This week....

Well, this week was a fairly interesting week. On Sunday (August 2nd) I attended a tour of the 207th Street Yard and was able to board one of the Nostalgia Arnine trains from the 1930s, and man, those trains are the bonb! I cannot wait for the next event.

I really wanted to get a camera but unfortunately I wasn't able to because one of my friends also attended the trip and he was being a jerk and wouldn't lend me his camera. So I may as well attend the next trip on my own next time.

Today marks the last day of summer school (fr my friends at least, because they blew off classes this past year!). Thank goodness I graduated on time, and I was able to walk. But lets hope that they don't have to go through a repeat next year, because that would honestly suck. I am going to stop by the school today and pay everyone a visit and then I will play this sort of disappearing act and make a surprise return when I visit the school at their new location. People are already hype. But I can only pull such a thing off if I drop contact with almost everyone I know. It seems silly but I really want to surprise everyone at an unexpected moment. Well people be shocked when I return? I wasn't really popular around the school until late junior year until mid-senior year. But at least some people are already anticipating my return. They'll get one today, and then they'll get one in a few months. When will that be? They'll just have to wait.

Let's see....

Dang, I haven't been here in a loooooong time.

Let's see what's new with me. Oh, yes, I am now a high school graduate. I am done with high school, but without a doubt, I already miss my fellow high schoolers. We did it all. I wouldn't rather have it any other way, but oh well, we cannot stop progress. For a fact, we'll run into each other real soon someday.

So let me see what's new. For one, I am going to college. For once, I am going to listen to my mom. She is known for making poor decisions, especially when they pertain to me, but right now, I'm not going to worry about that. I really wanted to go to Marymount Manhattan College, but maybe it's time to be real. I'm not even paying for the school, financial aid is. My tuition is covered. But if what my mom says is true and I get the unused money back, then I can save that up for NYU, which is my main priority. So I will be heading to the College of Staten Island for one year instead. I am actually psyched about it because I love the commute between Staten Island and Brooklyn/Manhattan, and unlike my friends, I actually like Staten Island. But NYU is where I WILL be in sophomore year, trust me.

My GPA for Term 4 came up to be a 2.9, how, I don't know. I thought it was supposed to be higher and better than that. I am a little disappointed with myself, as I really wanted to go out in style, with grades that were off the wall. But hey, at least my rank is within the top 20, and at a recent awards banquet (where I received some awards and more money for college), 19 other kids and I got recognized for it, so it's all good. I am content with that.

What's new? Oh, yes! I am getting my Advanced Regents Diploma!!! After FOUR attempts, I got a 66 on my Math B Regents, and I also took the Latin Regents; I got a 79.

I am good to go! Phase 1 of my life is complete! (That was to graduate high school with a top award.) Phase 2.1 is complete: get into college. All I need to do is complete Phase 2.2, which is to get to NYU, and complete Phase 3, which is to pursue my career in filming and make my own TV show! Then my life will be complete. Stay tuned!

End of the road. No, U-turns are not allowed....

For the past several weeks, I seem to have reached a new low, and I really wonder: how can I turn myself onto a path if the signs don't alow you to? In my case, I can't make a proper turn for where I want to head becuase obstacles are telling me otherwise.

On the first day of April, I realized that I didn't get into NYU, the college of my dreams, the college where I hoped that I would start it all, and I'll never forget that day, not only because it was April Fools', but the whole thing seemed too wrong, and I was torn. There is a part of me that will never mend because of NYU's decision to not let me in, and I don't think I can ever forget that, or forgive them for their decision either.

I had a perfect backup college: Marymount Manhattan. I was grateful that one college saw my potential and let their doors open for me to walk in. But I don't even know if I will be able to make it through those doors in time; I have a $200 tuition deposit that's still pending and my mom really doesn't care if I even attend college anymore becuase she wants me to attend a CUNY college, the most overlooked college in New York and on the East Coast. My mom's only concerned abou her needs; she hates spending money on anyone and usually dishes it all out on bills, nails, hair care, and cigarettes, my biggest pet peeve ever. And I get the short end of the stick of $10 a week. Like really, like I can do anything with that for a whole week. And she usually takes it back for whatever reason, my goodness. Now I don't even know if I will be attending college at all, and I feel that the past year planning on colleses have been wasted. I feel like my whole life has been wasted.

