Year Blog: 2023-2024

Hello ‘Ilima

You’ve been traveling on foot for the past couple of days now and you are starving. Your supply of water ran out and you are desperate for a resting place. Out of the corner of your eye, you see a wooden cabin. You knock on the front door and an old man answers your knocks. He had gray, curly hair and has a built stature. His eyes look tired and his hands look dirty. “Oh hello there, do you need anything?” You explain your situation and the man lets you in. He allows you to stay in his house for all long as you needed to. You wash up in his bath as he prepares you a meal. When you are clean, he gives you brand new clothing in order to be more comfortable. As you start eating the food, the old man asks you about your journey. You explain how you have been looking for a purpose in your life and went on a voyage to explore the world. “I think I have a story that can help you.” the old man tells you. You interest is piqued and you want to hear what he has to say. “It all started many years ago and has a lot of details. So you better buckle in as this might take a while.” The old man explains. Since you have nothing else to do, you agree to listen to the man’s story. “It all started in the 6th Grade” 

6th Grade Year, 4th Quarter: I was about to graduate from the school that I had been going to for basically my whole life. This school had a special place in my heart and was basically a home away from home. But eventually we have to move on.  Graduating from my elementary school and moving on to middle School was defiantly a huge change. The middle school I was going to go to, ‘Ilima, allowed students to see how the school was. One part that we got to see was the electives. My mom saw the Leadership class and it caught her attention. She really wanted me to join but I wasn’t so sure. We talked to the students who were running a music station and they allowed me to pick a song. My mom asked how to join Leadership and she learned about the interview process. She saw it as the perfect opportunity for me so I accepted. I now had to prepare for my interview and I was nervous. The only interview I’ve really done was for an AVID class that was supposed to prepare me for college, but my mom was able to prepare me for the interview and I felt ready. I’m hazy on the questions they asked, but all I know is that I was terrified. We needed to show a talent and so I wrote a poem about a tree. After my interview ended, I just nervously waited for the results.

My 6th Grade Graduation Picture

My Attire for the Interview

Summer of 2023: One day, I got an email from Mr. Ing regarding my results. I got into Leadership. I was more happy  than a child on Christmas Day. My interview must of have a good enough impression on the interviewers that they were able to see my potential and invite me to the program. Now I had a summer bridge to go through.

When the first day of Bridge arrived, I got dropped off onto the campus and I was completely lost. I eventually spotted the Leadership group heading to the cafeteria and so I followed them. The other people sat down close to each other and started to talk to each other while I sat far away because I was waiting for my friend who also got into Leadership, Riselle. As I was sitting down, a girl named Sienna said, “Hey, you look lonely, do you want to move down with us?” I didn’t want to seem rude so I moved down, but only a bit because I was uncomfortable sitting next to a while. After what seemed like a millennium, Riselle finally came to the cafe and we started to talk. A bunch of other kids then walked into the cafe and then some teachers split us into different groups. A teacher, Ms. deGuzman, told us to follow her and she brought us a circle of orange benches. We sat down and Ms. deGuzman told us to introduce ourselves. I only recognized a few people who also went to Holomua, those being Leyla, Gabby, and Jewelyn. After she gave us some introductions, we entered A101 and Ms. deGuzman allowed us to sit anywhere. I sat in the back with Riselle and were given the task of making a journal cover. She gave us very little rules so it allowed us to be as creative we could be. I made mine look like a disaster occurred, full of dogs with glasses, a duck wearing a wig, and random bits of fire. When we were done, we were then told about flags. The flags were a place that stamps, earned from attendance and winning, would be put on. My flag was green and I designed is so that all of the letters were connecting with lines. The day came to an end when we were finished and we headed home. The whole time I was uncomfortable but I had a fun time doing these activities. The rest of Bridge went just like the first day, we played more games and did more projects that prepared us for summer workdays and allowed us to get comfortable with each other. We cleaned out the cubbies in A101 and then turned them into our new cubbies and created tags for them. Mine was a perspective art of a highway with cars. One of the games we played was frisbee golf which is a game where you are in a duo and have to throw the frisbee into a basket in the least amount of tries. I was partners with Mal and I threw a frisbee onto the roof. Surely I wouldn’t get other things stuck in high places. We ended in last place and she was surprisingly chill about it. Other things we did were blindfolded capture the flag, connect 4, scavenger hunts, and many other games. During this time, I got introduced to a lot of new people and started to talk to them. The anxiety I had before was slowly going away. Later on, we had project in which we had to the make the Ilima Intro video and I was part of the history team. My group consisted of Dominic, Jayna, and Sienna and I was the one who wrote the script. Jayna and Sienna filmed the video while Dominic was the one edited the video. Another project we did was when we went around campus taking photos so that they could be added to the backgrounds of Ilima TV. All of these were just some samples of the countless things we did. To blitz through some of the other things, we made a tour of the campus in the version of a TikTok, we made a different TikTok of the do’s and don’ts of ‘Ilima, and we started the Bio Cube project. The bio cube has is a box with each side representing a different part of us. Besides playing games, we also learned different things like how to create an intro for the morning announcements and how to fly a drone. Throughout all of Bridge, I learned a lot of different things for the future and about myself. I became more confident, even if I still didn’t talk to much. Bridge was a lot of fun and helped me get ready for the upcoming obstacles.

