Week: 42
Songs to Remember: Drip Drop - Taemin, Fly- GOT7, Champagne - TVXQ, Fantasy Girl - CANDO, BEST OF 2015- K-POP MEGA MASH-UP - SHIMMIXES, Allday Allnight - Jakop(야콥), Raina(레이나), ￦uNo(우노), DAYDAY(데이데이), Yey - Beast, Calling Me - Sam (쌤), Cinderella - CNBlue, Oh Yeah - GD&TOP, Moonlight Sonata - Bigstar, Overcome - Nu'est, Lollipop - IMFACT, Touch - A.cian, Knock - KNK, Unfair - EXO, So Mack - VASCO (바스코), Shall We Dance - SNUPER(스누퍼), Sorry - Justin Bieber, The Pawprint - The White Panda, The Seventh Sense - NCT U, Halogen - Neon Indian, Dynamite - VIXX, Be Right There (Boombox Cartel Remix) - Diplo & Sleepy Tom, Cake By the Ocean - DNCE, Fresh (새로워) - Phenomenon (페노메논), Press Your Number - Taemin, Solo - Jay Park, A Year Like A Day (하루 같은 일년) - 2LSON, All In - Monsta X
After 2 series, 3 if you include this one, it doesn't feel like the ending. It doesn't feel like it ended. Probably because this time, it was different.
Big difference. So how did it all go down? Well, did the same old routine I do every morning. The walk to class was still the same as every morning, except this time I walked to my 5th period instead of my 1st period. Seats were the same, until the teacher moved us around, including me, into our "test-taking" spots. Didn't worry much for History, I had my study-sheet and my pencil, ready to write whatever. What was weird was that, how I remember it, it went by pretty quick those 2 hours.
It was just 40 multiple choice, 30 labeling questions based on the map of the U.S (I'm still not very good at Geography. In fact, if it weren't for me remembering Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros' "Home," I probably would've forgotten about Alabama and Arkansas), 10 fill-in-the-term questions, 9 short-answer questions, and an optional extra credit matching thing, for which I didn't have much time to do. Went by real quick. I did say a good-bye to the teacher, for whom I know will still be here, teaching at school, so I didn't worry too much about not seeing him again.
It was break and I walked to my locker to take my lock off my locker. I opened and closed it twice to make sure it was actually empty, heh. It was. I'm not actually sure where it is right now, I think it's in my backpack or something. I then walked to the spot I usually go to during break, but, nobody was there. I suddenly ran into Jk who was going to return his History book. Him and I went to the book-room in the back of the F-building, right next to my History teacher's classroom. We stumbled upon Ek who was with her friend or something. We went with her to her locker and Lw came on by. Bell rang, it was time for the last period of the day.
Which, fortunately, I don't have to do shit because I already did the final, which was a group project. So, we sat and watched "Mulan," dubbed in Chinese, for the whole period. We didn't get to finish it though 'cause we spent some of the time returning our textbooks. Speaking of textbooks, on Schoolloop it says that I have "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail" still checked out and un-returned. In fact, several others who were in my English class got that same notification too. Thankfully it's only $10, so, we can either spam the shit out of the librarian in saying that we turned it in, or, just pay it. Unlike my math textbook last year, which was like, $70. Fucking A.
So anyways, that was the entire period. People were fucking around, I was borrowing the dude behind me's yearbook, I got a couple of my group members added on Snapchat, and, news that the teacher will be teaching only Chinese 3 next year. It may seem bad for some, like those who hate her or get constantly picked on by her, like, the freshman behind me, heh, but for me, it's fucking good 'cause there's so much bulk work. So much, that if you fail all the tests, you can still pass with a B due to the amount of bulk work covering it all. Take it from me, who has barely any experience in Chinese, barely gets by on the vocab quizzes and tests, and still able to make away with an A, just because of the bulk work.
My group members provided me with nice company, even though they're sophomores, even though, we never really talked to each other outside of Chinese class. 12:20 PM hit and the next thing you know, I'M OUTTA THERE BOYS. Not really, I wanted to go for a walk around the school before I left. I did it freshman year I think, I definitely did it last year, I'll continue to do it next year too. I walked with my boy Jk 'till we stumbled upon Ag, who, yeah, always takes this route home. We were just, talking, and we somehow scheduled a meet at the mall after-school, heh. Am came too, and we took a picture together. We did message the chat but Ek didn't respond and DrewN was busy. It was set to 6:00 PM since I had a KDT celebration to go to, like right after school.