Sometimes I wonder: do your relatives share your best interest, or your friends? My brother thinks that his friends share his best interest, and I'm starting to think the latter now. For most of my life, I've been anti-social, an outcast, a nobody, just the average joe that dealt with school and home, and didn't have time for friends. A few months ago, I've been blessed with five wonderful people that I can consider friends and share my best interest, more than my mom ever will. My former circle of peeps from junior year disbanded, and I was left with no one. But not anymore. If I had to choose the five people I've got to know two months ago and everyone else who would give me a thousand bucks to be their friend, I'd choose the former: no one can buy friendship, that's something that's ultimately...priceless.

Two Months Left!

Wow, only exactly two more months and my four-year tenure at The Williamsburg Charter High School is over.

What a run. The first school that I've been to and I spent all my time there (I've been to different elementary and junior high schools, but I've been to one high school, and I rather wouldn't be anywhere else. I mean that to a great extent.

What made my school the way it is? The wonderful people that go and work there. I'm glad to know all the students I have made friends with, as stuck-up as they may be. But they have taught me that here will be a variety of people in college and you can choose who you want to hang out with. But no matter what college(s) I'll be in, I won't meet any greater staff members or teachers that I have come to know over the years.

I'm sincerely going to miss everybody, but the good news is, it's far from over, so I'm going to make these last two months the best two months ever!!!

Back in the slump....

2009 is not my year. I may as well just be upfront. I thought things would get better, but not so. My life at school is in shambles. I found out what my grades were for this term, and I don't like them. I'm passing, but 'm not content:

• Government: 72
• Senior Seminar: 79
• English: 70
• Math: 78
• Art: 78
• Biology: 73
• Latin: 85

I find it crazy that I've been performing at this level, when I thought I would be doing way better. I'm back in the slump.

I have two months left until I'm officially out of high school. I need to step up to the plate or I'll be back making up classes for another semester.

Rejection hurts....

Yesterday was a bit of a rough patch for me, although it's not like I'm already bombarded with the craziness of the week in progress to get any last-minute work done before the third term ends tomorrow. I still have work to do anyway. But sometimes I wonder, what if my work doesn't pay off? Turns out it didn't. I didn't get accepted to NYU, the college of my dreams, the college that I was ready to give my life to, and I'm not handling it well, especially since they didn't show any faith in seeing what they could do for me as I was ready to show them what I could do in return.

I feel like I wasted my time, and I am shocked in their decision, and I'm also shocked in what made them go with that decision. I don't think I'll ever find out; it's not like I can call them and ask them, "WTF was that about?" That'd be crazy, more on the borderline of absurd. I want to pretend this didn't happen, but I can't. The damage is done, and is irreversible.

The good news is, there are other colleges out there that show some interest in having me as a sudent. I'll never forget the first acceptance letter I received, which was from Marymount Manhattan. Long Island University accepted me as well, and Marist had me on the waiting list. I would be somewhat content if NYU put me on the waiting list becuase at least they would have some interest in having me attend their school, but I guess that's not going to be the case.

I'll get over it, but I don't know how long it'll take though. I'll be starting my college career at Marymount and eventually transfer, but I'll never forget the moments and dreams that I had about being enthusiastic for becoming an NYU student. Those dreams will forever remain dreams.

3/6/9 all gone wrong!

I was really looking forward to a great day today. After a three-and-a-half month hiatus, I finally came back to skateboarding. I ordered a new deck last week on Wednesday and it came Monday. Today, March 6th, 2009 (or 3/6/9), I planned a skate trip to Staten Island and I invited some people to come with me. I planned the trip since November, and started inviting people in January. People were interested or couldn't go. Earlier this week I canceled the trip because it was going to train today but it turned out not to be the case. I rescheduled the trip, but some of the people who wanted to come changed their minds because I rescheduled on short notice. Some let me know that they weren't going to come, while the others that were supposed to didn't contact me at all. So yea, I'm glad to me skating again but things just didn't go according to plan....

...Which leads to the next incident: I booked tickets to see Late NIght with Jimmy Fallon, and I invited my cousin to come with me. Unfortunately, his brother got into a car accident, and can't come. I can't find anyone else to go with, as NBC's rules states that ALL members of your party must be present to attend the taping. I can't find anyone else to go with, so I'm going home, and will miss out on seeing Jimmy Fallon.

Sometimes, things just don't turn out the way you plan, and sometimes, that will lead to a big disappointment, just like now.

So, anyways....

Man, I haven't been around here in a long time.

Let's see what's to tell: oh, yes!!! My return to skating! March 3rd, 2009 is the day. I ordered my board earlier this week and it's on it's way. I'm finally seizing the moment.

