Happiness is a lot simpler than many people think. For me at least, happiness can be achieved with a couple of key ingredients. This is perhaps the greatest lesson I learned during my senior year -- how to be happy and how to appreciate the little things that make you smile.
Good Friends
Who you spend your time with is obviously important. Through thick and thin, I learned that friends will be there for you to have fun with, to talk to, and to rely on. I learned to trust people and how to be myself around them without being afraid of their judgments or opinions. This year I truly found the people that I love. The best moments from my senior year are moments such as the following; ones that I can look back on and still smile.
1. Farewell Dance - May 30, 2008
A bunch of my friends gathered at Paulina's house for the usual pre-dance girly rituals. Putting on makeup, taking goofy pictures, talking and laughing, the whole shebang. We headed outside to take group photos and decided to hang around outside for a while, since it was still really light out even though the dance had already started. This brightness brought back memories of middle school dances and repulsed us from the idea of going to the dance on time even more. So we came up with the clever idea of setting some cameras up on the fence post and putting them on timer and running around and dancing and jumping until the cameras took our picture ten seconds later. What followed was possibly the most fun half hour possible. Seven girls in brightly colored, customized shirts running around like maniacs, in a dance of pure joy at the thought of the freedom that awaited us in a few short days and the long journey that we had collectively accomplished behind us. These photographs really express the freedom that my friends give me, the chance to release any stress and just have fun without worrying what other people think. Yeah, people might think we’re out of our minds, but so be it.
2. Free-throw Friday - May 23, 2008
After a halfway successful senior ditch day, Kevin, Jason, and I gathered at Tim's house to play with his dog and try to decide on what to do. The boys started playing basketball and having a free-throw competition, and soon I was convinced to join. I hadn't picked up a basketball in years and I was afraid of them thinking that I completely suck at basketball (I do). But I took a shot anyway (literally) and tried a few times, initially failing miserably. But they taught me how to shoot right and soon I was making more baskets than I ever thought possible! A free-throw competition started between me and Tim, and the stakes were upped as it was decided the loser must buy the winner frozen yogurt. The competition was just between me and Tim now, and I was low on cash, concentrating on the basket and hoping for a miracle. I guess I kind of got one -- we tied, and bought each other frozen yogurt. That day taught me a valuable lesson; to trust your friends to not categorize you as some type of person and to let them teach you to move out of your comfort zone. I also learned this lesson from watching Friday the Thirteenth with my friends even though I am deathly afraid of horror movies. The experience was certainly a lot of fun just because of whom I was with, although the aftermath was not quite as enjoyable. Those images will haunt me forever! I couldn't go to sleep feeling safe for quite a while.
3. Night Swim - May 17, 2008
The sky was clear and the water was warm. My friends came over at around 9 PM to swim in the pool at my apartment complex. What was most striking about that night were the stars -- so bright in a sky so deeply blue, they shone as mysteriously and unwaveringly as only stars can, with the moon as their constant, glowing companion. I floated on my back staring at the sky, taking in the night and appreciating the company of my friends. I enjoyed the fact that although we all have our own lives and interests and busy agendas, we can still come together and relate to each other and enjoy our downtime.
Good Food
A dominant part of my senior year was food. Eating really is one of the ways that humans socialize and connect, and this year that was more than noticeable in my day-to-day life. Cars and licenses gave us more freedom to go out for lunch or for an after school snack, and a great deal of thought and time went into deciding where to go. (Photo caption: we tried to squeeze as many people into a booth at In-N-Out as possible. Needless to say, it was a LITTLE painful.)
1. Subway and the Incredible Five Dollar Footlong
There's not much more to say about this topic. Foot-long morsels of delicious toasty bread filled with meat and healthy veggies, topped with the flavoring of our choice and only for five dollars? It was healthy, cheap, AND delicious, a combination we had never encountered before. Subway booted out Chipotle as the top lunchtime fave, and we even made plans to hold an eat-your-height-in-Subway-subs challenge over the summer (maybe after starving ourselves for a couple of days). Every time I start eating a sub now, I can't help but think about the unique way one of my friends eats his.
2. Magnolia's (Midnight) Cupcakes
I found the recipe for Magnolia's Cupcakes late one night while perusing the interweb instead of doing my homework (similar to what I'm doing now). I decided to try the recipe out the next day and bring some to school. In typical Chery fashion, I started baking the cupcakes at around midnight and finished at 2 AM, once again neglecting my studies. But the cupcakes were a hit the next day at school and I baked and decorated a batch a couple of weeks later for my friend's 18th birthday. A week after that I baked and decorated 36 cupcakes for my birthday dinner and I was all cupcaked-out, but my friends were appreciative and knew how much work I had put into those tiny treats. As a result, half of my birthday presents were cooking related: cupcake stand, decorating kit, crème brulee set complete with blow torch and butane (the pyro in me rejoiced), and even a cupcake key cap. I became known as the "crazy cupcake lady," a nickname I'm not too happy with. But these cupcakes were my pride and joy and I'm happy that my friends thought they were delicious.
3. The A______ Baking Club (What the A stands for must remain a mystery!)
The birth of the ABC occurred at the beginning of the school year, when Chris, David, Crystal and I collectively decided to make tiramisu one night. It was a hit, although we did miscalculate the amount of ladyfingers needed and ended up with one empty corner. Throughout the year we met only four times, to make the tiramisu, cinnamon rolls, sugar cookies, and an appropriately named Turgloo (turtle shaped gingerbread igloo...you have to see it to believe it). We had so much fun cooking with each other; such an innocent domestic activity has never been so appealing. Although we did argue about cooking methods we all were able to celebrate the process as well as the product and those times spent in David's fabulously equipped kitchen are unforgettable.