I walked with Jk to his car, I walked to around a bit. There wasn't really anybody I knew, besides Ct and Ad who I met on my walk. I told Ad he should come to the KDT celebration thing, from 1 to 5. He told me he'd try to go, but sadly he wasn't able to. It's alright though, at least I got to see him once more before he graduates, TOMORROW. Yeah I don't know if I can even make it to the graduation considering it is so early in the morning. Like, the live-stream of it starts at 10:00 AM or something. Also, there's like no grad tickets, so, you can only go into the bleachers area after they announce all the names and shit. Otherwise, you can watch the live-stream of it at home, or, watch a live-stream of it in the theater at school. Mmmm, nice, you can watch your kid graduate on a screen, rather than the real thing that's happening a few kilometers away.
I blame the small amount of seating available. Anyways, uhhh, I also met Jd and Jc, both of which are in KDT. Aaand that was it school-wise. I didn't get the chance to see Yn again, but, at least she ain't going away to like, Arkansas or anything I like that. In fact, she's going to SJSU, which is uh, basically what I'm planning to go to, unfortunately. Uhhh, what is fortunate though, is that, you guessed it. Okay well maybe not, I'd still have doubted myself. A person from my English class messaged the group chat and announced that the teacher published the grades. I quickly went onto Schoolloop, logged in, and took a good-ass look at my grades. The moment I saw that 71.24%, oh boy. Heh, not close at all, right? It was actually not as close as I thought, but, still, more closer than I would've liked. I looked at how I did and damn, did I do good. Whether the teacher was rushing to grade shit or didn't look over our responses as thoroughly as he usually does, I still ended up with a 78% for the test (after edits) and an 80% for the free-responses.
I also got one of my assignments credited for extra credit, as well as getting an apparent 100% for the latest participation log, my only 100% for participation logs, heh. You could definitely say he was being generous. Umm, either, because we gave him a baseball mitt with quotes on it like in Catcher, or, he didn't want to fail some of us, I don't give a shit. I got that 71.24%, I earned it, I worked hard for it, I, I read a fucking book for it, heh, entirely, no audio-books. That right there was an achievement in itself. So yeah, thankfully, I don't have to do summer-school. Getting back to more social stuff, I came home to eat, got ready, ready for the, essentially the highlight of the series finale.
I had on my KDT shirt, my black denim jeans, and my backpack, with, a tablet as an extra battery for charging and these 2 cups of candy from France. I arrived at around 1:30 PM, maybe a bit later than that. Didn't matter, people were just eating and like, I just had lunch prior to coming. I saw that the gifts for the seniors were already handed out. Everybody was just talking, eating. There were those sitting on the picnic blanket, those sitting on the brick wall, err, what is it called? It's not really a fence, it's like, surrounding. Stone, err, seats. Okay. People were basically in their own groups. People were just starting to show up as well. Some, unfortunately had to either leave early, or were not able to come at all.
It wasn't until 2:45 PM (I went and looked and apparently "eating" was on the schedule. Did not see that) that we started the more, detailed stuff. It came to the KDT Awards. Apparently the "KDT Senior Awards" like how Senior Awards nights work at school, but this time, it's for KDT members only. And, not just the seniors. The KDT president posted an example before, so I kinda knew how it would go. There'a PowerPoint with slides showing 3 nominees (or less, or more) and then the slide after it is the person/group who won the nomination. It was fun, definitely. There were A LOT of awards handed out. Categories included "Meme master," or, "Hidden Freak," heh, or "Most improved Junior," and stuff like that. Not everybody got got an award, but the president explained that it was just for fun, in which, yeah, you're supposed to take it as just fun. I mean, for fuck's sake, there's a "Miley Cyrus" category, for the one who has the flattest ass. And yes, I did win that one, heh.
That lasted approximately to 3:30 PM (according to the schedule). Up next was probably the hardest part of it all: speeches. Almost everybody went, only if you had wanted to, or, if you were a senior, then you had to, heh. Some prepared theirs, some did not. They started off with Kh's speech, in, he gave a nice, thoughtful speech on how it's been a pretty fun experience. Then it started getting a bit deeper, after the comedy which was Th's speech of course. He didn't want to be too sincere since it'll be too depressing, and so, he preferred comedy over seriousness. In which, yeah he pulled up his pants, all the way, including the pant legs. And then, it got deep. Mi spoke and she told us about how we made her feel accepted, how we were able to build up her confidence.