Me and Riselle During Bridge

Following Bridge was a week of rest before we returned to Workdays. Workdays had a new schedule of 9-12 instead of the usual 8-11. We also got separated into periods, or groups. I was in Period 3 with Riselle, Alex, Dominic, Biaani, and group leader Reese. Schedule pick up was coming and we started preparing by cleaning up the the room and setting up tables. Every now and then, we were allowed 20-30 minute breaks where a lot of the group would go to 7/11 or McDonalds. I never went with the others and instead I walked around the campus, listening to music. A couple of days before schedule pick up, we were taught what the jobs were and what jobs we had. I was an ID runner with Riselle and our job was to take IDs from the machine and give it to the ID makers. But before schedule pick up, there was a parent open house which was also when we were going to meet the Alumni. We were separated into groups and mine included Sadie (alumni), Reesee (alumni), Alex, and Mikayla. We were tasked with deciding a group name and then making a poster for the group. Sadie came up with the idea to name us the Icee Spicees and Mikayla picked purple to be our group color. We started drawing on the poster, but I didn't contribute as much as I am not the best artist. I did color in some items which is cool. We then had to make choreography set to the song, Baby Shark, which I was the grandpa shark. The day after the meet and greet was the first day of schedule pick up. The first day of schedule pick up was for 8th graders only and it started poorly as the ID machine in my station wasn't working. Eventually we got it to work and everything was fine. Reesee was handling the ID machine while Dominic was our cameraman because Sadie wasn't here. Eventually Dominic had to go to his other job and I took over as the cameraman while also doing my regular job. After a couple of hours, less people showed up and it allowed me to take breaks. Lucky for everyone there, there was a Jamba Juice vendor near the breezeway which gave us the perfect opportunity to cool down after our work. When the first day ended, we got to eat teri burgers and left on a successful day. The second day was 7th graders only and it was pretty chaotic. A lot more people showed up today, but we were able to handle all of that mess. Besides the more people, it was mainly the same with the Jamba Juice people still being there. The only big difference is that I had recognized a bunch of people who came from my school. Then at around 12:30, I got my picture taken for my ID which I was planning for awhile. I wore a purple varsity jacket with a white shirt underneath. I also took a tip from my mom to look up and forward which definitely made my picture look a lot better. The day ended with us eating spam bowls (one of the best things Mr. Ing has ever made) and then leaving to start new schedules. The new schedule was a rotating pattern between the times of 8-10, 9-11, and 10-12:30. During the rotating schedules, we continued schedule pick up for the people who didn't come on the two main dates. Dominic and I were in charge of the check in table where we would give people the papers they needed and permitted them inside.  We continued this all the way up to the last days of workdays, but in between we worked on our bio cubes. We formed a cardboard box and printed out our cube sides to tape on the box. We also had to put a photo of ourselves, but I didn't know you could of put the picture on from the actual design site and so my picture was too big and it just hung on from the side. During this time, we learned how the three main jobs worked. Those three main jobs were tv, music, and IDs. Learning how the jobs worked was at first pretty confusing, but the more I experienced the job, the more I understood how it worked. We also got to create a TV Intro for the first time which was great practice. Near the end of workdays, we learned about an end of summer field trip that was planned for August 4th that I was super excited for. It would be a trip to the beach and then at night, we would watch a firework show. We had to wear the group colors that we had from the meet and greet groups and our phones would be taken away before it started. The days prior, we were asked to bring snacks and I decided on bringing granola bars as they are easy to bring and are full of nutrients. I packed only essential things but no swimming clothes which I would regret. 

