This Event Deserves an Entry.
I've completely neglected this journal for forever now. But I like using it to remember things. So I'll talk about Graduation.
Well. From 3:00 to 4:45 was freaking annoying. We were just standing/sitting around, not really doing anything. But it was nice to talk to people. It was sort of the last time to do so, you know? Soooo yeah. I talked to people and stuff.
Then we lined up, and waited to walk down. It took a while, but there were some people that were around to say hi to. I don't remember anyone else, so I'll just write down the person I remembered the best. And this is actually one of my strongest memories of that day, so it'll be in bold. Mr. Ojeda was walking down the line, and high-fiving everyone he knew. I stuck my hand out for him to high-five it, and instead he gave me a squeeze. It's kind of weird, but a squeeze versus a high-five seems much more loving. That was probably the last time I'll ever see Ojeda again unless I go back to Henry. So, yeah. I started to cry while in my seat later on thinking about that.
Then we got down to the field, I remember saying hi to Kiffee. But we got to our seats, and waited while people did speeches. DEAR GOD, CROWDER SPOKE FOREVER. And I even remembered she used the same stuff last year. Ms. Mango's speech was nice, using Oedipus the whole time. :] Anyways, after that, all the names were called, and I was kind of taking note of how many people were cheering for who. I was sort of worried not a lot of people would cheer for me, but when I got up there, and had my name called, I didn't really pay attention to the noise. It was kind of... just a moment where I knew something had changed. Then I smiled at all my friends as I walked back to my seat.
While I was waiting for all the other names to be called, I kept thinking to myself how beautiful this event was. Not like it was decorated nicely, but in the sense that there was so much joy packed into one place. I knew my family was there, and other families that knew me were there, and somewhere was Ojeda and Frerichs. (About whom I have an interesting story for later.) Everyone was happy, everyone was proud, even if some of the speakers weren't people that I'd ever speak to in my life, even if Crowder sounds like Sarah Palin. (I'm totally not kidding, she absolutely does.) Even if everyone saying that the future was ours was probably not right. Even if most of the people there would live lives of quiet desperation afterwards. In that moment, everyone was whole. There was very little to be sad about.
And now amusing story about Frerichs! So, we were back in our seats, waiting for the end of the names to be called, and then Frerichs walks up, with a water bottle, kind of mocking us. It was pretty hot and we were all thirsty, and he was like, "Ohh, it's not just wet, it's also still cold." and "Do you want me to enjoy this more for you?" I just sort of smirked, and told him, "You can go now, Frerichs. Yeah, you can keep moving."
AND THEN THE LAST NAME WAS CALLED AND WE WERE ALL HAPPY. And the Bell Cantos sang their song, which was not as good as yesterday, but it still sounded really nice. And then we moved our tassels, and we were graduated. Pretty cool.
After the ceremony a lot of people were around and I said hi to them and hugged them and thanked them for coming and thanked them for telling me congratulations. And I hugged Luke and Lauren. Actually, I saw Luke, and ran towards him and then totally bypassed him for Lauren, and then hugged Luke. And I got pictures with family and people and I even got a "WTF?! NO DIPLOMA?!" picture with Amanda. There were so many people. Jeff, Yev, Chaz, ASHE, Cassie, Mr. Crawford, parents of other kids I know and yeah and I got to hug Evan Reed which is a good thing in my book and it was all pretty wonderful.
And then I went to dinner and GradNight. But GradNight wasn't as special as this. It was a hell of a party, as evidenced in the searing headache I now have, but graduation was special.
I think I'll remember best Mr. Ojeda's hand-squeeze, the fact that I didn't care how many people were cheering for me when I got up to get my diploma, and the overwhelming feeling of joy throughout the day. I never stopped smiling. Except for the time when I was almost crying. But even that was happy.
Now I think I'll get off my ass and plant something. Because it's the miracle that grows. =]
Well. From 3:00 to 4:45 was freaking annoying. We were just standing/sitting around, not really doing anything. But it was nice to talk to people. It was sort of the last time to do so, you know? Soooo yeah. I talked to people and stuff.
Then we lined up, and waited to walk down. It took a while, but there were some people that were around to say hi to. I don't remember anyone else, so I'll just write down the person I remembered the best. And this is actually one of my strongest memories of that day, so it'll be in bold. Mr. Ojeda was walking down the line, and high-fiving everyone he knew. I stuck my hand out for him to high-five it, and instead he gave me a squeeze. It's kind of weird, but a squeeze versus a high-five seems much more loving. That was probably the last time I'll ever see Ojeda again unless I go back to Henry. So, yeah. I started to cry while in my seat later on thinking about that.
Then we got down to the field, I remember saying hi to Kiffee. But we got to our seats, and waited while people did speeches. DEAR GOD, CROWDER SPOKE FOREVER. And I even remembered she used the same stuff last year. Ms. Mango's speech was nice, using Oedipus the whole time. :] Anyways, after that, all the names were called, and I was kind of taking note of how many people were cheering for who. I was sort of worried not a lot of people would cheer for me, but when I got up there, and had my name called, I didn't really pay attention to the noise. It was kind of... just a moment where I knew something had changed. Then I smiled at all my friends as I walked back to my seat.
While I was waiting for all the other names to be called, I kept thinking to myself how beautiful this event was. Not like it was decorated nicely, but in the sense that there was so much joy packed into one place. I knew my family was there, and other families that knew me were there, and somewhere was Ojeda and Frerichs. (About whom I have an interesting story for later.) Everyone was happy, everyone was proud, even if some of the speakers weren't people that I'd ever speak to in my life, even if Crowder sounds like Sarah Palin. (I'm totally not kidding, she absolutely does.) Even if everyone saying that the future was ours was probably not right. Even if most of the people there would live lives of quiet desperation afterwards. In that moment, everyone was whole. There was very little to be sad about.
And now amusing story about Frerichs! So, we were back in our seats, waiting for the end of the names to be called, and then Frerichs walks up, with a water bottle, kind of mocking us. It was pretty hot and we were all thirsty, and he was like, "Ohh, it's not just wet, it's also still cold." and "Do you want me to enjoy this more for you?" I just sort of smirked, and told him, "You can go now, Frerichs. Yeah, you can keep moving."
AND THEN THE LAST NAME WAS CALLED AND WE WERE ALL HAPPY. And the Bell Cantos sang their song, which was not as good as yesterday, but it still sounded really nice. And then we moved our tassels, and we were graduated. Pretty cool.
After the ceremony a lot of people were around and I said hi to them and hugged them and thanked them for coming and thanked them for telling me congratulations. And I hugged Luke and Lauren. Actually, I saw Luke, and ran towards him and then totally bypassed him for Lauren, and then hugged Luke. And I got pictures with family and people and I even got a "WTF?! NO DIPLOMA?!" picture with Amanda. There were so many people. Jeff, Yev, Chaz, ASHE, Cassie, Mr. Crawford, parents of other kids I know and yeah and I got to hug Evan Reed which is a good thing in my book and it was all pretty wonderful.
And then I went to dinner and GradNight. But GradNight wasn't as special as this. It was a hell of a party, as evidenced in the searing headache I now have, but graduation was special.
I think I'll remember best Mr. Ojeda's hand-squeeze, the fact that I didn't care how many people were cheering for me when I got up to get my diploma, and the overwhelming feeling of joy throughout the day. I never stopped smiling. Except for the time when I was almost crying. But even that was happy.
Now I think I'll get off my ass and plant something. Because it's the miracle that grows. =]