Is this really happening???

I mean, really? I am really getting old or have high school graduations become the BIGGEST waste of time to attend for the simple fact that, well, it's a waste of an hour. Do I sound like a cold hearted bitch who should remember that I once graduated from high school? Well, 1- I've mentioned my graduation before (reader's digest version but you get the picture) and 2- see if you won't agree me with after my latest experience:


So we went to AB's and our other cousin's graduation Thursday night (they went to the same school so at least we go to kill 2 birds with 1 stone!). I was actually really excited to go, being that I was just in awe that AB was graduating. Not that I didn't think he would! It was more of the fact that I remember his mom showing us her belly when she was pregnant with him and especially, when we had the baby shower for my aunt, the house we were at had a Nintendo and I passed the whole game of Super Mario Bros. (the OG) without losing a life!!! That's hardcore for an 8 year old! I've told AB that story so many times that he now makes fun of me....


Anyways, back to the graduation! It was at 8 at night (BIG + in my book), they had the choir sing like 2 or so songs that were very nice and pretty (a + plus again) and then the ended the whole graduation with fireworks. At first I was like, "Chees-zay!" but right when I was going to say, "Why are we watching these lame ass....", the fireworks got pretty good! Like there were 1/4 of the size of Disneyland's night show! That's impressive in my book.....


And you know what??? THOSE WERE THE ONLY HIGHLIGHTS!!!!!!! Everything else, SUCKED! We couldn't even heard ANYONE'S names, let alone see them, the sound system was absolute shit, there was WAY too much noise, ala "let's bring horns, pots, PA systems, and whatever else we can use to annoy others around us". I even yelled at someone cuz she didn't bring anything to make noise so she made her own by shrieking as if she was in a horror movie about to be chopped into very fine pieces and ready to be thrown in a wood chipper! She was sitting behind us, RIGHT behind my father and he was already irritated about being there and then this stupid hunk of meat did that. I turned around and said, "REALLY!? Did you REALLY have to do THAT!!!?!?" and her response was that her brother just graduated. I then said, "I don't care if your whole family is up there, that was rude and stupid! Who do you think you are??? You just screamed into my father's ear, let alone who knows who's names others missed because of that! You idiot!" All my family was telling me to shut up, especially LBS cuz she thought I was going to get "shanked"!

I always thought that my graduation was SUPER lame cuz we couldn't cheer or clap when someone's name was called. Now I kinda see why.... BTW- I'm still going on record that my graduation still sucked, just not as bad as this one! From having to wear all white (full & half slip under the gown!), walking in as if we were going to get married (seriously, 175 walking in like that tooks about 30-40 mins, no lie!), not being able to wear sunglasses at 8 in the morning and looking/facing right into the sun, to the infamous speech of "anyone who cheers will be escorted out" and then repeating, "we will call security on you if you continue to cheer" (cheering being a "yay" or clapping, not bullhorns or pots & pans!), mine SUCKED!!! It was not an enjoyable day, let alone not even an emotional day! I was a fucking mess for my 8th grade graduation and all I wanted was to leave my high school graduation and go back to bed!!!


So while I sat in torture, I thought about the 3 best high school graduations I had ever gone to:

Starting at #3- Vista High School, C/O 1999 (San Diego County)

It was not only PH's high school graduation but also my "Will's"..... Yeah there were the bullhorns and what not but you could still hear EVERYONE'S name. I also sat with a great bunch of people that I had become friends with. Afterwards, I was looking for PH but ended up with all of "Will's" friends and some family. I had a blast taking tons of pictures and actually celebrating my friend's accomplishments. It was a really great time.



