And A New Chapter Begins...

Yep, that's me.

My, oh my, oh my...I look at this picture now and realize that not only do I look like a complete tool, but that I'm also now an alumni at Yale High School. Where did the last 13 years of my life run off to, I wonder?

Graduation Day was just yesterday, but it already seems like a distant cloud that's been drifting away for some time now...I think they call it "senioritis." Yeah. Anyhow, the ceremony itself was pretty stellar, but you couldn't have picked a hotter day out of the month to have held it. It was easily 90 degrees in that gymnasium, and I felt like I was in my own personal sauna through the entire sitting. It didn't help that there were thousands of people all in the room at the same time, either. Words could not describe how terrific it felt to finally shed off that greenhouse of a gown I was wearing, and slip into some baggy jeans and my white Descendents shirt back home. Ah, the simple joys in life that even a t-shirt can bring...

Oh yeah, the ceremony itself. Pretty standard, we all marched into the gymnasium, marching with our selected partners (I picked my hetero life mate Charles) and taking our seats. They acknowledged the whole school board, along with the Salutatorian and our two Valedictorians (p.s. Congrats to Greg Palmateer, Scott Fladzinksi, and Lorraine Schrand for achieving these titles). Once they presented their speeches, all the students in each row walked across the stage, shook hands with the principal, and accepted their diplomas. Well, they weren't our ACTUAL diplomas. Just the little booklet that you keep them in. I had to go pick up my diploma this morning in the office actually, along with my class composite and my school record. It was pretty hilarious how much material they had on my poor behavior in elementary school. I was such a little ass when I was young :)

Oh yeah, so when I went up on stage to accept my "diploma" I shook hands and everything, and made my way back down the steps to continue into my row. All I could think about the entire time as I was waiting was how hot it was, and as I walked off stage, I nearly made a complete left turn to return to my immediate seat, instead of getting in the back of the line, and making my way back down the end of my row. Luckily, I stopped myself immediately, and got back in line. Not a word was said, luckily, but I felt like an idiot, for sure. If it just wasn't so damn hot in that room...

Anyhow, the ceremony went great, we went outside, threw our hats up in the air, took pictures, all that jazz...Then I returned home, and continued to spend the rest of my night playing guitar for my family members, and reminiscing with Charles and his family about how young we used to be, and how we've managed to accumulate so much chest hair in the past 8 years. Overall, it was a wonderful day, and I made $135 in grad money, plus I'll be getting a new laptop for college! I'm definitely stoked.

Now, I sit in my room, dwelling on what I'm gonna do for the rest of the week, because to be honest, I'm already kind of bored. I'm sure this will pass soon, but I know the day will come when I wish I was in high school again, filming videos for Mr. Dewey, and saying "fuck you" in my Advanced English class. Until then, I'll be here. To my fellow graduates, congratulations. To my underclassmen that I've left behind, I sincerely hope you'll be following in my footsteps before long. Thanks for all your support guys, and peace out.