Me During one of my Walks

Me and Dominic During Workdays

When August 4th arrived, I went to the school with all of my stuff and waited. I came early thinking others would be there but to my surprise, no one was there. I waited and after a while people started rolling in. After a couple of minutes, Ms. deGuzman got a bin and took all of our phones. We walked to the bus where I sat at the back. Mark then arrived at the literal last second and we drove to the beach. Along the way, I talked to the others and just rested. We arrived at around 12 and placed our snacks and bags down. Mr. Ing told us we could go off and do our own thing and I decided to play volleyball with Dominic, Jayden, Jewelyn, Riselle, and Jayna using Mark's ball. We played a bunch of different games using the ball and I had a habit of hitting the ball pretty hard hard. One unfortunate hit sent the ball flying into a tall tree. This one small mistake snowballed into 2 hours of pain, trying to get the ball down with the limited resources we had. We threw water bottles and my shoe while the others were laughing at our misery. At some points we took breaks as the constant throwing was tiring. After what seemed like 100 years, Mark was able to get his own ball down somehow. With that drama ended, some of us decided to dig up a huge hole. They were digging and digging and I was finding lots of big rocks in the sand. My feet were tired and I decided to take many breaks, but the others successfully made a hole. We did more fun things like freeze tag where Mark started dancing or when we buried some bodies. We also got to meet Oliva, a person who we hadn't met yet who was also in Leadership. At around 5 pm we ate sausage, chicken, and steak served with rice and corn. Jayden had to leave but he said would come back for the firework show. After we ate, we cleaned up and took a break. A bunch of the others played volleyball and tried to keep a streak of the full alphabets but the best they got was W. Then we shared bio cubes with the Alumni. I was paired with Jewelyn and we shared to Ari, Alex's sister. We only shared the obstacles but it was very informative as Ari gave us tips about how we could overcome our obstacles and it made me feel more comfortable with sharing. After the sharing, we started our walk to Magic Island, where the fireworks would be held. I shoved all of my items in my bag and followed Mr. Ing all the way to the place. We took a small bathroom break where Jabez almost got hit by a car because he wasn't look both ways. After a while, we arrived at Magic Island and Jayden was there. The others sat down while I stood because there was no more space. By this time, we received our phones back but I didn't use it much. When the firework show started, I recorded the show to watch later and when it ended, our group returned to the bus. I started using my portable fan to cool down and me and Riselle took a selfie to remember the day. I laid back, holding my fan, and rested as we headed back to 'Ilima. When we got dropped off, we waited for our parents and I felt like throwing up, probably from dehydration. This ended the summer and on August 8th, school with be starting up.

The Riselle and I Selfie

Quarter 1: This first quarter was an awakening for me as the way 'Ilima did things was something very different for me. Classes were broken up into 6 periods and in each day, you would go to 3 out of those 6 periods. My 6 periods are: 1. Science 2. Social Studies 3. Leadership 4. ELA 5. Math 6. AVID. All of the classes, except AVID, are very fun and interesting. To speak more on AVID, AVID is so boring and so far we only have learned basic organization skills like having a binder, how to meditate, and SUTW which we already learn in ELA. The boys on my table, even though they are my friends, mess around a whole lot and the girls just talk and eat for most of the class. The best part of AVID is that is an easy class and also a break from all of the hard work. Besides AVID, all of the other classes are chill. The teachers are nice and the projects we are doing are fun. Then there are the events. Out of those events, my favorite was Family Nite because working the booth was very fun. I got to see a lot of people and there was a lot of cool activities. Then there was Open House. Open House was for the parents to get an understanding of the school and we were mainly there to guide people or answer questions. Flag football was a pretty long event, going on for 2 weeks. At first it was terrible because of the constant sunlight, but I learned to enjoy watching the students play the game which was pretty fun. Lastly, the students had picture taking and we where there to basically organize the kids. It was kind of boring, but it wasn't bad so I enjoyed it. During this quarter, I joined the Drama Club which would mean much more later on. Another thing to happen this quarter was the Ohana Fair for Holomua. All of my friends went to it and we had a ton of fun. I also adopted my baby there, which was one of the best decisions I could ever have. Overall, this quarter worked as an introduction to 'Ilima and allowed me to understand all that 'Ilima had to offer. But a big event was coming up. 

