Oh. My. God. I'm a Nueva graduate. Where in the world has time gone? Seriously, it feels like it was just a day ago that I was writing that entry before leaving for Japan, and just the day before that I was going over the 7th grade drama culmination. It has been way to long since I updated, especially since there has been so much going on recently, I should be writing about it. Maybe that's why I haven't written anything though, because there is so much going on. Or maybe it's because I can't update as fast as new things are happening. Like at the end of May, I started writing about the Japan trip, but I never finished it. Or maybe it's just because I am the worlds worst procrastinator. Yes, yes that is the reason. I am a terrible journal keeper. I am such a bad procrastinator, really I am. Journals are so much better if they are written in the moment, yet I can never get myself to do it. I put it off and off, and by the time I sit down to write anything, I have a months worth of events to write about. Such is the reason that my entries are so damn long. So now I am forcing myself to get down as much as I can before my Xanga completely slips into oblivion, and I leave for my many summer adventures...
Which leads me to my next topic... summer. How is it summer already? How can it be? People usually can't wait for summer, but once it is here, it comes and goes so quickly we aren't ready for what's next. I have a really short summer this year, because all San Mateo District public high schools start really early next year, August 16th. And ah, public high school. I never really covered this in my Xanga, but I was choosing between Crystal Springs, a small private high school in Hillsborough, and BHS. I choose BHS. I think I would have done fine at Crystal and it would have been fun and fine and all that, but I decided not to take the safe path. I've already got the small private school experience, and I think it will be good for me to go back into the public school life. Some people may say Nueva isn't 'real life', but it is, it's just a different kind of real life. There are some times in life where you might be dealing with a group of very accepting people, and there are times when you will be faced with confrontations. I have a very outspoken personality, so I want to learn how to deal with those while I still am young and have family around to support me. But back to summer, tommorow I am leaving for the Lair of the Bear, or Cal Family Camp (note the colors), and I will be gone for a week. The Lair is so much fun, there is so much to do, like activities and tournaments. This will be my 7th year in a row going. After that, we'll come back and right away do laundry and pack again to leave for Lake Tahoe for my grandma's 75th birthday. I'll be there for about 1 1/2 weeks, then I think I'll have a few days at home. After that, I go to Nike Tennis Camp at Stanford for a week, I come home, have two days, then I go to Mountain Camp for 2 weeks. Then I come home, and have about 2 weeks before school starts. I have two different overnight camps by myself this year, so hopefully that will prepare me some more for meeting new people in high school, since John will most likely ditch me.
Like I said, I started writing about Japan, but I never finished. I figured I'll just take a piece of what I wrote and stick it in here, because that was a big part of the last few months. It really was a great experience:
Going into the trip, I was worried about my homestay week and excited for the travelling after that, but I ended up having 10 times as much fun during the homestay than I did when we travelled. I loved my homestay Yosuke and his family, they were extremely kind, fun, and they knew a great amount of English. Even enough so to make up for my completely lackluster effort of Japanese. Everything I wanted to say I was able to get across through accented and slow English, with a few Japanese vocab thrown in here and there. They were also able to get across everything they needed to say, whether it was by a translator on their computer to explain to me that Yosuke's grandmother accidentally washed my wallet in the washing machine, or through their own English ability and a handheld electronic translator to discuss politics at an Italian restaraunt. That first week I felt was more the 'modern cultural experience', whereas the travelling part was the 'historical cultural experience'. We did a lot of things that people actually do for fun there, which is what I wanted to see.
My movie is online! It went online a while ago actually, when I was in Japan. It is located at http://www.studentfilms.com/film/get.do?id=891. Feel free to watch and review it! It also won an award at the California Student Media and Multimedia Festival. It won a Special Recognition Award for Individual Achievement. I have made and sold/given away about 75 copies, and I am still making more. E-mail me (SoleSurvivorAdam@gmail.com) or let me know if you want a copy. I've made labels for the DVDs and cases too.
Exactly a week ago, I was graduating. Actually, I think I might have been giving my speech right at this time, because I was the first person to speak and it started at 4:00. The next day after graduation, we had a graduation party that could possibly be on of the best if not the best party I will ever have. We spent the day and night on a private beach in Half Moon bay. We played volleyball (we kicked the parents butts hellz yeah), went on a trampoline at the top of the cliff by some cabins (where some of the parents, including mine, stayed the night), hung out on the couches by a big bonfire, ate good food, at night had a dance with a DJ on the beach, watched a fire dancer and a lady who balanced a sword on her head, and some fireworks, and we slept under a tent on the beach. The whole thing was really spectacular, that party is going to make my senior prom and high school graduation party look bad. Here are some pictures of me from that:
I was given the job of being the reunion coodinator for our grade, and I have one planned to be the Relay for Life (like I did with like 7 other people last year) on October 8th and 9th. If you're in the Nueva class of '05, you've already got like 5 e-mails from me, so I don't really need to say much else here. I e-mailed this to you, but just go here: http://www.acsevents.org/faf
We have ton of stuff to do and pack before we leave tommorow, so I will finish now. I can't believe I actually finished this entry, it's been a while since I could say that. I'm glad I wrote this today, because I won't have much time the rest of this summer, so I'm glad I got this down now. I will leave you with the speech I made at graduation.
Over the past 3 years, I have learned so much about myself. I never would have thought that I could make a movie, start a student council, and get a group of 11 other kids to play Survivor on a backpacking trip. Nueva has not only taught me how to learn, but it has also enriched the way I interact with others. One important thing I’ve learned is how to be myself, and without this great group of students, I would not have been able to do that. I have never met another group of kids that are as welcoming and accepting of all personality types as the people sitting behind me. There is no stereotypical ‘cool’ in our grade at Nueva, and that has allowed me to feel welcome as a peer without changing who I am.
I won’t ever get the same opportunities that I have had at Nueva. I will never get to experience the same types of amazing trips and adventures at any other school; like the end of year trips, the advisory camping trips, and small things like going out to lunch with my awesome advisor Karen and two of my best friends and fellow advisees, John and Trevor. The recital project was also a great chance for me to try something I probably wouldn’t have given a shot otherwise. I just wanted to try something new, and I never expected I would be able to make a decent one man movie. Not only was I proud of my finished product, it also got a great positive response. That one shot to try something new has sparked my interest in filmmaking.
It is hard to believe how quickly my Nueva life has come to a close. It seems like time has just flown by. I wish I had more time with these awesome classmates and great teachers. The teachers here have been incredibly supportive, not only being there as an academic resource, but as people who I would consider my friends.
I came to Nueva in 6th grade as an energetic 11-year-old hoping to make friends, but still with a lot to learn about understanding others. Since then, I have learned how to watch and observe, and use what I see around me to make myself a kinder gentler person who attempts to see things through other’s perspectives. I have learned from all the positive influences around me at Nueva how to be a better student, a better family member, and a better friend. I would in no way be the person I am now without these last three years, and I thank you all for that. We truly are a class to remember.
~Adam
PS. I got a cell phone! The # is 346-3731. Give me a call when I'm around or leave me a messege! 
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