school post ans today I write my end of school review. It's odd how time flies when you look back, but in the moment it can inch by. That is exactly how this year felt for me. In the moment it felt long and slow, with not much excitement, but looking back it flew by faster than I could have imagined. This year felt very different from 9th and 10th for there was a real sense that we were older. I suppose being the second oldest class comes with several things: bigger assignments, college work, and of course a bit more respect.

The year as a whole was pretty good, although I can't say it was the most eventful year. Our classes were good, but there were only a few real standout courses. There were many classes, like Dante's Inferno, which were simply not my cup of tea. I enjoyed the botany and cell biology blocks, as well as bookbinding, atomic theory, and music history. Our trip to Catalina was full of good things and bad. Looking back I had a great time, but then again, there were many things that kept the trip from being anywhere near perfect. But the truth is, I think trips like that are what we'll remember as a class. The things that were awful, will be the things that make us smile.

The King Stag was another experience, that at the time, wasn't what really what I was looking for. More than anything it taught me lessons about acting that you can only learn first hand. Like, for example, not to get to attached to a certain way of playing a part, fate often has other plans for you. This became brutally apparent when I lost my voice the day of the show and had to have someone dub my lines until I could speak in a fairly normal, albeit rather low, voice.

I loved being with My, Liz, and Ventana this year. It's been lovely having picnics on the grass and laughing. It was nice to spend more time with Armand as well, for although he can be super annoying, we'll always have a good time together. I became good friends with Oscar this year. We sat next to eachother in German class and we had to many laughs to count. I'll miss not having German next year, hopefully I can continue to speak the language, because I really love it! It was also fun getting to make our heads in Clay class, I made Twiggy.

One thing that I think was really amazing about this year, was that fact that our class has bonded so much over this past year. Make no mistake, we still get in a ton of arguments, but when we agree on something, we stick to it. Spirit Week is the perfect example of this. We did so much better than before, and I'm so proud of what we accomplished as a whole. We did lots of really fun things, like go bowling as a class. As scary as it is to think, we're the senior class now and I really believe that we're ready. This year was almost a transition and "training" year for us. And though I'm terrified at the thought that I'll be getting a rose next year at the rose cerimony, I can't help but be excited at the same time. I doubt I'll ever feel totally ready, but this is the next best thing.

When Spetember rolls around I'm glad I wont be alone up on that stage, but instead I'll be surrounded by 20 others feeling the same way as I do. Until that day comes I'll enjoy summer and the memories I have from this past year. Everything after that will be about the future.

Glee concert

A couple of weeks ago my friend Hannah took me and my friend Ryley to a concert from one of our favorite TV shows, Glee. I started watching Glee about a year ago when I heard that one of my Theatricum directors was on it. Ever since then I have been completely hooked. So many people are so quick to judge because they sing and they automatically assume its something completely different than what it is. It's an odd thing because Glee is a phenomenon, and yet so many people dislike it before even watching it. Glee is about a high school glee club, who doesn't have the best of luck. It's characters are interesting, the writing is witty and the show has such a great message, that being unique does not make you a loser, your differences make you special. Since the show is about a glee club, all of their songs are covers, but each with its own unique twist.


In either case Hannah, Ryley and I were lucky enough to get tickets since the show sold out in the first hour. I'm so happy we did, because the show was AMAZING. We drove out to Universal Studios and headed over to the Gibson Amphitheater along with tons of other Gleeks (the term for glee fans). They performed 23 songs, and let me tell you, they are amazing live. I think all three of us sang the whole way through. I had such a stupendous time, and I'm still having a hard time believing I was actually there.

Prom '10

We recently had prom. This year's theme was masquerade, so naturally I had to make myself a mask! My own theme this year was feathers and pale pinky peaches. Mainly inspired by my favorite blogger The Cherry Blossom Girl.

This year I went over to Ventana's house with Elizabeth and our friend Zola, who goes to a different school. We had a blast getting ready and then piled into Elizabeth's old white Mercedes. It felt just how I imagine a prom in the 50's or 60's would feel!

Prom itself was not the most amazing, but I still had a great time. It was nice to be able to eat dinner there, and the location was lovely. Prom was held at a classy country club that looked out over a lovely view of the Santa Monica mountains. I suppose the only real downside was that the music was horrible. No one seemed to enjoy the it, even the class that hired the DJ. He didn't have any old favorites or things that people would request.

Everyone looked very pretty, but I was rather disappointed that no one besides Ventana and I wore masks. Probably one of the best parts was when everyone had left except five of us from the 11th grade, Ventana, Elizabeth, Joey Gilmore, Joey Weitz and I. We had a blast dancing about in the lone room. All the teachers must have thought we were crazy!
I can't believe that next year we'll be the ones putting prom together! Time sure flies.