A Picture of me and Some of my Friends

Period 3 7th Grade Picture

Me Correctly Wrapping a Wire

Me Falling While Trying to Skate

Group Picture from Ohana Fair

Dominic Strangling Joseph 

Me on my First TV Appearance

The Leadership team was going on a three-day retreat to house and I had mixed feelings. I was very happy to be going on this trip, but I was pretty nervous to spend three days with no contact with the outside world. We arrived to school with our luggage and waited for the bus to come. When we were finally dropped off at the house, we immediately we had lot's of things to do. To cover the work, it was mainly planning for the future which would help us get a timeline for the rest of the year. Doing the planning was very good for me as it helped me understand a lot of the different things that we would be doing during the next couple of months. During the retreat, we also had some breakout sessions. The three breakout sessions were about goals, core values, and nice words. After one particular lesson, Mr. Ing asked us questions in the form of statements about different things. Two categories, list the last 5 Heisman winners and list the last 5 NBA MVPS, were ones that I were very confident and did really good at. The only mistake was Heisman winner as I forgot that DeVonta Smith won a Heisman. I guess the others mistakes would be over guessing as for the NBA one, I thought it meant the last 5 players to win and not the last 5 winners. But the whole point of the whole questions were to teach us that the small details matter which would go on to be very important for me later on during the year. One of the best parts of the retreat was the food. My favorites were the steak and chicken and the spam bowl. Throughout all the days, I felt stuffed from the constant eating which isn't a feeling I feel to often anymore. Waking up and immediately eating on the second day was hard but I adjusted on the third day. There was a snack table too but I didn't really take from there as I was constantly full. I mainly had drinks because I was constantly thirsty. I had a mix of water, Gatorade, tea, and Fresca for all the days. Now, I have to talk about the room. I was upstairs with the boys and I got to have the bed. The room itself was pretty nice with no real problems, although the fan didn't work. But the real problem was the ghosts. There weren't actual ghosts (I think), but we definitely felt haunted. Every time we would go to the bathroom, the handle would jiggle and it would sound like someone was knocking. For me only, the door would sound like it was also getting pushed. Then at one point, the lights kept on changing from dark to bright on its own. The problem with ghosts was at an extreme during the first night. It was pitch dark and we were all very anxious. I had brought my daughter, the one I adopted from the Ohana Fair named Joseph, and she had gone missing. We couldn't find her and we thought she was gone, so when it was dark, we thought that Joseph would start to haunt us. The pitch-quiet night didn't help and it took us forever to sleep. I had a lot of naps during the day, so I think I made up the sleep. I also got to play a lot of football during the retreat. I wanted to work on my throw power and accuracy and I actually improved. I was still making a lot of mistakes, but I got to learn a couple of techniques that helped me. From watching Zhalea throw, I learned to add a jump to my throw which made the ball go farther and be more accurate. Dominic was also critiquing my throws and said that I needed to throw the ball with my whole side. I need to be more consistent as I could throw absolute dots to Zhalea but I couldn't make a good throw while Mr. Ing was watching me which was pretty embarrassing. I don't even want to mention my catching as I was so terrible. I couldn't make the most simple catches which made me feel like trash. Then we had the two big events, Chopped and Synchronized Swimming. For Chopped, each period had to make a desert and we would be judged by how good it was. My period had been practicing for a while and our dish was apples covered in Oreos. Each group needed a narrator and I was that for my group. I had spent 30 minutes prior working on my hair so that it was really messed up and looked funny so then the others would laugh. I then made some claims that may or may not be true about the food saying that it was the most fresh and healthy dish that couldn't be topped (which it is). The dish was called Apple Le Da which the others didn't really like but I used the idea and ran with it. The dish turned out amazing and we had great reviews. But somehow, Period 5 won Chopped which was interesting as their dish was a mozzarella stick with no flavor, in my opinion of course. Then there was the Synchronized Swimming. We were going to lose from the start as Period 1 had an amazing cheer and dance. They were dressed up as cowboys and they did a lot of comedic things. We still tried very hard and I had to do a lot of improv to make the performance more funny. I threw Joseph around, saved William the Whale from danger, and exaggerated my movements to try get a laugh out of the audience which actually worked. But Period 1 won and I was happy for them as they did really good. We also did a lot of cleaning that included picking up leaves and scrubbing the bathroom. One of the saddest things to happen was Mark and Mal getting stung by a man o' war while they were in the water. Mark looked like he was in a lot of pain and I felt really bad. One of the best moments from the retreat was when we sat by the water and sang songs. It was so nice and we all were so happy. We also ate smores and my marshmallow went all over the place. They also had us do interviews that were very nerve-racking. I prepared so much for the interview only for it turn out to be not so bad while actually doing it. Then we took group photos for the yearbook which turned out pretty nice. One night, we learned about the theme for the 6th Grade Orientation. This year's theme was Dr. Suess and we were then told the cast list. I was selected to be The Lorax which was very funny. But something that wasn't funny was learning who the choreographers would be. When it got to the Boy's Dance, it was revealed that I would be making the choreo, a job that I did not want to have. I was tasked with creating a dance for the boys to perform which would go on to eat up all of my life. The last day of the retreat came and the long trip back to 'Ilima was so fun as we sang songs the whole way through. Overall, the trip was amazing and got us prepared for the future.

