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| Thank you for being you: MORNING CREWSorry I have to lump you guys into one entry, but I need to do this so I don't put it off anymore. (I'm trying to do this in order of when I see people, even though I never see Willis and I see Grace and Linda later than the rest of the crew. But let's do this.) Oh, morning crew. I'm so glad to have someplace to be in the mornings. I remember my sophomore year, when I first moved here, I just went straight to 1st period (maybe that's why Fulchino doesn't like me so much... too much morning time with me xD) and that was that. But now I have friends to see first thing after long breaks and weekends and you guys always cheer me up. We're not super close, but I think that's actually a good thing. We keep things really light and casual and fun. I will do specifics for people I see throughout the day (i.e. those of you I see 1st period) but I just wanted to thank you guys for being an amazing morning crew these past 3 years in front of the media center. =)
(Part of the morning crew.)
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| Thank you for being you: LINDALin-Lin! Don't think you can escape this embarassment that easily! It's been so great having you in English these past 3 years. It's one of the few good things that I had since moving to Maryland and that I've had remain constant all this time. We actually haven't really talked that much until this year, where you were forced to endure your first 3 classes with me. (AP Lit, French, and Chem ftw!) But we've bonded a lot in those 3 classes and I'm really glad that I had you to share in that torture with. My mornings would've sucked a lot more without you there. And yay, you're helping me get into Chinese music a lot more. (Although I'll never love 五月天 as much as you.) But yeah, it was great finally getting to go to KTV with you. ^^ But it's our bonding time that I really love. This year we've talked about a lot of different stuff and I just regret not talking to you more over these past 3 years. (Then again you always ditch me for other people. =P Just kidding.) We've bonded over a lot this year and I can't tell you how honored I feel getting to know you better and know about how you feel about this and that. Thank you for putting up with my craziness and making my mornings rock.
Thank you for being you and being in my life. 
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| Thank you for being you: GRACEGrace, as much as I've said it before, you were the first friend I made here in Maryland. I remember how I met you. It was 2006, and I was at freshman orientation, going around to classes (Mrs. Fulchino seemed so harmless back then) and meeting teachers and trying to figure out how to work the school. We went to the cafeteria and I was sitting down all lonely-like, pretty darn upset that I was being forced to come to this school, when you came and joined me at the table.
Thank you so much for sitting down with me. I thought it then, and I think it even more now. You are one of the most amazing people I know. To be honest, I'll look for a flaw in you and be like, "She's got to have something!" But in 3 years, I haven't found a thing. First of all, you're way brilliant, man. Sometimes a little too brilliant. If we, somehow, ignore the fact that you skipped a grade, the way you approach problems is just fantastic. When I say you're too brilliant, I mean how you sometimes overthink things. ^^; But really, watching your gears turn is an amazing thing. Then, you're amazingly talented. You doodle a lot in class, and every now and then I'll peek over and go WOW, that's awesome. And your music, oh your music. Your piano skills are to be reckoned with and you've got the sweetest voice. You're one of the stars of Asian Assembly every year. Speaking of your music, if one good thing has come from my random obsession with kpop, it's that it brought me a bit closer to you. Singing Mirotic and Sorry, Sorry and Fan with you in class is just about the best thing ever. I also love that you share your fandom with me, whether it's for Super Junior or Lee Jun Ki or Edward Norton or Tablo; you share your love for them with me and I am so grateful. (Especially since you're not crazy about it like I am with DBSK. ^^) Your patience is something I wish I had. You've been so patient with me and people being annoying (<cough>Vincent<cough>Shulman<cough>Watson<cough>), and you always come out smiling and level-headed. HOW? I only wish I knew. I try not to just ramble on to you now, but you always seem so inviting for conversation, I have to try very hard to not just tell you every detail of my life.
I think the thing I appreciate the most about you is your faith. I still find it hard to believe that one of my closest friends is a devout Christian girl. A "crazy Korean Christian", as a friend of mine used to say. I remember being like, "Oh noes..." when I found out, because I thought you would get really irritated with my cynicism and my general lack of faith and understanding.
