// 2011 in (chunky) bullet points & photos//

• went home to Target so many times it made the #1 spot on my bullet list ^___^
• adjusted to a different lifestyle at home with my Dad working full-time out of the country. Our East Coast GetaWei in the summer was a bittersweet two weeks, knowing what the next months held in store for us. The change was drastic for our family and I just pray we can all grow stronger and closer despite the distance and disconnection. I’ve adapted to balancing being independent for my own sake and dependent on others when necessary. :l
   
• planned loads of Anthropology Club events that lead to irreplaceable bonds and lasting memories with a new group of people I would not have gotten the chance to know had it not been for this club :’) anxious to make 2012 Anthro even greater in its own way~
• during the summer, I finally felt accomplished when I “got out of Hacienda Heights”!!!!… only to spend it in La Puente HAHAHAH. I had summer school at Workman with Peter, Melinda & Ivan and volunteered many of my afternoons at the Boys & Girls Club of America with Melinda, Ivan, and later on, Kenneth. Those kids are forever in my heart, some closer than others ;* (HAHAHAHA oh gawd…)
    
• tried out and was accepted  adopted into the Journalism class family. Already one of the smartest decisions I ever made because I finally get to share my photos with the school and continue to write (seeing as we mostly just read in AP Lit) all the leftover “rejections” have also made for a great Facebook photo album ^__^ and I’m definitely looking forward to finding even MORE (already published a word in a different font & my own name in my 2 articles) loopholes in our weekly publication AND  to accomplish everything on my Journalism bucket list (write every type of article, photograph, art, graphic, header, word on the street, etc) <3 

• lost my all-nighter virginity and then went back for seconds: my first time was the nigh the Huckleberry Finn Final (Huckleberry Finnal, I like to call it) was due. The assignment consisted of a rhetorical analysis and 1 page SPRITE essay. But that wasn’t all~ we also had an Editorial notebook, an Argument essay for one of those editorials, all due that Monday at 7th period. I remember holding back tears as I went to school that morning, sleepless, and finally finishing the last paper 4 minutes before lunch ended. Needless to say, it was not my best work. 
  Then when college apps rolled around, I stayed up the Saturday after Thanksgiving just finishing two essays, because all I was able to throw together were drafts… not my proudest moment either.  x___x
• recognized by the graduating Senior class as a Senior Best with Melinda, Jared, Brandon, and Alden as “Best of Friends”. winning with Melinda was already all I could ask for, but a PRIVATE MEET & GREET + PHOTO SESSION WITH THE JONAS BROTHERS?!?!! the middle-school-fangirl in me could not help but photoshop this photo:
    
• emceed 4 (!) events: Guitar Club’s Rock Fest & Jingle Bell (Acoustic) Rock, Alex Chao, Matthew Chiang, and Justin Lam’s (the Trifecta) Eagle Scout Court of Honor Ceremony, & Anthro Banquet/Anthie Awards with none other than my bestest Kenneth.  The title of Master of Ceremony is really such an honor, and I’m always incredibly flattered to have had these experiences. It’s safe to say that the stage fright comes and goes, the latter right before I first step on stage and the preparation/script writing/memorization is never easy. But I could not have asked for a better co-MC — I do not know if I would ever be able to host alone!
   
• filmed/had a front seat to Ryan Li asking Kathleen Lo to homecoming *__* a glorious moment not only for this year, but probably my entire life. oh! and I went to my Senior homecoming dance with Aaron and we all had a great night overall. It was a pleasant change of scenery with everybody dressed up and lookin sharp!
  
• survived through Junior Year the END of two very significant eras of my childhood: Harry Potter & Hannah Montana. YES. HANNAH MONTANA OKAY?! also the end of the Michael Scott/Steve Carrel era on The Office T___T
    
• posted more than 50 new photo albums on Facebook this year with accompanying clever album titles and captions (wow I devote too much time to that)… in fear of one day losing my memory, I will have thousands of photos published on the Internet in hopes of refreshing my brain. Among those from the year: 
  AGENT P: THE EGG-LAYING MAMMAL OF DISGUISE, THE WILDERNESS NEEDS TO BE EXPLORED, anthro on ice!, east coast getaWei (week2), LET’S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS, JOURNALISM REJECTS, PRE-HOMECOM11NG, finding the H.O.P.E. to KEYure AIDS, & OF COURSE: MEMBERies !
• learned to be less controlling of my agenda and more open to impromptu decisions! And as a result: personalized/matching Anthro sweaters, a lot of unworn items in my closet, a memorable trip to Disneyland, a horrible score on my SAT2 Literature, but many life lessons worth learning.
   

Thank you 2011, for all that is now behind me, frozen in the photos I take too much. Here’s to 2012!