Period 3 Preparing for Chopped

Leadership Group Picture

Quarter 2: This quarter was when things really started to shake up. To begin with, the Gifted and Talented, GTs, arrived. Their arrival was very amazing for me as  I knew all of them from my elementary Enrichment program. One of them were one of my good friends and I was one of the people who got to mentor him. It was very fun but also super exhausting to teach them all of the things they had to learn but the result was amazing because they got to become great workers. There were some bumps in the road while teaching them, but everything turned out great. Then, we got a whole lot of the yearbook done. My page was 7th Grade Teams and I was able to complete it all by myself. Going out to all of the classes and taking pictures was really fun and watching the page get completed, picture by picture, was very satisfying for me. We also had the first recognition night and it was so fun to watch all my friends go up to stage and get their (fake) certificate. When I walked up the stage, it felt like time was slowing down and I could see so many people I knew waving and screaming. This feeling would be one that I would feel multiple different times in the future. The Leadership group than had a Winter Luncheon and the food was so good. There were spam musabi, chicken, noodles, fish, and my homemade cranberry sauce. The whole was experience was so fun with a lot of different funny moments that I will remember for a long time. Then we had ISA bowling which was also exciting. I was hyping myself up as I used to be great at bowling, I was so bad because I literally forgot how to bowl. But our bowling team overall had success which is great. During Social Studies, we started working on a huge project called National History Day. We had to research a turning point in history and I decided to do the Emu War. I chose this topic because not a lot of people knew about it and it was something that I was interested in. I made a website that actually qualified for competition which I was very excited about. During this quarter, we also had a lot of events. A lot of these events didn't require us to do too much, but we still did some work. One of the events was turkey trot where we had to work as basically statues, standing along the walking path. We also needed to dress up in Thanksgiving theme, so I dressed up as a pilgrim. Then there was team pictures where the different teams would squish together for their picture to get taken for the yearbook. I could only imagine how it must of felt to be in the middle of it all, because even the outside was stinky. Needless to say, this quarter gave us more balls to juggle, but it still wasn't the most to come.

My Halloween Costume

My Friends and I at FNAF Movie

Group Picture from Recognition Night

Me from Turkey Trot

Group Picture from Bus Ride to Bowling

     Quarter 3: This quarter was probably the most busy quarter out of all of the quarters. The sheer amount of events and projects we did was crazy. To start off with the events, there was spirit week, graduation picture taking, two family nites, recognition night, and elementary school dance competition. The biggest of these events was Spirit Week. It is a week long event with so many different parts to it. I had a lot of work to handle during that time period, but I enjoyed the week overall. The different dress ups was fun and the big team events were very exciting. Those big team events were Cheer Off and Relay Race. Cheer Off was where all of the teams performed a cheer. The atmosphere during Cheer Off was incredible and I had a great time dancing. Relay Race was a very exhilarating event where the teams would race in competitions and the first one to the end would win. Next, graduation picture taking was a two day event where we had to dress up the 8th graders for their graduation pictures. It was pretty awkward having to dress the people up as you were face to face with the 8th grader, having to try pull up their zipper without it being weird. I still had a pretty good time during the picture taking which is good. The two Family Nites from this quarter were also another really cool event. The first of these Family Nites was science. This one was very fun as I got to fly a drone around the cafe with my science teacher. The second Family Nite was ELA and I was working at a heads up game. It was pretty cool to see the families play the game and I had an overall great time. This Family Nite was during Spirit Week and I had braided my hair back for the day. Everyone in Leadership said that I looked like Mr. Ing and they would pretend like I was Mr. Ing. Recognition Night was also this quarter and it was pretty chill. Not as many people showed up, but it was still exciting to go on stage and accept the award. But during the Recognition Night, I lost my ID which had me panicking as it also included my bus pass. The next day, I bought a new ID and bus pass, only to learn that someone apparently found it. Finally, the different elementary schools came to 'Ilima for a dance competition. Seeing the different schools dance was so cool and most of the teams were really good. This quarter also included the NHD competition. I had totally forgotten the date of the competition and I came in having a lot of nerves. But, the competition was more fun than I thought it was gonna be. The interviews at the beginning were pretty easy, and then I just was able to have fun for the rest of the day. I ended up not winning which kind of sucked, but I am definitely going to come back stronger next year. During this quarter, we also finally finished the yearbook and we just waited for it to be delivered in May. Also throughout this quarter, we were practicing for the 6th Grade Orientation almost everyday. I was getting so tired of all of the practice, but I knew that it would benefit the overall project at the end. This quarter wasn't all happiness as we had so much school work. We had a career research project for AVID, a social studies timeline, math tests, and the dreaded SBA test. The AVID career project was pretty simple as we just had to do research on a career that we were interested in. The social studies timeline however was a very long project for me as I decided to make a fully interactive slideshow in Google Slides. Little did I know that the project would end up taking me 2 weeks to finish and result in a whopping 275 slides. Then, math tests are always bad so I don't need to go in depth into that. Finally, the SBA test for ELA happened and I hated it so much. We had to write an essay about a given topic and there was way too much reading. I was in so much pain while doing the SBA test, but I finished the essay and I can definitely wait until we take the next part. This quarter is definitely in consideration for the most busy quarter with just all of the work we had.