And yes, she cried. People cried. It kept on getting deeper and deeper. There's so many speeches I can't even remember. Even the "new" cabinet spoke, including me. I didn't prepare a speech or anything, so I just went with what was on my mind. Took me a while, but I think I got what I wanted to say. Es, the KDT co-president presented me with a box. I wasn't expecting it at all actually. What was it? Well since I'm the new KDT secretary, I had to manage the club's finances. This was the the actual KDT fund, and I had it, in my hands. If you ever wanted to feel like you had some responsibility, try holding the entire club's funds over the course of YEARS, in a box, in your hands. Jesus, was that something. Mh and Jb then spoke too, and Jb, I could feel her. You could feel the realization emanating from her as she talked. She joined freshman year, stayed in it 'till now. And now, the people who accepted her in are leaving, leaving it up to her to continue leading.
Then it was finally the cabinet's speeches. The vice-president, Cy, spoke. She said a lot, more than I can remember, so, sorry. Uhh, it was Es, the co-president's turn, and she told us about the really early days of KDT, when it was first formed. She told the backstory of her and Dn, the president, when they danced to K-Pop back in 7th grade. They weren't actually the ones who started it, but they assumed the leadership roles to lead it into this position, and that's something. She even explained how during her sophomore year, she had the realization that "Oh shit, I'm leading a fucking club and I'm only a sophomore." What an amazing feat. And then there was the KDT president, Dn. She, she basically told us how much we grew, that the early beginnings of KDT were rough, and discouraging. Like, they were getting rejected by organizations to perform, even Key Club. From that, coming to now where we're so well-known that we actually have to CANCEL and reject performance invitations from organizations because we're so booked.
It's incredible the amount of leadership required to turn something that seems laughable to something that's populated with over 30+ members, and receiving invitations to shit like the pride rally, where just a few years ago, KDT was known as nothing. She even said that she considered handing the position of president over to somebody else due to the pressure, rejection, and put-downs. But guess what? She didn't. And if it weren't for her, KDT wouldn't be where it was at right now. It's crazy to think about, but I'm glad it happened. She directed parts of the ends of her speech to us, the new cabinet. For Ln, she told her that even though vice-president is a big role for someone heading into their sophomore year, she believes she can handle it. To Jb, she saw her mature from the very beginning and believes that she will finish what she started (that's not really what she said but you get what I mean. That Star Wars quote fits really well though, heh). And to me, I was told: "To Andrew, don't get KDT banned, heh."
The tears didn't stop there though. A member came late, err, she had to leave for a while and came back. She was a senior and got to make her speech. Well, hers was the deepest out of everybody's. She said that KDT was the thing that made her keep on living. One year before, she was contemplating suicide. But she didn't, and she has come so far due to us. We treat her as a family, we don't judge, and it feels as if she belongs. Her speech right there, showed how powerful the influence of something as simple as a dancing club can be. It's hard to fathom, but, it's really something to think about. KDT saved a life. It's crazy.
Moving on from the sadness, it was a time to just have fun. And that right there, reminded me of what Cy had actually said. She said that, for the club, perfection ain't everything, it's not the key component. The key component is having fun, and if people have fun, that is what leads them to success. And so, 4:15 PM, next up was the KDT showcase, where we got do dance, to whatever we wanted to. They started off with like, a silly performance (apparently, heh) by Th, Eh, Jb, and Es. They did like, their own mix. Th didn't practice so, he just did whatever, heh. The showcase wasn't done in order, apparently, because I got chose to go next. And yeah, I worried for nothing. There was no reason to practice because for fuck's sake, I watched Taemin's "Drip Drop" hundreds of times, probably. Listened to it hundreds of times, I got it.
And I did. The president said "Whenever you're ready." I wanted to say "I'm never ready" and just stay up there forever, but I decided to go for it, let the music guide me. And yes, people did cheer and Snapchat it. A LOT. Like, Dn's story on Snapchat right now has like, five 10-second clips of me doing my dance. I guess people weren't expecting it. I like it though, it keeps shit interesting. I did mess up here and there, partly because of the slippery sand, partly because I didn't put in the changes to the dance, but overall, hell, everybody liked it. That was not the only surprise though. Others did their performances, like, Ln, Bp, Rh, and Mt doing their cover of NCTU's "The Seventh Sense." Ln definitely showed off what she can do with that solo. Jd, doing a solo of BgA's "Dong Saya Dae" was really, really surprising, heh. She was, it was a "Holy shit" moment. She went hard in a part of it, like, damn. I guess that's what they thought of mine as well. I didn't expect it and well, damn, heh.
