AED’s EOTY banquet was this Sunday.
Despite the fact that I had a limno paper that was due the next day and I hadn’t even started on it yet, banquet was the only thing on my mind that night. I can’t believe it’s been another year. The people in these pictures have changed my life. They’ve helped mold me into who I am now. If anyone were to ask, these are the people that have had the greatest impact in my life.
Starting with picture numero uno: BETA RHO!!! My pledge class….my second family. It’s been more than a year since we were put together as a pledge class. Most of us were strangers and we’ve grown so much since, individually and as a whole. I know that I can trust you guys with anything. We always have so much fun during our hangouts. You all are the craziest, coolest, smartest, most dedicated and talented bunch I’ve ever met. Each of you come with your own unique personality and together you all just become one crazy, awesome group of people to be around. There’s never a dull moment, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Joining AED and deciding to stay in our pledge class was the one best decision I’ve made in my entire college experience. I’ll never regret it. I’m so thankful to know you all. I can’t wait to finish up our college years with you guys.
Picture #2: These three people have a very special place in my heart. First of all, Sophia—-my other half, best friend, sister from another mister, butt buddy—-I am so glad that we became friends when we found out we were both going to UCI. I know it’s only been 3 short years that we’ve been close friends, but we totally connected from the very beginning and look where we are now. It feels as though I’ve known you for forever, and I can’t imagine life without you. We’re going to grow old together. I’m so glad you decided to join AED with me. It’s been a wild ride. Tuan—-I met you on the very first day of school. I remember I was really anxious about my first day so I kept rambling on and on about how you have the same name as my uncle. Sorry for being so awkward. Haha. I never would have expected that we’d end up being such good friends or even being in this organization together. It was just meant to be. I was never that close to you, but I feel like we really bonded this year and I’m so glad to be sharing another year on board with you, el presidente ;) I already know you’re going to such a great job. Seeing you grow over the past three years has been quite interesting. With you, there’s definitely more than what meets the eye. I still remember what you told me when we first joined AED, and from the look of things, you’ve definitely done what you set out to do. Chino—-what can I say? You’re my performance partner. I can’t imagine my college experience without you. It’s funny how you were in one of the very first classes I took at UCI (writing 39B!! heroes of the apocalypse—WOOT WOOT!) I didn’t really know you then because you were so quiet in class, but I did know that you lived in Gondolin (not to be a creeper or anything but I saw you around when I was hanging out in Tuan and Long John’s room). I didn’t expect us to become such good friends. You’re so shy sometimes, and then other times you walk into a room like you own it. You’re definitely you’re own person, and I really like that about you. You’re so quirky and weird sometimes, it’s great. The way you mispronounce certain words or misread things is hilarious. You’re also so talented and dedicated. You always give everything your all, and it’s something to admire. You’ve also grown a great deal since I first got to know you, and I’m really thankful to have had the chance to get to know you over the past year or so. I’m not sure exactly how or when we started jamming together, but it’s a decision I’m so glad I made. We always have a fun time trying to learn a song, making covers, and performing. I hope we can keep doing this (we still need to write our song!!). I look forward to working with you on board again next year, Mr. VP.
Save the best for last: COUSIN!!! and ELYSE!!! our birthday crew. We’re pretty bad at following through with dinner plans. Haha. Brian, you are my cousin. What more can I say? You’re like the older brother I never had but better. You’re one of the first people in AED that I became close to. I remember when we used to talk all the time. Too bad we get busy now =( But, I know that you’re always there if I ever need you. I like how we always tell people we’re cousins and they usually believe us. It’s weird, but if I call you anything else, it just doesn’t feel right. I’m so glad you’re sticking around next year. I’d be so sad if and when you leave. Don’t forget about me! I know that I can always confide in you. You know me too well sometimes. You’re one of the people that defined AED for me and it’s going to be so weird without you here next year. I hope we’ll stay close for as long as we’re around. You’re my cousin and you always will be….no matter what people say. ELYSE—-best friend ;) hahaha you’re so quirky. I love that. I’m so glad that I got to know you this year. Thank goodness you’re dating my cousin. So now, you’re practically my cousin too—hence the pseudo-cousin title.You’re the sweetest and kindest being I know. You’re always so bubbly and smiley. You always know how to make me laugh. I like how you always have a different nickname for me every time I see you. This year without you would have been incomplete. I’m so glad we get to be on board together again next year. We’re going to have a blast. We always have so much fun making fun of John together…staring at people….not drinking at parties together. We sure know how to have fun. hahaha. Thanks for always keeping things light and fun. You’re like the best stress-reliever ever.
