Much like Anakin Skywalker matured from the small, droid repairing, Pod-Racing kid he was on Tatooine when Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon unexpectedly stumbled upon him while looking for a new hyperdrive generator for Queen Amidala’s ship, to the morally undecided Jedi he became in Episode Three, maturity reinforces a strong grip on all of us: whether we like it or not. This being said, the change from middle-school to high-school affirms that typical teenage stereotype. Starting off as a freshman in high-school: musical tastes are unrefined, social skills are mediocre at best, and you might still be in one of the most awkward growth stages as far as teenagers go. Coming to an anticipated close on sophomore year and Junior year in its entirety is where I like to start my autobiography though, because this is where I feel like I truly became the established and content person I am now with any kind of situation, may it be social, personal, good or bad: I have learned how to deal and make the best of it. Responsible for all of this has to be the (now graduated) Class of 2011. Getting to know these amazing individuals both on friend and personal levels, spending time with them outside of school, becoming close with Brandon and Jesse, and en fin, the band that came out of Brandon and Jesse’s friendship along with all the time we spent together has, beyond doubt, shaped me into the current mature and comfortable being I am with myself today; something I cannot thank them enough for.
Going into Junior year came with the added perks of feeling somewhat older (and taller) than the underclassmen at that point. Looking at some of the few friends I have carried from middle-school, to ninth grade, 10th, and the present 11th grade, truly made me wonder, “How did time pass, and how did it change us all so significantly?” Aside from thinking that life is about learning who you are and what you want to be, life’s chapter that consists of focusing around other people has to be the most interesting of all, but before I digress and further, back to the point of this all. The fact that I was a Junior really helped me get closer to the, at the time intimidating Senior class. Thankfully, having taken Ensemble Orchestra in 10th grade (which first introduced me to Michael and Kevin, two beautiful human beings who could play a delightfully crafted piece of wood and metal with true emotion) and then being in Physics in my Junior year with a class of majorly Seniors, most of which I have known for about a year at that point, and having taken 11th grade Symphonic Orchestra was my mono to the Senior class; a clumsily spread disease through overly social and approachable people (not that it’s a bad thing necessarily).
As the 2nd quarter of 11th grade passed, my social skills (along with my jokes) had progressively gotten better. Instead of sitting at home watching movies I have already seen at least ten times, and reading science fiction novels in the form of the Halo series whose quotes and references would never help me on a college essay, I started going out with my upperclassman friends, feeling real cool and slick. These get outs consisted of a relatively social gathering of the exceptionally tight friend group which consisted of Seniors, except for me. These, code named ‘Bronights,’ were modest gatherings of modest people with modest interests in seemingly modest tastes; I could not ask for more in life. From the smell of brought over multicultural food for dinner which was pungent in teriyaki, overly spicy curry, sour kraut, steak, and the oh so ethnic salt and vinegar chips, to the occasional waft of the stale air of a packed living room, thickly humid from two running Xboxs, a PS3, and three LCD TVs, is something I can never forget. The array of entertainment was also endless, and by endless I mean from playing videogames to watching horrible movies on Netflix about an ‘ex-Navy paleontologist guru,’ or Mega Shark versus Giant Octopus, to those of you who may be curious. These nights usually happened once every two months and mainly in one secretive location which was never to be disclosed to anyone outside of the group unless you wanted Kevin to slit your throat, metaphorically speaking of course. The good thing about these evenings was that they never ended with regrets or sadness that the night was over, it was always a positive, fulfilled spirit in the air, so to speak, and I feel like these nights, in one way or another, taught me how to let loose around people and not really care if I was out of place because I never felt like I was. And since no one made me feel awkward or out of place so, after two or three of these nights, I involuntarily started considering each and everyone there brothers.
Right around when the first Bronight happened just about December (I want to say), I got to meet Brandon and Jesse. These two struck me as two of the most quizzical individuals I have ever met so far in my life. Ranging from several of the most interesting phrases I have ever heard like, “The grass is always greener on the side which receives more sunlight and a healthy amount of rainwater,” and “don’t count your chicks before they hatch because you might have miscounted,” to the finest taste in music that I have ever seen, I fell in-love almost instantly. This love wasn’t something that resembles a kid ‘falling in-love’ with his girlfriend after one week, no, no, it was falling in-love after three minutes; the only true love that exists. After several philosophical conversations with these two mysterious characters, we decided to start getting comfortable with our bodies and hanging out. Not that we engaged in homosexual activities, because that’s weird.