People don't understand how I can keep a straight face when doing these dances. My answer is that my face, my normal face, is just a mug, heh. It requires no effort at all most of the time to keep this face, so, that's it. Umm, there were other performances, yeah, including me, Dn, Mt, Ln, and Bp's cover of COOL's "Let Me Sarang You" which was, pretty nasty, but, it was fun, heh. That was the whole point of thing, it was, to just dance, for the fun of it. And I did have fun showing what I could do if I put effort into shit.
So, as we rounded off the last few performances, people signed yearbooks, the seniors opened their presents which included pictures of them making nasty-ass faces, Pocky, hand-made stuff, and a jar full of hand-written letters from us, the underclass-men. I tried to stay for as long as possible, but people were moving out (aka, dispersing, aka, to get milk tea), and it was like, 6:00 PM so I had to get home, eat dinner, and get ready to go to the mall with some of the cast members. It was time to say good-bye, for now, hopefully not forever, heh. And then, I departed. Went home, went to the mall, it was only Jk and Ag there with me but hey, it was a nice little end to what I would call, a very successful and meaningful series finale.
Highest ratings so far actually. Reviews have came in, stating that it featured "not only comedy, but the drama that wiggles through it all." People are asking for the names of the people features, and unfortunately, I can't write about EVERY single person. Just, not possible. I will, however, list those prominent to the series' success. Starting with, the teachers for the year. It was Ms.Byler, whom I had for AP Psychology. Like I have said before, she helps out in anyway she can, she's consistent in her teaching, her teaching strategies are justified, except maybe one or two end-of-year projects, and she definitely favors group work. Would I have her again? Sure, but, it's not possible. My Honors English teacher, Mr.Maples. He's new here at this school. I know this because in the yearbook I got freshman year, he ain't in it, and he taught last year, so.
I didn't really feel comfortable with him at first. Umm, judging by the way he grades, he has a lot of high expectations. He tells us of a student he once had where the student rewrote an essay 8 times before he was able to be God, pass the class, and move on to become a journalist for the New York Times, writing about how his English teacher, Mr.Maples, helped him achieve it. It's nice, but, I don't think anybody in the class is gonna want to go into journalism, after what he put us through. His teaching methods are pretty inconsistent. He lies, a lot, I have evidence to prove it. Would I have him as a teacher again? Yeahhh, no thanks, heh. But, hey, he's got a nice personality. He's into Indie stuff, writes songs, and shows enthusiasm for little tidbits and stuff. He also very, very strongly resembles Rhett from Rhett & Link. Can't look at Rhett the same way ever again.
My Biology teacher, Ms.Brizuela. Jesus. Umm, her first year teaching AP Biology. Did not go so well. Got stressed out over students "cheating" one time. Is a busy mother with 3 kids. Her teaching style is a "self-study" method, with a side of "come to me for help." Not really what I'm comfortable with, and, even though she basically helped me dig my own D+ grave, I gotta give it to her for one thing: she's... her. Yeah, I'm sorry, it seemed good in the 1st semester, things just got shitty in the 2nd semester due to changes and that stupid, take-notes-and-she-grades-you-on-how-well-you-take-notes assignments.I wouldn't want to have her again, but, fortunately for me, she's taking a "break" from teaching for a while. So, she'll have more time to take care of her kids.
My math teacher, the same one from last year, Ms.Tseng, the Tseng-inator. My thoughts still haven't changed of her. She's consistent, she pushes you, and she can teach. Definitely. I never thought I would say this, but I'll miss having her as my math teacher. I'm not sure if I'll be comfortable/ able to adapt to the teaching style of a new math teacher. And as sad as it is tosay this, but yeah, I wouldn't mind having her again, heh. In before I regret saying this shit and she ends up teaching AP Calculus, and ups the ante, heh. Umm, Mr.Anderson, he was my U.S History teacher. Also taught me Geography. He definitely kept to his antics just like when he taught me Geography. His teaching methods consist of more, visual stuff. Like, videos, movies, and of course, drawing and coloring. I don't mind though, because it's either bulk work, or, hey, it's different.
He also adds twists to stuff, and even incorporates some more, real-life stuff to the material. It's a shame he doesn't teach Government or Economy class, because I sure would love for him to be my History teacher again. He's always positive, playful, and as long as you work hard, you're good in his book. I'm gonna miss his bald head, heh, his most defining factor. Actually, I think for his birthday, if I even remember to, I'll give him that Teddy Roosevelt button in December. That'll be nice. And finally, Ms.Kang, my Chinese teacher, who has taught me Chinese 1 to Chinese 2, and soon to be, 99% confirmed, my Chinese 3 teacher. Hey, some hate her, some like her, I'm more of an in-between person. She's consistent, sometimes. Her teaching methods incorporate a lot of hands-on stuff, rather than reading. Also, technology. A lot of it. As long as you do well, you try, to joke sometimes to keep shit interesting, hey, she'll like you. I haven't had any other foreign language teacher besides her so I can't really say, but, Yeah.