Good Music
The soundtrack of my senior year consisted of a diverse bunch of songs, all with great beats and sometimes questionable lyrics (ie Lollipop by Lil Wayne?!). We listened to music and sang along while driving around, played music, danced to it, and even made it. Certain songs and artists will forever stay in my mind as a reminder of all the good memories of senior year.
1. The Music, Magic, Make-Peace Tour
Jason Mraz came to the Fillmore in San Francisco on April 5th. The concert was amazing. Four of my closest friends and I attended and stood in the crowded venue, only around 15 feet away from Jason Mraz. He immortalized himself as an artist and really showcased his talent, which was an inspiration. I stood in awe in the crowd, not taking my eyes off him and barely remembering to breathe. It's not just that he is an amazing guitar player and a person so filled with life, but his way with words and his lyrics really got to me. I always admire people who have a firm grasp of language and can easily express themselves in ways you wouldn't expect, and Jason Mraz is the epitome of this. For weeks after the concert, Jason Mraz was all we would listen to and all we would sing.
2. The Music Thread
If you open my gmail account, you'll find a thread labeled "the new music email." This is maybe the fourth "new" email filled with music that my friends and I find and share (illegally, of course, please don't tell on us). Each message sent has an attachment, whether it be an old song remixed and redone by Kanye West or an unreleased and unknown song that only the most hardcore internet scourers know how to access. All these songs are downloaded and uploaded onto iPods and then blasted in car stereo systems. Amazingly, they are heard on the radio weeks afterward, and we can all look at each other with smug expressions and know that we heard them first. Music really is the language that everyone understands, and it has becoming a (if not THE) defining factor of the relationship between me and some of my closest friends.
3. Vitamin C
At Senior Gala, Dumplings and Samosas performed their rendition of the infamously cheesy yet heart-tugging song titled "Graduation". Let me first give you a backup: the four guys that make up DNS are four of my closest friends, maybe the funniest guys on the planet, and people I spent a LOT of time with the past year. I didn't realize just how much I valued their presences in my life until that evening when I was sitting, watching them play and listening to them sing those sad words. I sat with my friends and we were all singing along until suddenly something weird started to happen. I couldn't sing...my throat was all choked up. And what was this? My vision was getting blurry! Cheesy as it is, I was tearing up and soon I was full-on weeping. The chorus especially got me, and the way they interpreted the lyrics and performed in a manner that is so typical of them. I've gotten to know them so well and I realized then how much I'm going to miss sitting in on their jam sessions and listening to them practice (which is rare) or just goof around (which is more often than sometimes appropriate).
Good Conversations
Like I mentioned before, I have a great appreciation of words and the emotions they convey. Good conversations can make my day and I'll feel this relief and happiness after really letting loose and talking talking talking about anything and everything. I talk with the people I really trust, because it can be hard for me to open up about what I'm really going through. I'm so glad to have found people who I can talk to about anything, and there are a few really memorable conversations that I'll never forget.
1. Jogging our Minds
Kevin, Crystal and I made our way into the gym at my apartment complex one night after I was done with work. Sitting among the various exercise machines, we talked about trust and friends and a lot of different opinions came out. We argued, discussed, tried to convince each other that our ideologies were most reasonable. Tears were shed, but that conversation was really heart stirring for me. That conversation will forever stay with me and I still refer back to what was said occasionally. That night is sacred to me, and even when I go jogging on the treadmill in that gym I can still see us all sitting there talking. Thinking so highly of our opinions and believing that we know it all, ready to take on the world and stand beside our beliefs. I don't think I'll ever have another conversation like that.
2. The Hill Behind Ben's House
Following behind Tomasz and his flashlight, Kathy, Ben and I made our way up a rather unknown hill at around 2 in the morning. It was a little bit creepy, there were no other people around and the trail was more of a deer trail than a human one. Nevertheless we followed it as bravely as we could and we soon reached an area we deemed appropriate for our sleeping ground. Laying down the tarp, I looked up and caught the beautiful view of the valley shining up at us, and I felt like we were there on top of the world together. We were all tired but we talked anyway because that's what we do. There's an amazing amount of trust within this group of four, it really amazes me. I woke up next to them (alive and unharmed by coyotes thankfully) and I lay there looking up at the rather dismal sky with the sunniest of thoughts running through my mind. I'm so glad I found this group of people to talk to, and I really can't find the words to describe how these guys make me feel, especially at this late hour. It's 2:30 AM. And that late night on the random hill proved just how inarticulate we all are in the wee hours of the morn.
3. Memorial Park's Memorial
Crystal and I don't drive. Which is a little bit embarrassing and a big bit crippling, as we must always be arranging rides for ourselves. Sometimes we walk home together, and when we walk home and don't want to go home we go to Memorial Park and talk. We sit on the low wall by the memorial and we talk like the two girls we are, full of hopes and fears and uncertainties about the future. These talks made me feel less alone and less uncertain, and even excited for the future because of the tentative plans we made (apartment in NYC, own a bakery, basically live the life of the characters on FRIENDS).
Conversations as a whole...there's not really a lot to say about them but they are quite possibly my favorite thing in the world. I love the click and especially the surprise you get when you realize you're not alone in your feelings or thoughts. I love reaching out and crossing the barriers and just letting the conversations flow, no holds barred, and I think the best conversations never really leave you the same.
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Ironically enough, this write made me sad. How amazing that all of these moments are just figments of the past, lost to time and maybe even forgotten in another couple of years. What I can rejoice in are the many lessons I learned from these experiences and the people I got to know, the good times that will be with me whether I remember them or not.
This is much longer than I had originally planned.
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