Graduation 2010
2010…4 years ago it was 2006. 2006, when things seemed so much simpler. To believe we all made it through 9 years before 8th grade graduation, yet now we can hardly contain ourselves after the 4th! If I have one message to leave behind, it is this,
JUST BE YOURSELF!
I came into this school with no close friends. Sure there was victor and David but with a middle school class of ten boys we were forced to talk. I had no idea where I was gonna fit in yet I tried anyways. I hung with the yo yoers, the magic trick kids and for one year even the bros! Yet I never changed myself to fit in with any of these guys, Which is why I’m not with any of these groups today. My personality did not click with them.
It was not untill one day Kyle soriano approached me during lunch in front of the ampitheatre and said “hey what’s up dude, your’re pj right? I think you were in my summer school class in 7th grade.” (I might have paraphrased that a bit but knowing Kyle I figured that’s how he would have said it). It was this simple outward gesture that led to me meeting all of his friends, which soon became all of my friends, FSA.
This was the friendliest batch of kids I had ever met throught my four years attending bellarmine. I don’t know if it was the innate Filipino hospitality in all of them or just their individual personalities, but I felt at home amongst these guys. I do not remember who I hung with the most that sophomore year, maybe because everyone seemed to get along so well and there was not much distinction between the cliques. Honestly, I looked up to all of them and it was from them I took so many things that are now instilled in my life today. Things such as referring to your friends parents as auntie and uncle, respect for your elders, and especially making sure your pantry is full whenever someone is coming over. I loved these guys for treating me better than anyone else. I even picked up my love for hip hop that year.
However I did have my falling out with them that summer and junior year I moved on to my new group of friends Tony arouzo, Paul bernal and the rest of the holy spirit kids. I loved these guys for their straight up lifestyle. They taught me that having fun as a high schooler was not a matter of getting wasted or high, yet it came more from a sense of adventure. From late night longboarding to bussing to Santa Cruz, we did every free and crazy activity there was to do in this city.
It was not untill the beginning of senior year I realized that these guys have been friends since kindergarden and there was a bond I would never truly share with them. Which led me back to fsa. The most amazing part about them is that after over a year of not hanging out with them they automatically accepted me back into their lives with practically no questions at all. My love for hip hop increased ten fold as well as my bonds with friends such as Kyle, Shane, Steven and gio. This year consisted of afterschool dance sessions to multiple shows for the school. Although we did not have much connecting us outside of school, I later realized it was bellarmine that kept us all together. I just hope Now that our bonds have become strong enough with eachother so that we may keep in touch over the summer and hopefully even throughout college.
And now this brings us to the present day. It is 12:54 p.m on may 28th 2010 and I am graduating tomorrow. No more chili cheese fries from the cafeteria. No more dancing in the ampitheatre or black box. No more corner seats and snack with Kyle during homeroom. No more lunch runs with Steven and shane and gio after school on Fridays. No more Asian clubs everyday of the week. And no more snacks and bonding with these guys in between classes. I swear I did not expect to get this emotional but I have and I honestly have not figured out why. This summer I will do everything I can to keep in touch with everyone of my friends, both those who will be living in San Francisco with me next year and those who will be off in another state. I start this summer dating an amazing girl who makes me smile without any effort, and bonds between friends I have never felt before.
I reiterate; if I had not been myself then I probably would have been stuck with one of my old groups of friends. Sure they would have accepted me but I would not have been as comfortable as I am with the people I ended up with today. These are an amazing group of guys and if you ever get a chance to meet any one of them take it!
To my friends and the graduating class of 2010 I say, you are who you are and the world has a place for a person like you. So do not be afraid to make a move towards something you believe in. Be yourself wherever you may end up, and Go Bells!
