Graduation

If you have never received a Jillian's Journeys before, this is my way of keeping family, friends, or anyone else who's interested informed of where on Earth I disappear to when they can't contact me. Although this started as a simple way of staying in touch with a few of my frustrated friends, it has blossomed into this huge monster of a thing with over sixty subscribers, plus frustrated friends who complain that they never get it, perhaps because they've never given me their email.

If you are one of these, just reply to this email and tell me you want to keep getting it. If you've been getting them, and you want it to stop, don't be afraid to tell me so. These are sent out either during or right after I go on a journey, whether that's to a foreign country like Paraguay or a metaphorical journey like a long, difficult performance weekend.

This last weekend marked a huge event in my life: high school graduation. The preceeding month had been an insane whirlwind of saying goodbye to so many things I've enjoyed at Pleasant Hill--my Pathfinder unit, school banquets, discussions in Economics, and singing for my dad's choir. Now, it was time to seal the deal.

Friday night was Consecration, where we read our Parent Tributes and passed the flame on to the next senior class. Some of my beloved classmates could not get through the first sentence of theirs without dissolving into puddles of tears, so I was quite happy to get through mine without doing so. My parents loved it.

Sabbath morning was Baccalaureate, or the last church service of our high school careers. I hate to admit it, but I do not remember what in the world the speaker, my now former Pathfinder director, was saying, but I sure enjoyed the clay he had us playing with as his visual aid. Also, I played Ennio Morricone's "Gabriel's Oboe" from The Mission for offertory, something I'd dreamed of doing ever since I first heard the piece. Playing that song fills me with the strongest emotions, with the beautiful memories of the Iguassu Falls in South America.

For lunch, we had a lot of relatives over here at my house. After some awesome Chinese food, I showed them a slideshow of many of the different activities that I have been involved with this year. They were a bit out of sequence, but people claimed to enjoy it anyway.

Class Night came in with a bang as we marched in to a 007 theme. As a part of the plot of our skit, we exploded a hydrogen balloon like we had in Chemistry class many times before. As we rushed to tackle the "villain," I noticed a microphone cover shooting rather alarming flames. I probably stamped on the thing for a solid minute with my little high-heeled shoes before someone finally came along and put it out. Later that night, I recieved awards in Science, Music, and Foreign Language. The Class Video was absolutely incredible.

Commencement was pathetically easy in comparison to everything else. After being showered with a ton of leis, we marched down the aisle to Pomp and Circumstance. My dear friend and former teacher Mr. Van gave the address, making us all laugh as always as he compared each of us to a different type of beverage. He gave me a nice, big bottle of Inca Cola, a Peruvian soda that brings back many fond memories.

Then, we all recieved our diplomas and entered the whirlwind of photos and gifts before we could finally breathe free. A large group of my family and my friend Hye Jeong assembled at the Spaghetti Factory, where we ate well, gaped at a marvelous cake my cousin Amy made especially for the occasion, and enjoyed each other's company. Afterwards, Hye Jeong and I visited our class president's party.

When I finally got home, it was nice to just relax a bit and open up everything. A special thank you to all of you who sent me cards or gifts--they will all come in handy in the future. Two days from now, I take off on another epic adventure spanning three states and ending with a summer working as a part of Camp Wawona's kitchen staff, and I look forward to it with great anticipation.