But here's the amazing thing: you don't. (At least not visibly. Too visibly.)
You sit there with me and talk theology, and while I'm blathering on about, "Grace, I just... don't understand the Trinity. He's the son of God but He's also God?" you take a deep breath and do your best to explain. (And I actually get it somewhat now!) I have learned a lot about Christianity from you, and I am eternally grateful. After all, how can I argue if I don't have the facts from that side of the argument?
If, four years ago, some told me "Starr. One of your closest friends will be a devout Christian," I would have laughed, no joke, because I've had some issues with devout Christians telling me I'm not a good person and I'm going to Hell. After experiences like that, I didn't know what else to feel about faith besides cynicism and bitterness. But meeting you has helped me understand that those people are just radical and have kind of fallen off the path. It's the people like you that make faith a beautiful thing. You're beautiful inside and out.
Thank you for sharing your love and faith with me.
Thank you for being you and being my life. 
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| Thank you for being you: WILLIS... aka the "Why Willis is a catch" speech.
But more eloquent because I'm blogging and it is a respectable hour.
(This is embarassingly long. Feel free to untag yourself, but I want it on the Internetz for all to see. And I'll probably be like "Oh crap I am a loser" and just send each of these blogs to the individual people. BUT YOU'RE FIRST so yay you!)
So let's start at the beginning...
Remember how I talked about my first impression of you in that really ridiculous-lame Youtube video (that I don't want to hear mention of ever again)? You were the kid who came to Hunan Manor in a suit and Looney Toons tie and then you ran up a wall. (Shortly thereafter I learned that Asians really do breakdance and I owed Alex Choi an apology. ^^;)
What a first impression. And that impression lasted. You've done nothing but build up this really positive image I have of you in my mind.
You're clearly really intelligent, a quality I sometimes take for granted in my friends. Valedictorian and a bioengineering major at UPenn, your academic work never seemed to really fall on the backburner.
But then the thing that amazes me most: you balance school life with a social life. And not just a semblance of a social life like me, but a real social life. You were valedictorian AND prom king! You've got a group of friends that love you (maybe a little too much) and your parents can't hate you for it. Your ability to do this is one of the things I admire most about you, because I find it to be near-impossible to do.
You do it, though, every day and effortlessly. That would be enough to have won me over as a friend, but of course, that just wasn't enough for you, was it?
You're also an amazingly talented person. I've seen your sketches and envied the fact that you're one of those Asians that can draw. I know you play piano and I can only assume you play that really well also. And the talent that I am just a sucker for is your dancing. Willis, you are one of the most talented bboys that I have the pleasure and honor to know. I am so glad that you were one of the people who introduced me to the culture that I am now just a tad obsessed with. In any performance, battle, or cypher you're in, you're always the star because you've got this great style and energy. And then on top of all of that, you were blessed with good looks. <sigh> Life can be unfair. So, Willis. We have a "special" friendship. I almost never get to see you. If I do get to see you, I don't have a chance to talk to you. And, in that rare occasion that I do get to talk to you face-to-face, it's almost always very awkward. Which is why we don't talk much, I'm assuming. ><"
But then, every 6 months or so, according to my IM logs (=P), we have these great late-night conversations. I don't know why, but I opened up to you in December about a lot of personal things that I hadn't told a lot of people. Maybe it was the fact that we aren't that close that made it easier for me to tell you, but you're a really approachable person, when I'm not being intimidated by you.
Then you told me your adorable story and I learned that you have insecurities and it was cute and amazing. You've heard all of this already, but while you were telling me how you feel like she's way out of your league, I listened super intently to make sure SHE was good enough for YOU. You sit there thinking you're the luckiest guy in the world because you got such a great girl, but I think she's thinking the same thing. (And the Willis fan club knows that she's the luckiest girl in the world.)
