Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012!
I think I speak for almost everyone in saying that 2011 was an amazing and momentous year of change, growth, and fulfillment. And just as quickly as 2011 snuck up on us, we are already leaving it as a memory and venturing into 2012.
I just wanted to quickly recap some of the major events of the past year. Lucky for me, Facebook, Tumblr, and YouTube are great tools for capturing memories and allowing me to relive them through a blog post :)
Also- this blog post took days to write because I just kept getting distracted looking at old pictures, watching old videos, and reading old posts. Writing this post unleashed a whirlwind of memories.
In early January, Arcadia City Council recognized Arcadia Mock Trial in one of their weekly meetings for our accomplishments. It was exciting to finally get support from the community and recognition for our hard work!
Spring Varsity is an annual league Speech & Debate tournament held in late January. This vlog from Spring Varsity is seriously one of my favorites because it really captures just how ridiculously silly my Speech & Debate team is.
The LA County Board of Supervisors recognized Arcadia Mock Trial in mid-February for our accomplishments. This was truly an exciting day, and really put into perspective how far we have come as a team.
The following week, seven of my friends and I traveled up to UC Berkeley for a huge Speech & Debate Tournament. Berkeley is always the most tiring (but my favorite) tournament of the year. I had to get to campus every morning at 7am and leave after 10pm because I was entered in three events… it was such a crazy weekend, but so much fun (especially since we got to fly :P)! I miss travel tournaments like these with the “Arcadia Debate Forum.”
Irene and I took Michelle out to Hollywood in March for her birthday to watch her favorite musical (Avenue Q). Escaping to Hollywood on a school night on a somewhat spontaneous whim really captures a dominant spirit of adventure and spontaneity that defined senior year. 2011 as a whole was definitely marked by this spirit, and increased spontaneity is an adventure I hope to continue for the rest of my life :)
In the first weekend of March, I competed in my last State Quals tournament for Speech & Debate! As a whole, Arcadia did extremely well, taking 16 students to State Champs. This year, we tried to increase focus on the team, and made changes like having team warm-ups, breaks announcements as a team, having all team members present on Sunday, and (how can anybody forget) having a ridiculous 70-person post-tournament dinner at CPK where we took up 2/3 of the restaurant. I think the changes really made a difference, and seeing the team come together for the last tournament of the year was just an awesome sight.
Yep… that is 70 members of our Speech & Debate team wreaking havoc on CPK. I feel sorry for the waiters who had to deal with us (but we left them a fat tip!).
Earlier in 2011, Carpus and I directed and produced a short documentary on the political challenges of climate change, and entered it in the CSPAN StudentCam Documentary Competition. Over 1,000 documentaries were submitted, and we were one of 75 who were recognized.
Speech Follies is our annual Speech & Debate showcase performance, and mid-March marked my last Speech Follies week. Michelle and I had the honor of hosting Saturday night’s show, which sold out! It was exciting to see so many people come out and support our team. And we had a blast hosting and performing :P (the above picture shows our interpretive dance with plastic bags to Katy Perry’s Firework)
Arcadia Mock Trial traveled down to Riverside in late March for the CA Mock Trial State Finals. It was an amazing and humbling experience to compete against the best teams from across the state, and we had such a blast on our first mock trial travel trip. This was also my last tournament with Arcadia Mock Trial :(
A new door opened for me 3,000 miles east at Princeton in April. Jon and I traveled east one weekend for Princeton Preview, and our experience on campus convinced us both to SIR to Princeton. I am confident that I made the right decision, and I couldn’t be happier with how things turned out. And that adventure just started!
Okay, I am convinced that Speech & Debate really took over my life in high school, because here I am posting about Speech & Debate again. The CA Speech & Debate State Champs were held in late April, and Arcadia placed third in sweepstakes (one of our best performances ever)! That was an awesome tournament, and it was also, unfortunately, my last :(
The C-SPAN bus and Mayor Kovacic surprised Carpus and I in late April with a small recognition ceremony for our short documentary on climate change, which was really cool! The C-SPAN bus was kind of ridiculous, kind of awesome LOL
CIF in mid-May was my last competitive swim meet ever. Nothing noteworthy really happened at this meet, but I have really missed swimming recently since I have quit. There is something special about the training, the competition, and the camaraderie that you just can’t find anywhere else. Although that chapter in my life is over, I can look back on it fondly (and also miss being in shape). I need to start working out regularly!
In my Rose Bowl senior speech, I pretty much summarized everything I had to say about my competitive swim career. Thank you Rose Bowl for being my second home<3
The Speech banquet was the first and only time I cried uncontrollably about leaving Arcadia. I don’t know what really sparked it, but as the banquet was wrapping up, almost everybody in the room from freshman to senior began sobbing. We stayed there crying and hugging each other for so long, that Ms. Novak made us leave the building because she wanted to go home LOL! But I still remember how sad it felt to leave such an amazing team behind. I don’t think I’ll ever find a team like Arcadia Speech & Debate in my life again.
On the last day of May, Michelle, Patrick, and I went to the Constitutional Rights Foundation annual Spring Dinner to speak and represent the California high school mock trial program. It was a great honor to be there that evening, and an unforgettable night because WE MET CORY BOOKER!
CORY IS MY IDOL.
Getting to speak at Baccalaureate was one of my main goals in senior year. I was fortunate enough to have that opportunity, and I really enjoyed giving this speech. Resilience is something that all of us must strive for everyday, and I firmly believe that it has the power to take us wherever we wish to go.
