Promotion Time (36)

It's almost over. School year 07/08 is drawing to a close as the students prepare to go through finals week. Graduation invitations have been sent out, tickets home have been booked, and the last blogging assignments are being written. Juniors are anxious to be promoted to the coveted rank of seniors, and seniors are about to arrive at the bottom of the pecking order once more.

Here are my parting words to this year's batch of smartened cookies. We've had a great year. Campouts, choir trips, field trips, and S.A. socials are some of the fun memories we all share. But even the homework and sometimes boring classes paid off in the satisfaction that every student felt at least once when they saw a red "A" scrawled over their assignment.

A few words of wisdom for the classes: Freshmen, remember that it only gets better next year as you advance up the ladder. Sadly, it is true even at W.A. that freshmen get picked on the most. Sophomores, this year may have been busy, stressful, and jam-packed with homework. But being a junior won't be any easier. Enjoy! Juniors, it's all downhill from here (That's just my theory, but if those clowns graduating this year made it, it should be doable.) Seniors, you were a fun-loving bunch and it definitely brightened up the school. If you transfer some of your enthusiasm to studying, you'll do just fine in college. Good luck!

I express my sincere appreciation to my teachers and the neat staff of W.A. Since you always are involved with the students, we've all gotten to know you outside of the classroom. Mr. Boyd, always loving an adventure, Ms Jenkins telling the wildest true stories, Ms Chi promoting NPR, and Ms Polk and her "little" endearing terms.

W.A. is a special school because of the people that make it up. No amount of government grants and subsidies could have made Weimar what it is. Weimar Academy has truly changed lives and in turn changed the world. Let us uphold the tradition. And one day soon, friends, students, teachers, and staff alike will gather around the Throne and sing "Side by Side".

When Today Becomes Tomorrow (35)

Ask a ten year-old if five years seems like a long time and most likely you'd get an answer saying it would take forever for that amount of time to elapse. Indeed, back in elementary school I never imagined I'd be 17 years old and a junior in high school. But strangely enough it happened, and even as I tap the letters on the keyboard I am on the verge of becoming a senior. When (and if) 2013 arrives, what will my life be like? Perhaps it will look something like this:

Nearly four years of college will be behind me and I'll be getting ready to graduate with some sort of a Balchelor's degree. Maybe I'll have gained my education in the recently resurrected Weimar College or maybe I'll be packing up my dorm room at Andrews University. By that time I'll have had a bit more practice producing videos and hopefully I'll have put my backpacking equipment to good use. I'll be looking for a job related to my college degree (maybe a high school Chemistry teacher) so that I can start earning money to take flying lessons.

My formal education will be almost behind me and I'll be getting ready to launch off into the work of mission aviation somewhere in the jungles of someplace. My writing will have further matured through college and my portfolio will have a good amount of published articles in it. Eventually I will be starting up a column in a mission magazine that chronicles my mission pilot experiences.

Maybe at that time I'll start thinking of getting a driver's license. Since I was living at home while attending W.C., insurance just wasn't worth it and my bicycle sufficed for everything except town trips. But the airport is an hour bike ride away, so a car would come in handy. These are some of the possibilities and only the Lord knows what will transpire in the next five years. We may not be here that long. Or we may. One thing is certain; time is relentless.

The individual hardships and joys of days gone past are forgotten as a person grows older. And just as I never imagined I would someday be a high school student, it's hard to imagine that the Lord's coming will really happen. But it will. And even the seemingly long years of a lifetime will fade into insignificance when that small black cloud the size of a man's fist appears on the horizon. Only the blink of an eye separates today from eternity.