#2- El Modena High School, C/O 2000 (Orange County)


So this was actually a very bittersweet graduation for me. This was actually suppose to be my graduation. See, I went to public school from K-6 then my folks had me go to a catholic school for 7th & 8th. I said, "Fine but I'm still going to Elmo." They said I could yet when it came time to apply and take tests for the private schools, my folks urged me to take them, you know, "just to see how I would do and see if I could pass the test". Well, since I did, they basically said that I needed to go! I fought. I fought HARD!!! I had ALWAYS imagined, since I was in kindergarten, that I was going to be president of the school, play softball for Elmo (I even met the coach!), do drama and just have a good time with all my friends! Nope. Didn't work out that way. I will say that my mom did try really hard to get my dad to let me go yet he had always wanted his girls to go to an all girl's school to get this "best education around" (BTW- El Modena- One of the BEST public high schools in SoCalifornia, let alone maybe the STATE!). Now, if the high school I went to were to burn down, my father would be the first to piss on the ashes!


Anyways, back to the graduation-- One of my very good and dear friends from Prospect (the elementary school I went to) invited me since you needed a ticket. As I sat there in the bleachers, I was so happy and proud of all my friends that I saw but I just couldn't help think that I should have been walking with them. It was truly an enjoyable time. Everyone was so happy and excited and truly worked their asses off! I saw some of my friends who didn't have the best up bringing, their first language being Spanish and would have a difficult time with school work actually graduate and when they saw me, they gave me hugs and asked how I was. One guy in particular had the up bringing of living in a REALLY bad neighborhood with the worst gangs in Orange County (some of his really good friends and family members were part of them!) and there he was graduating. I went up to him and gave him the biggest hug and told him how proud I was of him since I didn't see any of his other friends graduate with him.... All and all, it was basically a perfect graduation, with just the lil exception that I should have been with them graduating....



And #1, by FAR:


Trabuco Hills High School, C/O 2007:

Wow. That's all I should just say but of course I can't! This was a MINDBLOWING graduation! See, this was a graduation for my friend yet I was closer to her brother, who at the time, was my best friend (Since September, we went on our separate ways due to the fact he thinks with his dick than with his head/heart.... AKA- chose the stupid bitch he was going out with over me to hang out with, who, since god knows when, they broke up! Anyways....)


So at first, I was kinda worried since I had never met their folks. I knew that the parents were on the verge of getting a divorce and I didn't know how they would be since I was basically sitting by myself with them for awhile, waiting for my best friend to arrive! Well, the mom and I got along RIGHT from the start! She's a great lady! Even though it was a late afternoon/early evening graduation, we had very good seats that were NOT facing the sun, while we waited for the actual graduation to start, they had some of the students tape record messages of thanks to their parents and shared memories of school, the whole "everyone walking in" process was REALLY fast, PERFECT sound system (some feedback yet really, compared to all the ones I had attended, this was like a rock concert sound system!), not only heard everyone's names but heard the speeches and the inspirational stories of some of the students-

Examples- one was a student from Bosnia, who at first, didn't know the English language very well and was now going to Stanford on a Scholarship, 2 students had cancer and won the battle and were there graduating, and there were about 20-ish students with full on athletic scholarships to some big time colleges! Seriously, impressive!

Oh and these kids were SO creative and had spunk while giving their speeches, just amazing! If EVERY graduation was like that, they would probably be more tolerable! I think the best thing high schools should do to stop from every "Joeblow" person from attending would be having a set amount of tickets! Except for the Vista graduation, the other 2 graduations and mine had tickets. So if any of you work for a high school and have the same problems at your graduations as them being HORRENDOUS, try the ticket thing....

I'll end this with what I did at LBS's graduation. I was still very pissed about my graduation so when I had to attend hers at the same high school I went to, when they called her name, I was basically right there with all the teachers taking pictures of her getting her diploma. Right when they called her name, I yelled her nickname as loud as I could to the point everyone turned around and looked at me! Yeah sure, call me a hypocrite for yelling at LBS's graduation yet I got mad at the girl behind us but ya know what??? I felt I had EVERY right to do that and I was giving the infamous "Fuck You!" to the damn school I went to and damn it, it felt great! All LBS did was turned and waved....

It was pretty woot.... =)