Me w/ Braids

Dylan's Oranges

Group Picture from Spirit Week

Mr. Ing 1 and 2

Group Picture from NHD Competition

AHH! GHOSTFACE ON TV!

Quarter 4: This was the final quarter and it started off with the last Family Nite of the year which was math themed. My booth was a paper airplane booth that involved angles and degrees. But the big thing that was to come was Orientation. We had been practicing and preparing for this moment for a very long time, and we made sure to go all out. My Lorax costume was so good, I even had a mustache. The Orientation was very terrifying as I was nervous to perform in front of all the 6th graders, but we all stepped up to the moment and I would say it went really well. Earlier on, I made a couple of mistakes, but I fixed them up and ultimately succeeded in helping the future students. Overall, I enjoyed Orientation a lot, but I was glad that it was over because the constant practice was getting pretty tiring. After the Orientation was the Royal Prodigies Dance Competition which was like a roller coaster, pun sort of intended. The beginning of the competition was very poor for me. I was very scared that I was gonna mess somehow, which stressed me out very much. But I really got to enjoy myself after our team was done with their dance. We got to sit with the crowds and enjoy the other dances. I screamed with my friends and watched the other schools try their hardest at their dances. They had a DJ, JOJO FLOW, and he was one of the best parts of the night. He played great songs, he had pretty good transitions, and his jacket was so cool. But the best part of the night was when they announced the winners. When the announcer said that 'Ilima had won, all of us started to jump around and scream. I was full of so much excitement and I felt like I was on top of the world. We had won the Dance Competition, successfully completing the three peat and submitting us in the middle school dance competition history. Competition day was very tiring, but I had a great time towards the end of it which made up for all that pressure. But following this, a huge wall came crashing down on me. One day, my head was hurting so much and my eyes were becoming very blurry. It got really bad during AVID and so my tablemates recommend that I go to the health room. Ms. Scarborough then touched my forehead, and since it was hot to the touch, she sent me to the health room. Once I arrived to the health room, I was informed that I had a pretty high fever and so I was sent home. This was the very first time that I have needed to stay at home multiple days due to sickness, at least according to my memory. I really didn't want to miss days of class because I didn't want to fall behind, but I still took the break and recovered from my sickness. During that period, I was able to rest and I finally had a break from all of the work I’ve been through. But there was still a lot more work to go. The last Recognition Night was next and it was just like all of the other Recognition Nights except for that fact that it went by the quickest. The next big thing to occur was the 7th Grade Class Day. I was really anticipating this day a lot because I would be going to Ice Palace, the popular ice skating place that I had never gone to before. For the whole bus ride there, I was really excited as I wanted to zoom on the ice. When we arrived, we had to wait around 20 minutes just to get into the place, but when we were finally able to get into the building, it was like entering a whole new world. The place was at a nice, cold temperature and I got a sort of retro vibe from the building. I got my ice skates and immediately headed to the skate place in order to start. I definitely wasn’t expecting the ice to be so slippery, which caused me to fall so many times. My arms and legs were bruised from all of the falling I did and Mr. Cole even said he saw me fall more than I actually skated. I think by the end of it, I kind of learned how to skate, but I still did pretty poorly. The 7th Grade Class Day was overall a really fun experience and I really wanted to go back to Ice Palace. We now enter around May, and everything has slowed down. But there are still a lot of events that were on the horizon. The Awards Night was next and it was a very exciting event. Awards Night is basically an event that gives awards to students who have shown/done academic, alethic, or service achievements. I had won the 7-3 Student of the Year, and I was so happy. When I was on top of the stage, I saw the faces of so many people I recognized, and I felt like the Buddha when he first entered nirvana. Throughout this quarter, we have also had many other tasks like a graduation slideshow for the 8th grader's graduation, a Campbell Club and Athletics showcase that occurred, and the passing out of the yearbooks. The final thing to talk about is the Aloha Dinner. This was like a farewell to the 8th graders and it got pretty sad at some points. But the event overall was pretty fun and I even got to give a speech. This quarter was definitely very busy with so many different things going on throughout the whole thing. 

