Enter Some Old Latin Saying Here. Congrats, Grad.

Well, high school is coming to a close. My friend's at BCHS are graduating tomorrow, and due to economic reasons, I'll be there in the audience clapping along with my friend's parents. But I'm not going to be a downer about that. Instead, I'm going to take the time to post about a lot of the fun times I had with people in the two and a half years I was there. This is more personal posting about some past memories there, so if you don't want to read through, go for it. But if you want to read some of my stories of high school, get comfy. Grab a drink. Put on some music, and I hope you enjoy reading the stories as much as I do writing them.

First girlfriend in high school

lunchtime. 

Sophomore year was the first time I had a girlfriend in high school. I had dated another girl the summer before my freshman year, but this was the first girl in high school. I remember asking her out right before Christmas break in the gym. There was big group of us sitting on the bleachers just hanging out, and the entire week before I kept noticing her watching me. I'd make eye contact, and she'd look away. Finally the Friday before we left for Christmas break, on the bleachers in the gym, I asked Kristin out. My best friend had asked her best friend out, and we all decided to go see Marley and Me a week from Saturday. Our first date was the movies, held hands and all that cutesy stuff. Over the next three months we went to formal, slow danced to "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz, and spent the rest of the night eating pizza and playing the wii at her place with our group of friends.

I was so lame..nervous as all get out that night. 

Towards late February, early March everything kind of stalled. She broke up with me to focus on school, and I let her. It hurt, because I really liked her, but in relationships, and especially at an age like that, it's better to let go.

Football Games

The first two years of high school I played football. At first I loved playing. It was something relatively new to me, and it was a lot of fun to do. Coach put me in as a defensive end, and offensive lineman on frosh-soph. I can still remember the first time I got a sack. We were playing against Tehachapi High at their home field, and their lineman left a gap open so I darted through, and as I got closer, the Quarterback saw me, and started to run, but I grabbed his jersey and kinda just threw him to the ground. It wasn't a hard hit, or even pretty, but it got the job done. 

What sucked was 'hell week', and the Bakersfield heat we had to practice and play in from July to September. On top of that, there was one time it was a 110 degrees, and there was a fire in Santa Barbara that was drifting it's intense and thick smoke up and into the valley. Where Bakersfield is, it's surrounded by mountains. So what does that smoke do? It sits in the valley. We had a game against Garces High, in the middle of that fire. The sky was literally brownish orange at sunset. We couldn't see the sun, but the sky was what seemed to be apocalyptic. And we ran, and tackled, passed and blocked throughout all of that. Seriously insane stuff. 

Off the field, it was always a party in the stands with friends. We never watched the game, but ended up stealing each others hats and hiding them on the visitors stands for whoever we stole it from to go find it. It was one of the stupidest games we played, but it was entertaining at the time.

Hume Lake

Where to even start with this one?! BCHS takes the entire school up to Hume Lake for a week right after school starts in August/September. This will be a combo of all three years I went. My gosh, there was some seriously great times up in those mountains. From playing poker (yes, Christian school kids playing poker. Kind of ironic, no?) all night the last night of camp, to the dye wars (entire school wearing white throwing dyed water at each other for the heck of it), it's just a great time to get together as a core body and learning more about God and the Bible with our peers. 

The football players had practice during free time, which sucked because it took up most of the time. But we still got to go through a high ropes course, and play some paintball (on that note, it hurts getting shot point blank in the back by one of those things! Stupid freshman. He was even on my team...). 

Classes

Mr. Horner and some classmates

I'm pretty sure my teachers are some of the most patient people I've ever met. My friends and I put them through a lot. From using a pointer laser in the back of biology class to mess with our Science teacher, to Stealing the dean's golf cart to drive around campus after school, we did a lot of stupid stuff that gave them every right to give us detention until we graduated COLLEGE. But they usually let us off the hook because we were, according to their words, so lovable. 

Pranks 

BCHS has always had a 'rumor' that the roof of the Gym had a pool on top that is exclusive to only the senior class. No one really believed it, but I figured I'd take the rumor to new heights and see if I could get away with it. So I took a google map image of the gym, and a google map photo of the pool center in town, and put it on the roof. It's not the *best* photoshop creation I've done (15 minutes before 4th period ended was all the time I had), but it got me some cash from the freshman. I sold them fake elevator passes to the so called pool. It was the only time I ever did it, and boy did the deans not like me for this one. They were more surprised that I actually got away with it than mad that the freshman were complaining they lost $10 (rich dairy kids...God bless 'em.). 

End of The Semester

There's A LOT more memories I've had with people from BCHS. This is just the tip of the ice berg. I may do a part two, or leave it at this, and just make a slideshow of photos/video. But I gotta say, through all the crappy drama, through all the people gossiping about who did what, and who hooked up with who, I still love a lot of people from the school. I may not be there to graduate with my friends, but I'm at least going to be there tomorrow night in the stands cheering them on as they get their diplomas, and start the rest of their lives as they walk off the stage. 

graduate gratulatione. tua merita.