Lost at Heart

We have come to the conclusion of my most beloved TV show out there. Even though I did not start Lost from the beginning, I still have such an emotional connection to it. Lost will always have it's place in my heart, not only because it was the first TV show I became an avid fan of, but also because of its story, which was both touching, and exillerating.

My journey to the island began almost five years ago, during the summer after seventh grade. Mom and I watched an episode, or two, everyday of the summer, completely immersed in this mysterious story. Over the years my love has only grown. I've listened to every Lost podcast recorded, attended, or had my mom attend, Lost panels every year at comic con and watched every episode the morning after it came out. Many people have told me I am obsessed, and maybe I am, but the truth is, Lost has become more than a TV show to me. Lost is something I know I will always have, a place, characters that I can go to and know that they are there when I need them. It is a mystery I could never quite solve, yet never really wanted solved. Lost has made me laugh, gasp, and it is the only show or film that has ever made me cry. To say that Lost is merely entertainment, is like saying butter is only for bread. Yes it is entertainment, but it is so much more as well. It is such a part of the last four of my life and I wouldn't have it any other way. In fact one of the greatest moments of last year was related to Lost.
I've watched so many friends let go of Lost before the end. And although I understand where they are coming from, I don't think I could ever give it up. I cannot say this season was my favorite on its own, but on looking at it as a whole it seems to be the perfect fit. The same could be said for the finale. Yes, we did not get a ton of answers, but then again, we may have gotten the answer to the most important one. That of the fate of the characters. In the end, that is what Lost boils down to, its characters. So many people will say that the ending made no sense, yet I think the creators gave us such a big clue. All the books mentioned on Lost help explain its ending. If you look at stories like Chronicles of Narnia I think things will become more clear. It is up to us to decide what may or may not have happened. If you look at Lost as one whole puzzle rather than the individual pieces I believe you'll see the real meaning behind the mystery.
I have Lost to thank for so much, but in the end, all I can say is that it is has been an amazing ride and I'll miss it so much.

See ya in another life brother.

Spitit Week 2010

This past week was Spirit Week at school. Now if you've read my blog for a while you'll know that the past two years Spirit Week has not been a thing of joy. This year, I am happy to say, it was. Well, for the most part anyways. As a whole our class decided that this year, we were just going to have fun and not stress about having the most creative ideas and winning. Which it turns out was a great idea. We've had so much fun this year and I wasn't nearly as stressed as last year. And on top of all that, we did better this year than any other!

Monday:
The week always begins with sports. There's obstacle course, basketball "shoot off" and tug o war. The trouble is we're never any good at any of these mainly because we're the smallest (in both number and height/strength wise) class in the high school.

Tuesday:
Probably my favorite day of the week. teacher Impersonations! I decided to impersonate Janet Vrudney, our class sponsor as well as the golf and hand bells teacher. Our skit was teacher slumber party. It went really well. It turned out better than I could have hoped and at the end of the day I was positive we were going to win. But alas, it was not to be. The three judges decided twelfth grade was 1st place. Everyone in the high school was outraged. Not just our class, all the teacher and most of the students. All in all it felt as though we were cheated out of our rightful win.

Wednesday:
Costumes is also a fun event! This year we decided to be really straightforward (since last year we hand made a giant deck of cards and we lost). We ended up being Disney Princesses and their Princes, although I wasn't really a princess so maybe we should have called it Disney couples. I was Wendy from Peter Pan. Everyone looked really great, a lot of the people seemed perfectly cast as their princess. We ended up getting second place which is the best we've ever done in that event!


Thursday:
Thursday's event is usually fun to watch, but it can be stressful as well. It's Quiz Bowl, which is rather like our version on Jeopardy. There are two rounds and then a final bonus question. We won the first round soaring 1000 points over everyone else. Unfortunately the categories in the second round we not our strongest. We ended up in third place, which isn't great, but it was still fun to watch!

Friday:
The grand finale! The biggest most complicated event of them all, Lip Sync. This means as a class you make cut together songs to form a story, or a theme. Ours was TV shows. So for each show we had a song. I have to admit, when I first heard the idea, I wasn't convinced, but it turned out amazing! Everyone was hysterical and we really came together as a class. I think part of what made it so great was that we all worked on our numbers and had little dances and really planned everything out. It also helps if you are part of a TV show that you really love, it somehow feels more important for it to be perfect. We came in a very close second. Which, again, is a best for us!


In all it was a great week and although we had a bit of drama (meaning me getting into arguments with the teacher impersonations judges) it was still really fun. So many people came up to me telling me how great our impersonation, costume and lip sync was. I think that's one of the most important things. I mean its great to win, but if everyone enjoys watching it, you've done your job. If we keep getting better at this rate, you'll be first in everything next year!

I may have more pictures which I'll add into the post as I get them!

Happy Easter

I always liked Easter, the egg hunts, the chocolate, little animals and pale colors. It seems so alive and fun. Here some pictures I took with my favorite little bunny, Barbara.



I hope you all had a lovely day.