Breakfast

Yesterday was the senior breakfast. Apparently it's a tradition at many schools for seniors to have a breakfast before graduating? Anyway, it was at 9:00 in the morning, which might sound pretty early but was actually nice, considering that school starts (started) at 7. It was interesting to go back to school because the transition from student to former student felt immediate. The underclassmen remaining in the classrooms now felt not like "us" but like "them."

The breakfast was in the school cafeteria, and a lot of the seniors were there. In fact, maybe even all of them were there. The first thing to do besides catch up with everybody was eat. And that I did. They had your typical breakfast fare: scrambled eggs, pancakes with syrup, fruit, grits (eww), cheese grits (better), bacon, and croissants. I love a good breakfast, so I made sure that I could enjoy it. Everything else would have to wait.

While we were eating, some people hung up a gigantic poster with a picture of a starving African child and a photo of the aftermath of Tuesday's food fight. In bold were the words: "WHEN THERE IS THIS... WHY THIS?" I thought it was funny simply because it was ridiculous (and in questionable taste). I mean, that kind of reaction is exactly the kind of thing you'd see in TV, not real life. I wonder how they printed the poster, anyway. I didn't get a close look, but it seemed very professional.

After eating two plates of food, I got my cap and gown, which they were giving out to everybody. (I got mine from Mrs. Mackey, my English teacher from last semester, who said she saw this site and thought it was good. The word is, as they say, out.) Our caps and gowns were gold, which doesn't look as bad as it sounds. Gold is one of our school colors (along with blue), and it seems classic. I don't know if it is, but it seems that way. (Incidentally, my friends at Cardinal Gibbons High School graduated in their school colors, the boys wearing red and the girls, white.)

Soon it was time to announce the valedictorian and the salutatorian. They started with the salutatorian, as if the valedictorian was going to be a big surprise. The salutatorian, with a GPA of 4.7615, was... Mr. Jordon Kalilich! The cafeteria erupted with applause that wouldn't stop. I stood up because some people were yelling at me to stand up. The cheering continued, and I turned around so everyone could see me. After being on the spot for a few long seconds, I sat down. The valedictorian was, as expected, Rebeca. Her GPA was around 4.8. I think people didn't clap as much?

I really wasn't sure whether I was going to be salutatorian because it seemed like a toss-up between me (the longtime #3) and Amanda (the longtime #2). I passed Amanda in the rankings recently, but I wasn't sure if it would last since Amanda was taking more advanced classes than I was. I guess she doesn't mind because she really didn't want to write a speech. Of the top 5 in the class (the people who were asked to write speeches in case they were valedictorian or salutatorian), I think I was the only one who wanted to write a speech.

And since I was salutatorian, I had some more work to do. After collecting the cords I would be wearing at graduation, I went to the guidance department to submit a form that would be sent to the local newspaper so they could publish my info along with valedictorians and salutatorians from other schools. Then I had to go to Ms. Scott's room; she's the English teacher who writes the introductions for the "val" and "sal" that they read at graduation. After that, I went to Ms. Petonick's room and deliver my speech to her speech class. It was the first time I had read it aloud, and they were impressed.

I was wandering around campus a lot to do that stuff, and it did take a while. While the students were changing classes, I ran into a number of my underclassman friends. Their main question for me was "What are you doing here?" I told them about the senior breakfast. They were generally jealous or sad that I had left. Gabby hugged me for the 5,000th to 5,215th times. Ivan was still frustrated that he had to spend another week in Mr. Marchand's class. Sarlé hugged me so hard that I thought I was going to suffocate. Kenny said that I should hang out with the guys after school; I wish I did.

Tonight is prom. I don't have a date, but that doesn't mean I didn't try to find one. On the contrary, I devoted a couple of weeks to the search. I couldn't actually find any female friend or acquaintance who was single and wanted to go to prom. I even offered to pay for their ticket, but for some people (like me), dances and things are pretty boring. I hope prom will be better. And luckily, I did get a ride in a limo -- Ed's, to be exact. The legendary Ed lives nearby, so once I get ready, I'll be at his place in no time. I think Andrew will be there too, and probably a bunch of other people. And then we'll be off...

Here's a look at some of the factors that cause us to form and change our political opinions.

From Wired: Lamest Technology Mascots Ever.