I guess that sums up my pictures for now. Until I can find more, that is all I have to say. It’s been a great year. Now, I’m ready to start the summer thing.
I wrote this song exactly one year and one day ago. Funny thing is that it still applies. Another year has come and gone. So many things have happened, but no matter what you were always there for me. This goes out to my best friend, Sophia Lam, who has always been there with me through the best and especially the worst of times. This also goes out to those who have come into my life during the past year. Thanks for being a part of my life. Hopefully, in another year, I’ll be able to say the same again. I hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving day filled with great company and great food. =)
http://youtu.be/Jx3qhikoo_g
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This post is a bit overdue, but I think I’ll write it anyway. So, last Thursday was Musicality Inc.’s Fall Acoustic Night. It was an acoustic competition that Chino and I participated in. When I first heard about it, I was more than eager to do it, but as it came closer, midterms and classes were starting to get in the way of practice time, and we almost decided not to do it. Thanks to a friend of mine that already bought a ticket because I told her to go, we went through with it. Despite only being able to practice about 4-5 times before our performance, I think we did pretty well, and surprisingly, it wasn’t nerve-wrecking at all. This time being up on stage, it was nice, comfortable, and fun. Looking out into the audience, I saw the people that had come to support me. Granted, I was hoping more people would have shown up, but being the second round of midterms, only a couple made it. Those are the people that I know I can always depend on to be there for me. They don’t know how much I appreciate it. Nevertheless, it was an amazing experience. What can I say? I can try to stay away, but the stage has a way of pulling me back to it. Plus, this competition was for a great cause. I really liked how they let the performers choose the charity that the money would be donated to.
It’s definitely something I want to do again in the future. Hopefully, Chino will let me drag him into doing another music thing again. I swear, music keeps me sane and doing things like this every now and then keeps me from wanting to just give up on everything.
eh….i probably knew. i’m only admitting that you are one now.
I saw a quote on a chalkboard in a coffee shop one Thursday morning, and it made me stop to think.
“I wish someday was yesterday, but I don’t live in the past anymore….”
It goes on, but it was the beginning that caught my attention. Sometime, I do wish that someday will be yesterday. Then I realize that you can’t move forward to go backwards. It defies the purpose of moving on. We all get the longing to relive certain moments or phases in our lives sometimes. I know for sure that this happens to me, more often than I’d like, but it happens. You replay those memories again and again in your head, reminiscing the times when everything just seemed so much more simple. For a brief moment, it’s like you’re at that place again. Suddenly, it’s gone and over. In a blink of an eye, it disappears and you’re back.
Then, I realized I was running late for school. So, I left that coffee shop and went on with my day.
So last night was Aspire, a benefit concert hosted by Alpha Epsilon Delta, an honor society that I recently joined last quarter. I was volunteered to perform, but it turned out to be an awesome experience. I’m not going to lie, it was totally nerve-wrecking up until after the first couple of seconds I was on stage. The 3 weeks leading up to the concert, I was on a roller coaster of emotions, from nervous to confident to anxious to scared. I was all over the place. Luckily, I had an amazing group of people behind me, supporting me and just being there to handle me at my weird stages.