And now it's time for the cast. And Jesus. Not him, specifically, but like, it's 12:06 AM and I started writing this at like, 9:30 PM. I guess we're explaining everything huh? Well alright. It's just one series finale a year, so. Uhhh, the cast. The one that appears everyday. Starting, with Ek. She introduced me to Ag. Umm, we then hung out with Jk and Jv at the library at the MathEasy tutoring. Prior to this, there was barely any social hangouts. At all. I was invited to play Badminton, and I guess that was the start to it all. I ran into them in the first day of school, and they took me in. Jk, Ag, Jv, Ek, despite her treacherous ways, I wasn't left by myself. Complications do happen, yeah, but, we still communicate with each other in some way. And still, that lasted even until today.
DrewN was picked up a bit later. I knew him. I never really talked to him 'till, this year. He knew me too, I think 'cause we both share the same name, heh. He sat like, behind, behind me in Geometry class in freshman year. This year, he was in my English class and math class. I don't remember how he got merged in, I wrote it in a post somewhere, but I'm too lazy to find it. I'm glad he got to be part of the cast though, otherwise, I'd have only Jk to enjoy my memes, heh. Moving onto my buddies, the ones who I have added on Discord, having moved from our Skype group. We still talk to each other. Me, Ec, Et, Mc, Dv, and some of Mc's friends once in a while. We're still hitching on the dream that we'll be go ham in our Senior year, once we have our driver's licenses and how we essentially just gotta survive.
My cousin, who I Skyped with almost every weekend. We've had fun times during breaks for when we went on down to our grandmother's house, like for Christmas break. We share the same interests, and we still do. He's going away to college, but, I'm sure that won't stop him from being connected to me. Aka, Skype. Uhh, the chronicles over the course of the series. You know. Lt and Yn. With Lt, man, the beginning was something unreal. I'm real proud of myself for it actually. Unfortunately, there were complications I did not want to deal with with Lt, like how she had only 3 classes in a school day, she's gonna be taking all the hard classes next year (I mean, she took Calculus AB but, you get what I mean. She'll be doing AP Physics and shit), her opinions are largely different from mines, and her views on shit is just, something I didn't wanna deal with. I think the most compelling thing was when she talked about how she wanted to commit suicide and stuff. I knew she didn't mean it, but, it was weird how she conversed only with me about it. It was definitely something. It was a good try though.
Yn. She's graduating, but, not exactly moving far away, I got nothing to worry about. The prom thing, oh my goodness. I'm not mad, I'm not sad, I'm, glad, heh. If she went with me or not, it would've been a different experience each time and it wouldn't matter to me. As long as excitement keeps being put up, I'm all for it. Uh, I think that's- oh what the fuck, didn't get to talk about the KDT members. So. To put things to perspective, each one didn't judge me. No matter if I messed up in a dance, no matter if anything, only because I can't think of anything right now, I was still in KDT. I could go on and on about the origins of joining. I could re-write my whole speech right here. But, I ain't gonna, because the real description is in a post somewhere, and this is just reflection on everything as whole. That, and, it's 12:30 AM, and after a day like this, I'd love to go to sleep, heh.
I'm grateful, to everybody. Even though I can't express it in words, my attitude and actions should speak for it. Speaking of actions, this year is by far, without a doubt, the most social I've been. From performances, to game nights, I've gone out more than, than, I don't know another example. But you get what I mean. All this school, all this laying at home and playing video games and watching videos. It's good, but there needs to be break, and these social events are the perfect fit. So yeah. Also the winning song for end theme is Taemin's "Drip Drop," simply for the fact that I've listened to that too many FUCKING times. I've had it in my head the whole day, holy shit. I'm tired of it, I'M DONE.
One last thing before I end the series. The days of this year, they were long, and mostly cold. Each passing day, I felt as if each were the same as the last. However, when there's a performance during the weekend of a scheduled game night, it breaks that chain of monotonous action. They're so fun that the moment passes by so quickly. They also make up for the bad days, as if they overshadowed them.
So what I'm trying to say is, the bad days are long. Be sure to make the good days last longer. These were The Days. See ya.
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