To tell the truth, I thought I would be incredibly jealous hearing your story, not only of you but also of her for having you. But the bitter jealousy was, surprisingly, overwhelmed by my joy for you. Honestly, I had a hard time containing my squeals of delight and by 3 AM my face hurt from smiling like an idiot at my computer screen. You deserve everything you've got and there are few people I can think of who are as deserving. I am not genuinely happy for my friends very often. I'll say it out of obligation, but most of the time I'm either envious or apathetic. Not for Willis!
One other thing. Your faith is kind of beautiful. I may not have faith myself, but seeing how much church has changed your life is a little bit, oh, I don't know, inspiring. I can't say much else about it, but I had to say something. You are such a great catch, Willis, and I feel so lucky to know you and have you as a friend. And I'm writing all this out so you never forget that you are a catch, even though I am such a cheesy sap that I actually cried when I was singing your praises to you before. You never come to my Chinese dinners anymore and you only acknowledge me through random Facebook stalking, but our 2 or 3 late-night IM conversations make all that neglect so worth it. =) Thank you for listening to me and confiding in me.
Thank you for being you and being in my life.
And yes, this speech will be available for your wedding.
(I'd put a picture of the two of us up right here, but alas there is no such picture.) | | |
| The end of the road...There's a lot to say, so prepare yourself for a long blog.
[ BOTC ] : Super amazing, you guys have improved so much, and I am like ultimate bboy groupie (minus the sleeping around) now. I really enjoyed the performances, and congrats to Neudeul Crew for winning! Lots of really fun tricks and shiz, and it was great seeing Danny and David again.
[ Last week of school ] : My last week was pretty fun. The only real finals I had to take were French, chemistry, and calc. Graduation rehearsals got long and tedious, but I was glad to not be in class. xD
Funny rehearsal moment - I was standing there as Marta got called, and the projector screen came down in front of me. It was a bit awkward.
[ Class Night ] : It was fantastically fun. The food was delicious, the music was pretty fun, the slide show was nice, and the dancing was great too. It was nice to be able to actually dance. Before I left, I had a little dance battle with Theresa Kang. I think she won, but I still had a lot of fun and well, now people know I dance. I'm not sure if they have more or less respect for me though. ^^;
[ Awards Assembly & Senior Picnic ] : The Awards Assembly was nice, albeit long. I won a service award, which was extremely surprising. It reminds me of the 8th grade, when I won that service award and completely didn't think I deserved it.
The picnic was tons of fun. I ate way too much food, of course, and got thrown in the pool by Ryan first (with lots of encouragement from Grace, ahem). Got tossed in by Kevin, too. Played some barefoot soccer (shirts vs. skins, all the girls were default on one team) and splashed around in the pool. I threw Natasha in, which surprised her for some reason. She was wearing white shorts and DARED me to throw her in. Several times. So I did and she was shocked! If she didn't want to be thrown in, she shouldn't have told me to do it. And she should've been wearing something more pool-appropriate anyway, I mean come on, it's a pool. =P
The picnic was extremely fun, and I am really glad I went and got to hang out with my friends.
[ Chinkfest, aka Maytoberfest ] : We got together with some 08ers and 09ers (and KBao). Dinner at Szechuan restaurant Joe's Noodlehouse, which I had a hard time finding, since I came still in my swimsuit to Rockville and got lost on Rockville Pike. Dinner was yummy, although spicier than I'm used to. Then KTV, where Kevin refused to sing and Yisheng and Wenyue basically rocked the mics. And then I took 4 people home and I was super nervous about it. Fun!
[ Grad parties ] : The weekend grad party lineup went as follows - Rohini's, Nick's & Megan's, Surdu's. I had fun at all of them, although the problem of people splitting into different groups at each party made me feel bad for each host. Still, they were lots of fun and I'm glad I got to spend more time with everyone.