Choosing the new teams for Speech & Debate and Mock Trial was difficult on two levels. First- time and deliberation. We auditioned 80 members for mock trial, 130 members for Speech & Debate, and invested hours into meticulous application reads and heated discussions. Second- the emotional baggage of leaving these teams. Passing on Speech & Debate and Mock Trial was really difficult at first, but I soon realized that it was time to move on, and that I should just have faith in the team. Coming back and visiting is enough for me, and I’m very proud of what these two teams have accomplished thus far (and look forward to the rest of the school year!) :P
Graduation. What can I say about graduation? Honestly, I’ve said literally everything that can be said about graduating already. It was just such a happy and joyous ceremony, and a perfect way to end an amazing four years at Arcadia High :)
My friend Jackie wrote a beautiful piece about Graduation… read it here!
Summer!
Summer!!
Summer!!!
I loved summer<3
Do you get the picture yet?
Do I need to say anything more?
Okay, I think you get the picture. Summer was just such a carefree time in our lives. We had no school or work to worry about, and held minimal responsibilities and obligations. It was just our time to relax before starting college, so we took every opportunity to explore and adventure. I miss those days<3
I went to China in August to go sightseeing and visit relatives before I left for college. I have always been jealous of people with big families because I rarely see members of my extended family (because they all live in China). When I visited China, not only did I see my grandma, aunts, and uncles, but I even saw cousins and relatives whom I have never met before. It was heartwarming to feel like a part of a huge extended family, and I was amazed at how welcoming and loving they all were.
My family and I went on a vacation to Kauai Island in Hawaii in August :) Kauai is beautiful, and hiking and lounging on the beach was a great way to rewind before college!
Carpus and I spent the entire summer planning, filming, and editing a short documentary on the challenges students face in the college admissions process, and compiled advice on how high schoolers can best lead their academic lives. In the months we spent working on this project, we conducted almost 40 interviews, racked up 15 hours of raw footage, and managed to cut everything down to just under 30 min. Through this process, I realized that no matter who you are and where you are from, you have a compelling story of unique experiences that everybody can learn from. It was fascinating to gain a deeper understanding of high school and college admissions from multiple perspectives (student, parent, teacher, admission officer), and Carpus and I just hope that at least one student or parent will find our message helpful and take it to heart.
The process of leaving Arcadia for Princeton was tough. It was exciting, but scary at the same time, and I really had no idea what to expect from both the school and myself. Saying goodbye to everybody was especially hard, and I’m sure that was apparent through my countless Tumblr posts about it. I think around mid-August, it was especially difficult to come to terms with leaving because it seemed like I was being pulled away forcefully and unwillingly from a vibrant city of fun and friends. But as my closest friends slowly moved out before I did, one friend at a time, I realized that everybody was moving on and that I was supposed to leave as well. By the last week of August, I felt pretty lonely in Arcadia, and knew that my time to leave had come.
What better way to be welcomed to Princeton than to spend a week in the wilderness with no running water, bathrooms, or cell phones/internet? Outdoor Action was such a unique experience, and it was amazing how welcoming and awesome everybody was. I still remember the awesome five-hour conversation we had about life on the bus ride, how enthusiastic and warm our two leaders were, and the excitement and camaraderie of surviving a hurricane with nine other Princeton students. Don’t let the wilderness scare you! Wearing the same shirt for 4 days and pooping in the woods isn’t as bad as you may think! (ew…I know… I still can’t believe I lived through it, but I did!)
There is no way that I could speak about Princeton with the same energy and enthusiasm if I hadn’t met these two. Janie and Shawon actually inspire me in so many ways, but are just as crazy and silly as I am (sometimes more, sometimes less :P). It’s kind of scary how similar we are, I can’t say enough about how lucky I am to have become such close friends with them (and how lucky we are to live in the same hall!). They make me want to be a better person everyday, and I can never thank them enough for enriching my life :)
Princeton Mock Trial (aka PMT, Mu Theta Epsilon) has become such a welcoming and supportive family to me. This picture is only Team 937 (there are three other teams), but I am so glad to have had the opportunity to be a part of this group. While my team is absolutely insane and drives me crazy sometimes (5-hour car ride with Britt, Max, and Taylor?), I love them already, and am excited for our future butt-kicking adventures across the east coast!
SNOW!!! … that’s all I can really say about this…
Over Fall Break, I visited my best friend, Michelle, at Washington University in St. Louis. It was nice to catch up with her like old times, and I had fun exploring a completely different university! Visiting Michelle also helped me realize that even though I can’t stay in constant touch with my closest friends, everything is still the same when we do see each other again. I am no longer scared of falling out of touch with my closest friends because I am confident that those bonds will always be there.
Thanksgiving weekend in LA was amazing<3. I am amazed that I managed to squeeze so much into 72 hours, and it was so nice to see family and friends again. After spending just a few minutes talking to my close friends, it felt like no time had passed, and I came to the same realization that I had when visiting Michelle- I’ll always stay just as close to my best friends.
…and now it’s winter break! It’s so nice to be back home in Southern California… I get to bask in the sunshine and 80-degree weather! But best of all, I get to see my friends, family, and sit at home and do nothing. I usually hate doing nothing, but having lazy days sprinkled in amongst the endless work and busyness is always necessary. And honestly, I don’t feel that much pressure from finals yet… I’m saving that for when I go back to campus next week :P
Wow.
In retrospect, so much happened in 2011. I can say with certainty that 2011 has been my favorite year thus far. I feel like almost every day was just full of adventure and excitement, and even though I have barely any white space in my Google calendar each day, I am always excited to wake up in the morning and start the new day (except I’ll admit I do get a little disappointed when my alarm initially rings… I love sleep!).
And here we are at 2012. Another year, another adventure. As sad as I am about leaving 2011, I am so excited to see what 2012 has in store. With an attitude of spontaneity, an aura of optimism, and an air of courage, I want to take advantage of every opportunity presented to me. With an open mind and an open heart, I am confident that 2012 will be even better. Surprise and adventure awaits, and I am ready! :)