As the third year of high-school came to its expected close, so did a mix array of feelings. Seeing everyone talk about packing and going off to college was really hard on me because it was basically saying goodbye to a group of people that I got to know so well in such a short amount of time that it felt almost unreal. But, that’s life. Around the last 4 months of school is when Brandon and Jesse thought it would be a good idea to start a band with me, just as a casual get together of like music tastes and a love for instruments. Fast-forwarding to about one month after the first time the three of us got together, there we are sitting in the same bland, white, chilly basement of Jesse’s house with five complete and polished songs, all five of which came from us. Right around April is when we got to play a local venue in some guy’s basement, which was much nicer than what I’m making it seem now, truthfully. There was a really good number of people and bands who showed up so it felt homely. That being said, we had a some more shows in and out but the other main hallmark of a day was for The White House Show, another local venue which was set up in a friend’s backyard in August for his birthday, which would later turn out to be our last show before Brandon and Jesse set sail for college. Zooming from April’s basement gig to August’s finishing performance, hours upon countless hours were spent between the three of us either practicing, watching immature videos on Youtube, and moping around on the basement’s massive couch; the amount of time that can almost be equivalent to the amount of time a couple tries to spend together. The point is that we spent a vast quantity of time together getting to know each-other on a personal level and listening to each-other (key note), which was something that I have never really been exposed to very much so I can easily regard it as something quite significant in my life looking back on it now. Fast-forward again to play day: outside Ryad’s house, I could not recognize the individual smells of people unlike Bronight, but the mixture of humidity due in-part to the all-day long rain and the coolness of the night alongside the catchy and sometimes awing music of local bands was soothing to the senses. Being able to identify the various layers of music is something that I wish everyone was good at; being able to metaphorically see the guitar lines, bass, effects, drums, dual vocalists harmonizing with eachother (in some cases), and the occasional synth is wonderful to the ears; it’s the way jelly and peanut butter mixes in a PB&J sandwich, a delicious, cosmic blend. Right before the band prior to us started packing their gear to the basement, Brandon and I were laying down on the grass a good distance from the impromptu stage and he asked me, “do you ever feel like grabbing the sky and pulling yourself up to it?” At the moment, did I think about this too deeply? Of course not, it a quirky little before an adrenaline rushed performance philosophical seeming question, but looking back on it and probably taking from my AP English 11 teacher, I may have come to an overanalyzed conclusion to this seemingly random statement from Brandon. Now, I believe it may be related to feeling infinite, something that someone who has read The Perks of Being a Wallflower should familiar to, but it may be parallel to feeling really great and not holding yourself back on may it be grudges, discomforts, insecurities, and so on. Eventually we played our set, felt really great, everyone enjoyed the music (or at least we hope they did), and when we finished, a sense of personal accomplishment came across me. I was happy, and I was going around to everyone and talking them about the music, goofing around, making jokes, and I felt really social, something I could have never even remotely said when I first started high-school. It’s almost like looking at other people and seeing them change over a period of time, but instead, looking at yourself and feeling proud of how you’ve changed. Comparing the old you, to the new you. It’s hard to describe to it’s almost euphoric sense, but I’m not an English major, so excuse my mediocre explanation.
Thus, my story is over, not that I died. After midnight everyone started carrying equipment to their sedans and vans, and that’s where I had my final goodbye from the two once quizzical strangers who were now two brothers I could never forget for as long as I live, even though that may sound cliché, I still hold it in truth and respect. The idea that a group of people that I got to know in a span of say, two years, changed me so dramatically is radical, radical but great. Going from the held back little freshman I was to the complex (or at least that’s how I like view myself) person I am now is astonishing because you can only truly notice yourself in the form of years, not days or weeks. Significant change is not something that happens overnight, it happens over time, and as Aristotle or Plato may say, “time is a virtue.” If you ever want to change, do not try to change exponentially because it could possibly ruin you. If the change you want in your life right, it will take time and some effort. Thank you.