Spring Break (33)

As you can see I'm back, after a prolonged period of silence from a lack of blogging assignments. Spring Break was great; while my fellow classmates were sweltering down in Nicaragua I was enjoying the balmy spring-time climate of Southern California with Corey. During the week I was down there we rode horses and bikes, stayed up late, and even got an airplane ride with a man we met at the local airport. It was over all too soon, and I found myself back home. The following week I puttered around the house, finally starting a project I'd been eyeing for a while - dismantling the LEGO collection in my cupboard and packing away each set in individual Zip-loc bags. This gave me opportunity to relive the many happy hours I spent with those toys. Yes I am getting old.

Speaking of getting old, I observed my birthday this year by going to the IMAX with Maria and a couple friends. I have never seen such an amazing representation (it was 3D) of astronauts on the Moon. The film Magnificent Desolation is truly a must-see for anyone who'd enjoy an adventure. I think it would be appropriate for me to say that I had a blast.

I go an extra day of unanticipated freedom when the mission trip people got delayed on their way back from Central America. When break finally ended I visited the WeiBlog sight to see what was happening in the world of blogospheres and found out I must tell my readers several lessons I learned on break. Here are two that I can recall: (1) Prevent the horse from eating on the trail or else both you and him won't go anywhere, and (2) Sleep deprivation during break defeats the whole purpose of vacation. That's all the wisdom I can pull off my tired brain right now. So with that I sign off again; you'll be hearing from me after my English research paper is finished.

Heads, You Win - Tails, I Lose (34)

An article in the Sacramento Bee brought up a case in which a compulsive gambler has filed suit against several casinos, claiming they should have recognized her addiction and barred her from the casinos. Arelia Taveras, a former lawyer and TV commentator, was staying up for days at a time without eating or sleeping so she could gamble. Now, having lost her practice, apartment, parents' home, and being $58,000 in debt to the IRS, Taveras is suing for $20 million.

Naturally, questions arise regarding cases like this. Who's to blame for Taveras' addiction and her resulting financial ruin? That's a difficult one because both parties are at fault to a large degree. The gambling business' single purpose is to make losing seem attractive and exciting. (See Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation) It's really a criminal enterprise, yet it will remain in society along with alchohol and tobacco. That's where responsibility for the individual comes in. At some point, a person realizes they have become addicted to something; then it is their choice to seek help or face the consequences.

Should Taveras be suing? It's a dicey situation lacking an evident answer. Taveras should have sought help before reaching that critical helpless state. The casinos should have noticed her passing out at the tables and intervened. However, I believe Taveras lacks the grounds to file suit. As the saying goes, "If you play with the fire, you're going to get burned," likewise if you play the gambling game and end up losing, you really only have yourself to blame.

$20 million in compensation would definitely sort out financial problems for Taveras, but she shouldn't count on winning the case. Probably her best way out is to direct her determination into hard work instead of court battles. Sometimes the choices we make affect us for years. This is an excellent example of why gambling isn't worth it. But sometimes the only way people will realize the fire is hot, is to first burn themselves with it.

Today: Tomorrow's Yesterday (31)

Have you ever noticed that the experiences and happenings of a year get simplified and generalized as time progresses? I associate the year 2004 with green cards. 1998 was the year we moved to the States. As you zoom out and start looking at larger time periods you generalize even more, perhaps describing the first ten years of your life as sheltered, happy, and relaxed. Those of you who've been around a bit longer, or have been reading too many history books, may "associate the '50s with prosperity and conservatism; the 1960s with social upheaval, experimentation, and war; the 1970s with self-examiniation; the 1980s with prosperity and decadence." (Weiblog home. Prompt 31.) What will my generation be associated with as time stereotypes and generalizes?

The 90s started the Information Age, as personal computers and the Internet gained popularity. Then there was that whole Y2K scare. And now the 21st century has dawned and young people are starting to use less and less of their brains. Perhaps my generation will later be seen as the generation of teens who lacked nothing, and had everything done for them they could possibly imagine. Maybe we will be seen as the generation that finally lost the ability - and even desire - to think for themselves. Or maybe we'll be viewed as the generation of Lazy Gluttons.