Moving on to the actual concert….It was a pretty crazy day. I got to see and meet some amazing performers. These people are crazy talented and it was an honor to be able to perform at the same event as them. This concert is the first time that I’ve performed anything on stage in about 10 years. So, it’s safe to say that it was already a big thing for me. Not only that but it was also the first time that I’ve ever performed an original song in such a large audience. I’m happy to say that it all went very well, despite a couple of setbacks during the sound check. To the people that witnessed that horrible mishap, I apologize for any ear damage. It happens. Before getting on stage, I was a bundle of nerves, but getting up there and looking out into the audience, I realized that I just had to do what I enjoy doing so much. I just let go and let it out. All the people that came there for me are the ones that mean the world to me. To those that couldn’t make it, you can still watch it the performance if you’d like (links at the bottom).
This day will absolutely, without a doubt, never be forgotten. The after party was the best way to end it. Getting to beat Brian in bp with Sophia was definitely the cherry on top of an awesome day. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, as I was leaving and saying good-bye to everyone, Jerome (who btw has an awesome name) asked me to punch his face. After both he and Branden (who has a killer mustache that I have to embarrassingly say that I really really really like and can’t get over) kept on insisting that I do it, I thought to myself “who am I to deny him a punch in the face?” So, I just went with it. Now, I can happily say that I know what it’s like to punch a guy in the face. It might sound weird, but it was the highlight of my night. Anyway, I could go on and on about my day, but it’ll take too long. To sum it all up, I had the time of my life, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it (except maybe bring a change of clothes.)
Here are the links to my performance:
http://youtu.be/HtQOssCc1rk
http://youtu.be/CuHR4sFMG14
http://youtu.be/QVIy-91OEk4
Enjoy :)
This is the first anthro class that I have ever taken, and it’s only once a week from 7-10 pm! Luckily, the professor usually let’s us out early, but I still think it’s waaaaay to late in the day for me to be functioning like a normal person. I have trouble doing that even during the middle of the day.
So today in class, we were sitting is the waaaay back (nosebleed-section), busy listening to what the professor was lecturing about. Something about a guy named A.R. Radcliffe-Brown, whose real name was Archie Brown, but he changed it to make it sound more aristocratic (fancy guy). As the professor was saying his name, my best friend suddenly says J.K. Rowling (apparently A.R. Radcliffe-Brown and J.K. Rowling are synonymous =/) which makes me laugh. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to contain my laughter which led to me letting out a really loud laugh when it was super quiet. That was only the beginning. From then on, my friend proceeds to stab me in the stomach with her purple pen, steal my notebook and threaten to throw it into the rows in front of us, bite my finger off, and draw on my hand. All of which ends in the both of desperately trying to contain our long outbursts of laughter. Safe enough to say that tonight was just another normal night for us, and that we don’t mesh well with night classes. I miss our late night lab nights.
we can’t dwell on the “what ifs”. it’s even worse than dwelling on the past because the past at least happened. “what if” situations aren’t even real. even though it’s so easy to get caught up in a mess of “what ifs,” you don’t want to fall too deep. you’ll start confusing yourself and pretty soon, it’ll consume you. you’ll miss out on even more, which will only start up a whole new string of “what ifs.” it’s a self-harming cycle you don’t want to get caught up in. once caught up in it, it’s hard to stop. the only way i know how to stop myself from getting pulled in by “what ifs” is to have no regrets. what happens is what happens, if you don’t regret, you won’t wonder “what if….”
all i have to ask now though is:
“what if we never had that first conversation?”
answer: this would not exist.
All it took was one question to reel me back in again. I really thought that I wouldn’t stretch this out or make it hurt more than it should, but then you asked me that question. Why did I think that it’d be so simple this time? I really should’ve known better. Every time you go and do something like this it adds another day? another week? another month? No. I can’t let it happen again. I can’t make it so that I learned nothing. I absolutely refuse to give in. It’s not your fault because you didn’t know. Sometimes, I wish that I had just told you, with the hopes that you’d understand and not make a big deal or change things from the way they are. I really don’t have any problems with how things are between us. In fact, if this is how it’s supposed to be, I wouldn’t want it to be any other way. But there’s always that inkling of fear that in the course of the 5 minutes it would take me to tell you just about everything, it would all change. Things won’t stay the comfortable way that they are right now. I’ll just keep it to myself for now.
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