[ Memorial Day ] : This is unrelated to graduation and whatnot, but I was in a parade supporting Chris van Hollen. He doesn't represent me, though. Still, it was fun. ALTHOUGH. I was throwing candy to children, and a kind of hefty lady was like: "HEY CHIIIIIIIIIIIINESE. (She called me "Chinese". What?!) Can I get some candy up in here? I got dem 4 kids and we ain't got no candy yet." I just felt really offended, and I'm not exactly sure why. I think it was being called CHIIIIIIIIIIINESE. Not even "Chinese girl", but just "Chinese". Like what the crap. Anyway, I got to walk with some really hot convertibles. And they had this old Ford Model A? And some Ford Thunderbirds. Very nice. I felt special. And then I got to eat at 66 (Bob's Noodlehouse) and it was yummy.
[ Graduation ] : Somehow, my tassel disappeared. I am very upset about this, especially because I think I lost it at school or something at the awards assembly... T^T The weather was less than perfect, which is okay because it was completely perfect up until that day, I suppose. My dad somehow misheard "Merriweather", which was written on his ticket, and went to Marriotts Ridge. A rival high school. I panicked at that point because my mom is in China and couldn't be at my graduation, and that was depressing enough, but to have my entire family miss me getting my diploma was too much to bear.
BUT my dad and brother made it, I got my diploma, and I hugged everyone I could to death. I tackle-hugged Shulman because I hadn't seen him in ages. Lots of pictures. Lots of love. I didn't cry, though, like I promised myself. I was too happy. The only thing that made me want to cry was when Mr. Sankey told me, "I'll never forget you."
[ Senior Prank ] : Success techincally, but essential fail in taunting and such. We blocked off the senior lot though, so take THAT class of 2010. You're not seniors yet so don't even TRY.
[ Wootton Prom ] : So much fun. It started raining when Jie and I were on our way to Gaithersburg, and we parked in the wrong garage or something? Finally made it to the hotel, got all dressed, and headed out to Misha's. Victor was driving, and Jie and Bui were extremely nervous about it. The 3 of us were kind of backseat driving, and I feel bad about it. ^^; Picked up Grace, went to Misha's, and it started to POUR like there was no tomorrow.
Funny moment while waiting at Misha's -
Misha: So if anyone wants to have sex, do it in that room.
Someone: Is that why your date is already in that room?
Entire room: OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
We got Bui to dance to Day & Night, John and I sang "Lucky" by Jason Mraz, and it was a good time.
Unfortunately, since it was pouring, there was an accident on 495 and our limo was extremely late. We decided to meet it at Benihana, since it was already 7 and our reservation was at 6:30. We got there at 7:15, the latest we were allowed to get there for our reservation, and waited around for our food with some Telephone and pictures. The food was really good, although it took a while because it's a show and all.
Piled into our Hummer limo, which didn't really seat 22 like it was supposed to... Our driver wasn't so great though. Hm. Got to prom at 10 (it started at 8, doors were supposed to close at 9), so we didn't get a chance to go on the carousel. 'sall good. Got 2 hours of dancing in and it was great. (Except Matt, John, and Dennes kept ditching Olivia, Susan, and Xiaoxiao! Guys, come on.) Apparently I started one of our dance circles. I don't think so, but okay.
Back into the limo to go back to Misha's and change, which I managed to do out in the open because I'm skilled like that. We drove to Wootton for postprom. I discovered I have a gambling problem that was accentuated with beginner's luck, aka I win money when I don't know the rules of a game. Like Texas Hold'em. I forced myself to stop by sticking my poker chips in my pocket and tearing myself away from the casino area. I would've done more stuff but I was really tired, so I couldn't really bring myself to embarass myself doing moonbounce stuff. xD
Back to the hotel, where I fell asleep on the desk waiting for people to finish showering. When they woke me up for my turn, I was cranky. >_< Sorry about that. Cleaned up, and went to sleep, but 4 hours later, we were awake again. They were up the whole time, so I don't see why they didn't get up or let me open the curtains. <sigh> But yeah, I was still cranky. We went out for lunch and walked around the lake and then left.
I made a lot of new friends, was very proud of myself for remembering everyone's name, and had just an overall great time. I hope everyone else had a good time too.
And that's that.
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