I really do sound gloomy. But times just get worse as we get farther along. It's called entropy, and it's a scientific principle. Looking back, years down the line, we will see how parents' lack of discipline for their children has impacted the history of this world. Technology and information aren't bad. They've just gotten the better of us.

The Last Shutdown (32)

During 8th grade someone gave me a laptop, complete with built-in speakers and microphone, modem card, floppy drive and Windows 95. It was a wonder! For a short time I used it to do stuff like type up top-secret documents. After a while I got tired of using nothing but Paint, QBASIC and WordPad. After letting it sit in my desk drawer for a few months I decided to take it out and see what the inside of a dinosaur computer looked like. And of course after taking it apart, I couldn't be bothered to put it back together again. My computer slept comatose for the next several years until more recently I tried to repair it, in a desperate attempt to recover one of those "top-secret" documents. For one last spectacular moment, I managed to revive the tired machine long enough to retrieve the file. Then my lovely old laptop breathed its last.

My English teacher just gave me a wonderful opportunity to pay a final tribute to my aged laptop by having me post a eulogy. To my faithful laptop:

Thank you for your dedicated service to me during our short time together. You helped me express my thoughts and then held onto them for me. Although you weren't that bright, and your memory was limited, I could always here you humming as you worked. You possessed many fine qualities, being accurate, organized, ready to listen, good at keeping secrets, and as quick as your slow thinking could allow you to be. You have lived a full life, having seen ten generations. I must apologize for ending your life in such a tragic way. Your final moments however, were truly your finest; right up until the end you gave, holding nothing back. I hope I have somehow expressed the true spirit of a laptop computer. I bid you a fond farewell as you leave for that better place that all good laptops go to.

Years Gone By (30)

I must say that the year 2007 has been my best year so far. I live for events and trips, and last year I had my share of trips. In February I traveled with the Academy to Kauai to help Kahili Mountain Park and Adventist School with some much-needed grounds work. Afterward, we visited Oahu to do some sightseeing. The trip was a blast and the hard work made it all the more enjoyable. One sour note punctuated the end of the trip; my good friend Corey was leaving, not to return to W.A. But that's how my next adventure developed. After staying at my house for the college and academy graduations, Corey invited me down to his house. So a couple weeks later I walked up the stairs in Sac Intl Airport, through security, and into a new state of independence; I was traveling all by myself! For the next week Corey and I rode bikes, swam at the pool, and practically killed ourselves hiking the 25 miles up and down 11,499 ft San Gorgonio. I had a great time with the Harms and it was with reluctance that I bade them farewell and climbed aboard the plane for home.

But the year was far from over. My sister Rachel returned from China a couple weeks later with just enough time to unpack, repack, and then leave again - this time for Europe for our family vacation! Visiting my grandparents in the Netherlands, we traveled around the country, seeing various museums, touring the canals, and of course shopping. My uncle and I embarked on a 2-day cycling trip from the center of Holland to Groningen in the north. I won't easily forget that trip, with the smell of fresh-cut hay from the fields making my nose run uncontrollably, the
tremendous fatigue after cycling 90 miles in one day, and most memorably, the beautiful Dutch countryside rolling slowly by. The rest of of our time abroad we spent in Wales, returning to London to do some sightseeing and catch our plane home.

Things slowed down after returning home. I worked the rest of the summer, preparing breakfast at the cafe at 5:30 a.m., enjoying making fun of Carsten every time he had to make more garlic feta dressing, and eating raisin bread at breakfast each morning. School arrived with all its inconveniences and character-building circumstances. Thanksgiving and Christmas slipped by in close succession and before I knew it, 2007 was nearly over. As the clock ticked its way toward 12:00, I felt a twinge of sadness. I didn't want 2007 to end. Remembering all the fun times of the past year, I wished I could grab onto those last seconds that were quickly slipping through my hands. But then I realized that greater things are in store for the future. So with a light heart and the anticipation of new adventures to come, I stepped into the brand new year.