Me in my Lorax Costume

Me and Dylan at a Field Trip (That I totally forgot to mention)

Squad Picture after Winning

Trio Picture from Ice Palace

Me and my Dad at Awards Night

Me Giving the Speech during Aloha Dinner

Your eyes are very heavy and you feel like you're about to pass out, but the old man has finally finished his story. "So, what did you think?" The old man asked. "It was nice, some parts felt pretty long but it was good." You sluggishly said. "Are you gonna ask me any questions?" The old man said, sounding a bit offended. You start to think a bit and then say, "What were the best parts of the story?" "Well, buckle up because I might talk for a bit, and while I'm at it, I will also talk about the worst parts." The old man happily exclaimed. You don't think you are mentally ready for another long story, but you allow the man to speak.

One of the biggest highlights from the year was all of the friends I got to meet and all of my connections I have strengthened. Going into the school year, I had just my strong group of friends and some people that I could sometimes talk to. But this year really introduced me to a lot of new people. I got to see so many interesting faces that have became my really good friends. Then, my relations with that strong group of friends only got stronger. We go on more adventures more and have amazing chemistry. We always talk and I wouldn't be able to survive without them because the amount of energy they bring to me. So thank you Jacob, Riselle, Azalea, Neil, and Ava, for considering me your friend and not letting me rot like I would have. Another highlight from this year was participating in two distinct events. These events were Dance Competition and 7th Grade Class Day. These two events have given me memories that will last a lifetime. I had so much fun during both of these events and I can't express how much I was honored to participate in both. My last highlight, which kind of goes with the first one, is being able to experience a new thing. For a while now, I have kind of been comfortable at the place I was before. But, 'Ilima has forced me to change and honestly, I have changed for the better. I am more confident with myself, I feel like I can express myself more to others, and I have just became a more whole being. So thank you 'Ilima, I couldn't have become the person I am today without you. But now onto the lowlights. All of the lowlights are parts of one big problem. Stress. This year has had so many different points where I have felt stressed. I have gone through countless of times where I have felt anxious or nervous over something which causes me to beat myself up, mentally. If I hadn't had the support system that I have, I would probably not be where I am today. So I want to say thank you to my family. Mom, Dad, Uncle, Auntie, Nana, Pops, and everyone else who has supported me during this crazy year. Without your support and constant care of me, I don't know how I would have survived. I am so happy to have all of you in my life because if I didn't, all of that stress would have overtaken me. So that's the roller coaster from this year. The high highs and the low lows.

Wow! you thought The old man has officially lost is. He coughs for a couple of seconds and then says, "Well that answers your question. Do you understand the lesson from the story?" "Well not really, there was a lot to take in that I couldn't really process what lessons I was supposed to learn." You respond with. "Well I'll tell you what I have learned from during the story and after reflecting on the story." The old man says. You take a deep breath and you prepare yourself for another of the man's talk sessions.

