It would probably be not sticking with one of those many service clubs that I started out in way back in freshman year. I joined Leo Club, Key Club, Arcadia Red Cross, and FBLA at various times over the past four years…and I ended up leaving each one after no longer than a year. I should have stayed; I guess I just got too lazy to attend meetings and go to events. They seemed really fun though; if I had a chance to do it again, I’d put in more of an effort in those clubs and stick with them.
Last summer, I got the amazing opportunity to work at UCSF in an actual research lab with some of the smartest people I’ve ever met. It was memorable not only because it was an incredible learning experience to be able to immerse myself fully in an environment where the researchers lived and breathed science, but also because I had to kill mice to harvest their spinal cords. I’m not proud of the killing mice thing, but it was definitely memorable. That was also the first time I legitimately lived independently, and I loved it. Looking forward to college in that regard. :)
This was a no-brainer for me. By some stroke of (debatably) good fortune, I’ve known Winnie Quan for 13 years, and been friends with her for at least 8. We went to the same preschool together, and then when the preschool changed locations to El Monte, her family moved away from Alhambra. But I stayed, and for 5 years, we were separated, she in Arcadia and I still in South Pas. When I moved to Arcadia, we somehow ended up in the same classroom with Mr. Lopez for a fifth grade teacher. I still remember when we were lining up for class, and she approached me asking, “Hey you look really familiar…are you ______?” I had had a hunch that this was the same girl I knew from preschool, and when she asked me that question, my hunch was confirmed. I told her that yes, I was the same person, but I had changed my name. The rest is history.
Over the years, this girl’s been by my side every step of the way. We snark at each other more often than not, and many times I wonder why we’re friends, but at the end of the day, we have far too much in common and I’m glad she’s a part of my life. And she’s glad to be a part of mine too, even though it’s a lot more difficult for her to admit it. We’ve celebrated together, cried together, laughed at and with each other (more the former), and I can’t imagine what my life would be like without her. And I know she absolutely despises cheesy stuff, which is exactly why I’m piling it on. :)
In just a few short months, everyone’s heading off on their separate ways to college, and if knowing this girl for 13 years wasn’t long enough, we get to spend the next four together as Trojans. I couldn’t be happier to call her my fellow Trojan and my best. Fight on, and I guess it’s been nice knowing you so far. ♥
Becoming friends with this person wasn’t really surprising; rather it was how good of friends we became that was unexpected. Last year I knew Willy Liang as that soccer kid that was Alice’s friend; this year, thanks to AP Physics, I’m glad I can call him one of my best friends. He’s been bugging me about writing about him for a while now, and even though Tumblr is no Pow Wow, it’ll have to do. :3 He’s been with me through my ups and downs this year and even though we’ve gone through different things, we understand each other all too well, sometimes in the weirdest ways. Somehow we’ve managed to bond over bad rap, good food, Shawshank Redemption, really lame jokes, and a whole year of learning absolutely nothing in Physics. Thanks for an awesome year, and I wish you as wonderful a senior year as you have made mine. :)
hehe totally stole Ivana’s great idea, but imitation is the sincerest form of flattery yes? :) So this is about 9 times the number of pictures I was supposed to have, but I couldn’t help it. All of them have some great stories behind them (some are just camerawhoring) and I couldn’t pick any one in particular to represent an entire year…so this is what happened.
1) Freshman year: All my photos are cross country/track related, because that’s pretty much all I remember from that year. Plus I was too lazy to take more photos. That was the year I met all the wonderful people that I’ve grown to love and call my sisters. We were all so little back then…
2) Sophomore year: 10th grade consisted of more cross country related stuff, my first year on Relay for Life, and the last time I trick-or-treated in high school. Met some new people that I am close friends with to this day. :’)
3) Junior year: And the pictures get more abundant. Through the ups and downs of this crazy year, my best friends in cross country always stuck with me. A lot of kidnapping was involved that year, one at 5 in the morning. I also bonded with some awesome people in Lee’s APENG class through some of the most fun group projects I’ve ever done. Also more Relay for Life shenanigans. Made two best friends that year who went off to college across the country. Honestly, I think I enjoyed junior year more than I would have expected, mostly due to my amazing friends. :)
4) Senior year: So much happened this year. First and foremost, leading the cross country team and getting to spend one last year with my favorite girls was a blast. Not to mention PRing; that was great. Also getting to appraise for an awesome group of juniors for DI and traveling all the way up to Clovis was so much fun—love them all. They’re all going on to do some amazing things. Among all that, I also tried loads of new stuff this year: running (or mostly walking) the Color Run, going to Sadies, writing for the Pow Wow, turning legal… This year is coming to close, and I couldn’t be sadder to see it go. ♥
(Source: freins, via vous-etes-belleeee)
“Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people who never knew each other, citizens of distant epochs. Books break the shackles of time. A book is a proof that humans are capable of magic”
-Carl Sagan
(via oddsarein)
I never hated any of my teachers, but I most strongly disliked my AP Spanish teacher. He made me dislike learning Spanish, which I find truly saddening. Learning the language just wasn’t fun anymore; he made it boring and monotonous, and I began to dread coming to class. Aside from that, he seemed to like to draw attention to me and call me out in class. In these cases, it wasn’t even related to Spanish; it was about me. Yes, I took it personally and I strongly disliked him for it. That’s all I have to say. I don’t want to waste any more time writing about him than I already have in the past.
Last year for APEng, Victoria, Alwyna, Jessica, Winnie, Katrina and I worked together to create a lesson plan for Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher”. That was definitely a fun project. We bonded so well over food, music, laughter, a 3-inch binder, and leading our entire class to learn Poe’s use of diction and imagery to create a dark and eerie mood. It was definitely memorable; we all became closer (if we weren’t already) after that. Oh and we got an A. I loved working with that group. They’re probably what I miss most about APEng.
Laugh as much as you breathe.
Love as long as you live.
