I had my graduation rites done on March 24, 2012. My school was very strict with the practices and wanted it to be perfect. We had a whole month dedicated to the practices, and the teachers stressed on the singing, march, and arrangement.

My batch was really obedient during the practices and so we had a lot of perks. In reward for our good behavior, our students’ activities coordinator gave a lot of free days for us seniors. The last days of high school=most relaxing days ever.

While walking the aisle in my graduation mass, I was so surprised to see the church. It was literally decked in flowers and green foliage. I also loved how the pews for the graduates were covered with white cloth. It looked so clean, fresh, and pretty. It felt as if I was attending a wedding!

The mass was one of the most memorable masses I’ve ever attended to. The homily was meaningful, everyone sang their hearts out in the songs, and it was solemn. It was fun to see people hurriedly go out of the church once they were done with the recessional!

Four people in my batch had the same shoes as me! I’ll let you in on where we bought our shoes- Payless. Small world, huh? Continuing with the photostory, Patrice and I did our own make-up, inspired by Michelle Phan’s graduation make-up tutorial, with a few twists and adaptations because we just couldn’t get it.

The graduation stage was held outdoors in our graduation. The maintenance and our drafting teacher did a great job- more flowers and more lights! It was great for photos since there was light everywhere, allowing people without external flashes or fancy cameras to still have clear photos.

Our graduation songs were “We Leave You with a Smile” and “We Can Make a Difference”. None of the two are familiar, and I just knew of their existence when they were assigned to us. I’m not sure if a video is posting up or anything, but I’m not expecting it to sound like a really angelic choir. In one of the songs, our music teacher changed the voicing last minute, and you can figure out what happens next.

We were allowed to take pictures with each other after the ceremony ended! Patrice and I were both awarded as athletes of the year in Scrabble while I was honored as one of the lectors of the year.

I’ll miss high school.

My school lives on the motto of “Ora et Labora” which literally means prayer and work. The motto was  made by St. Benedict for his Benedicitine nuns, but apparently, since our school was under the Order of St. Benedict for so long, the motto has apparently been adapted to ours as well.

And when they say prayer and work, they really do mean prayer and work.

The day after the earthquake hit Cebu, all of the schools in our island were dismissed. Except ours. In the second or first week of June, it is most likely that our school will schedule the first day of class for the new school year between those days. When a guy shamelessly asked a girl if she would be his girlfriend on the school quadrangle during Valentine’s Day (complete with friends holding placards of the said image and him walking down the quadrangle holding roses as if he was walking in an aisle) our students’ activities officer hurriedly went up and confiscated the IDs of anyone who was involved in the said ‘scandalous’ activity.

What a great school, huh?

Under the strobe lights, we can let go of it all. After midnight, partying until tomorrow. Whatever happens tonight, just stay by my side. So this calls for a celebration.

Joan: I bet you can’t live without the internet.

Me: I so can.

-a few minutes later-

Me: JOAN WHERE IS THE INTERNET WHY AM I NOT CONNECTED OMG I AM DYING GET ME OUTTA HERE

If you’ve been a follower of Ate Lace, one of her posts on early 2011 was about the Dramafest. The Drama Festival is a tradition in our school wherein the seniors present a play. Each section is assigned a play to present and they are given a month or two to prepare for the said day. The time given is allotted for both research on the play, practice and props making. No senior in our high school can graduate without participating in this activity.

The line-up for both of Ate Lace’s and our dramafest was musicals. The musicals the English teachers chose were Grease, The West Side Story, Ella Enchanted, Anna and the King, The Fiddler on the Roof, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, and Miss Saigon. My section was to perform The West Side Story while Patrice’s had the chance to portray Cats.

Greatel

The beautiful girl on my right is our leading lady, Vivienne! She makes a lovely Maria and I can say that she definitely got the role right.

Each section had a wonderful performance. Most of the time, everyone was screaming or gasped while plays were going on. I had a few surprised attacks back there- some of my quiet batch mates were assigned to lead roles! It was such a nice shock to know that they took the chance to shine in this event.

By the end of the performances, the students had to clean up the auditorium by stacking the chairs to the side. Most of the students had already changed or were goofing around. In the photo above, our music director playfully threw a  balloon Naruto-style to our beloved director (photo below).

Patrice’s class won a total of five awards from the festival. They won Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Production, Best Choreography and Execution, and Best Visual Effects. They emerged as Best Play.

When the trophy was awarded to them, everyone started running around to get the trophy. Talk about team spirit! Congratulations to Cats, Miss Saigon, The Phantom of the Opera and to everyone who presented! We all worked hard and we presented beautiful plays in just fifteen minutes. Congrats!