Throughout this year, I have learned a lot from my experiences. One huge thing I learned was on how to become more social and confident. I entered my 7th grade year being very terrified of people and the type of person to keep to themself. But as the year went on, I learned to talk to other people by going through situations in which I needed to communicate with others. I learned public speaking skills from Mr. Ing while also becoming more confident in myself by being around strong people like those in Leadership. I got to learn from their outgoingness which helped me become a more social person which has definitely helped me. Another big thing that I learned was to enjoy the moment. I am the type of person to constantly think about the future. I always think about how my future is going to be like. But I have never really thought about the present. I've let myself not enjoy every second I go through as I am just daydreaming about a fancy future. During this year, I've lost a couple important people in my life. It's made me really understand the importance of time and how I need to enjoy it. So I am going to take that lesson and use it, I will enjoy the moment. Finally, I learned how to change. From changing schools, to changing how I act, from changing how I look, I have learned to change. I give some credit to a book I read called "Who Moved my Cheese?" This is a short book which talks about dealing with change in life and I would say that it really helped me. It made me reflect on how sometimes, I don't change with the times which ultimately hurts me by the end. So, I learned how to embrace change and adapt with it. I'm changing to change with the change. This year has really been an educational one for me as I learned more about myself and how I needed to grow as a person.

"Well, that's it." The old man said. You felt a bit of relief but then he said something which made you start to think hard. "Are you living in the moment?" You had never really thought about that. You have been going on this journey to find your purpose, yet you have been ignoring what is really important. "I hope my stories have helped you understand your purpose." The old man said, grabbing a bottle of red wine. He pours the both of you a glass and then says, "Cheers! Cheers to another day!" You clink glasses and take a shot, thinking about how you are going to change how you are.

THANK YOU!

This year has been very chaotic and I just want to say some nice things about some people.

Jacob Ryan Batoon:

I am acknowledging you first because I am copying your idea. Here's your credit, bozo. Anyway, ever since kindergarten, you have been a huge part of my life. You used to be that academic rival that I needed which I appreciated when I was younger. I know that sometimes we can bump heads, but you are truly a great friend and I appreciate you so much.

Riselle Rihanna Mae Saragena Guillermo:

My social life would be in shambles without you. When we first started Bridge, you were the only person I felt comfortable talking to and you helped me during those first couple of weeks. I remember all of the times we talked on that particular bench and how we made so many great memories. Your goofy energy really shines and you always have something interesting to say. Thank you for being there for me when I was super scared and also thank you for not getting fed up with me only talking to you.

Azalea Togiai, Neil Kenneth Calantoc, and Ava-Jade Ray:

You might not see this, but I just want to say thank you, thank you for all of the times you spent with me. Thank you for having to deal with my nonsense. You guys are amazing friends and life would be boring without you. Azalea, you are definitely one of the most interesting people I have ever meant. You are one of the funniest people I know, even if I don't like to admit that. Neil, you are like the neutral man for us. You balance out all of our chaos, while still bringing your own trickery. I remember the late nights, playing Roblox and just having a blast. Thank you. Ava, you always have a crazy thing to say no matter what the situation. You always bring so much energy to a conversation and I would like to say thank you. Thank you to the three of you for always being there for me.

Dominic Santiano, Reese Padayhag, and Biaanishy Vazquez:

You three have been some of the greatest mentors I could ever have. All three of you have taught me what it means to be a leader. Dominic, your zaniness and creativity is out of this world. You push me to be a better version of myself in your own Dominic ways. I'll like to thank you for all that you have taught me, but I would still beat you in Madden. Reese, you are greatest group leader ever. You always make sure that we understand what we have to do and you always care for us. You have done the most outstanding job at being a leader and I would like to just thank you for that you have done for me. Biaani, you always would do something funny whether it was intentional or not. But you need to stop those starring contests or else I'm filing a restraining order. 

The Rest of 8th Grade Leadership:

All of you have supported me in different ways. From hanging out with me after school, supporting me and helping me learn different things, or calling me an icon, all of your support has helped me become the 7th grader that you talk to everyday. I would like to thank all of you for being great teachers and friends as all you do is support me and help me achieve my goals. I hope I can see you again during High School. 

Mr. Ing:

I will like to say thank you for giving me this opportunity. Joining Leadership has drastically changed my life and I wouldn't be able to do any of the things I have done without you giving me this chance. Leadership has forever changed my life and I can't wait to shine in my 8th grade year.

Mom and Dad:

I could say this in person, but I will like to type this out. I love you so much. I want to say thank you for all of the support you have given me throughout this year. You have gone out of your way to help me no matter the circumstance and I appreciate that greatly. I love you for all of the love that you give to me everyday. I thank you so much for the years of support that you have given me. You have done so much to make me your amazing child, so I want to give love to the amazing parents. Thank you so much for all that you have done for me, and thank you Mom for recommending I join Leadership in the first place.