Baccalaureate Service

Tonight (actually, not too long ago) was the Baccalaureate Service for the Class of 2008 (both East and West High). It was an incredible evening!

First of all, I had to be there at an hour early for sound checks and whatnot. So I got to hang out with Will and Eleanor. Then Luke showed up. Pretty much that's all that needs to be said. For those of you who don't know Luke, he graduated 2 years ago, taught me how to be a drum major, we both played clarinet, he went to the Air Force Academy and is (allegedly) transferring to Houghton this fall for music. He is also one of the most fun and most goofy guys you'll ever meet. After he played my clarinet (gross, but there's been worse), we spent some time catching up on all the irony in our lives (since we speak the same music language) and then everyone had to go out and get lined up in the lobby for the rest of the ceremony.

HC and Tom-tom played as we walked in, and Tom-tom gives a good name to trumpet players. This was followed by the Kayla giving a lovely opening remark or two and then introducing me (gee thanks) so I played my piece and got it over with (yes, I was very nervous). Will's dad (who happens to be a Pastor...and doesn't have a last name apparently) was the first speaker. To summarize: if you want success in life, you have to find happiness. And if you want to be happy, you must serve God and serve others. He was an amazing speaker, and it was very powerful (I know, I'm making this all seem really boring). Next Hannah and Amber sang "For Good" from Wicked and they sounded great. The featured speaker of the evening was Senora Tunison and she spoke about facing adversity, and what she went through just a few weeks ago. She is an amazing, incredible woman, and I'm going to miss her soooo much!!!! Joe and Bri followed her by playing a violin duet entitled "The Lover's Waltz" and they sounded fantastic. The final speaker was Rev Turnbole who spoke on how this is our time. The last musical performance was the quartet of Emily, Eleanor, Will and Aidan (2 WHS, 2 EHS) singing "In What Time We Have" and they, of course, were great. Except for Will. He was trying so hard not to laugh because we were all sitting there smiling at him (we were smiling because we were trying not to laugh as he was trying not to laugh....). Finally, everyone gathered in a huge line at the front to light the candles and sing the alma maters. Hannah started the EHS one, but she was on the other end of the line from the majority of EHS people (at least the ones who knew how to sing the Alma Mater) and thus, there was a bit of phasing. Of course, Luke was trying to make me laugh at that point, and I'm a bad enough singer as it is, so that was an...interesting experience. All the WHS vocalists were grouped up together, so they sounded a bit better. Finally we all walked out, and the picture taking commenced.

As I have already said, Senora Tunison is an amazing woman. Many of us have had her for 3 years, the rest for only 2. But she has had such an impact, we wanted to do something for her. So some people sent me some pictures and I put together a scrapbook for her. (I procrastinated beyond belief....I did it today in 3 hours, which is a world scrap booking record I believe). It had highlights from Mexico, Spain and from this year, with pre-decorated pages for her to add the other pictures she collected from us. She was so close to tears. : )

My Dad videotaped the service, if anyone would like a copy let me know

Also, I will be hosting several badminton games at my house over the summer at the request of Senora Tunison (because she wants to come and play) so it's basically going to be whoever wants to come, feel free to stop by. I'll make sure to get the word out when we start having them (probably mid-July, but we may have one sooner). I've got a total of 9 usable rackets, so if you have your own and would like to bring it, that would be amazing!!

I'm ready to graduate on Saturday, but I'm going to miss all of you so much!