Also, the 24th of February 2009 marked thirteen months since my board was stolen (yes, my board had been stolen because my school doesn't know how to take care of others' property and they had to pay for it). I ordered my board that day. the 21st marked the day I stopped skating overall in November on the 21st because of the stress building up in my life. I couldn't function right. Now, I feel that I can function and balance my life at school and at home. The 20th marked Conan's last show on Late Night, and I was indeed sad. I went to bed at 10 and woke up at 12:30 a.m. that day just to watch Conan's last show. I'll miss him as he will progress to bigger things in California, but I think Jimmy Fallon will do a great job at hosting. He starts Tuesday morning at 12:30 a.m. and I'm looking forward to watching his show.

I got Facebook!!! Yeah!!! It's way better than MySpace because you don't have to worry about being friends with people that you don't even know, so thank goodness for Facebook.

March 3rd is just a few days away!!! I will skate again! And March 6th, 2009, codename 3/6/9 is a skate trip to Staten Island with my friends. I am so looking forward to everything that lies ahead of me. I have rose again!...

I'm Coming Back!!!...

My desire to take control of my life again has finally come into play. School is no longer a factor for me, and here's why:

• My English grade went up from a 75 (term 1) to a 92 (term 2), averaging to an 84 for semester 1.
  
• My Pre-Calculus grade went from a 67 to a 81, averaging into a 74.
• AP Bio went went from a 79 to an 80, averaging into an 80.
• AP Government (History) stayed at a 77 for both terms, meaning I have a 77 for Semester 1.
• Latin went from an 81 to an 82, averaging into an 82.
• AP Art grade went from a 73 to an 87, averaging into an 80 (not included in GPA).
• Senior Seminar went down, but by only one point, 95 to 94. At least it's a 95 for Semester 1 (not included in GPA either).

All in all, my GPA went from a 2.2 to a 3.3, rounding roughly to a 2.8 (I ranked at no. 17 out of 124 students for the first semester).

So what does this mean? I'm at a "I can do better but I'm content with where I'm at" level, and there shouldn't be a reason why I shouldn't be. I wasn't on track last term, and I paid for it. I made sure I did better this term to "even" everything out. I still felt that I could have done better, however.

The good news is that I can return to my normal life. I just have to take control of what needs to get done first, and what can be put on hold for later. But the even good news is that it warrants a return for skateboarding. When? I'm not revealing yet until...02/13/2009! Not far away at all!

Looking back...and looking forward....

I wanted to write this when I graduate in June, but I think I'll write this now:

The past three-and-a-half years of high school was an experience that I'll promise that I'll never, ever, ever forget. I've had my ups and downs, and I loved every minute of it, because high school taught me how the real world will be, not just college, but the work force as well. Now that I'm a senior, I only have five months before it's all over. Senior year was the most challenging year ever. Freshman year, you would be getting used to high school, and sophomore year is the same, except that you're now used to it. Junior year is when the challenge comes into play, and if you don't adapt to the challenge in junior year, then you won't be ready for it in senior year. Trust me, because I feel that I could have done better in junior year. I could have been in the National Honors Society, but my GPA wasn't good enough becuase I wasn't good enough. I'm not trying to be hard on myself, I'm not at all, but I'm just looking back to realize what I could have been. It may be too late to leave a mark in high school now, but it's not too late to leave a mark in college, probably becuase college for me didn'tm even start yet. If I do get into NYU, I promise to make sure that I'll accomplish everything that I didn't in high school. I'm not using NYU as a rebound, but I know that they would want to see the best in me, and nothing less. If I don't get into NYU, then I know that I'll be able to transfer, but only if I put myself to the challenge in my freshman year in college. I can still do this. NYU is not out of my reach. It's a far reach, but I can get there if I put myself to it.

The worst is SO not over....

I've almost finished finals. Congratulations to me. Things at school is getting much better. Things at home, eh, not so much.

I really wanted 2009 to be my year, but right now, it's not looking good. Yesterday was one of the worst days of my life. My mom and I had a huge argument and something almost ugly ensued. I'm not at liberties to discuss it, but I think a lot of people know the definition of ugly is when something happens between you and your parents.

I don't think I told anyone about the death of my dad, but if I haven't, I'll spill it out. He passed away in 2004, a day after my thirteenth birthday (December 18th, so his passing occured on the 19th). I really don't tell anyone about my dad, especially if they ask though.

My dad and I lived together for twelve-and-a-half years. He got sick in 2004 and I had to move in with my mom, and my life has gone downhill ever since. I've lost interest in the things I used to care about. My grades have slipped. I don't even know if I ever want to skateboard ever again. That's how much my life sucks. When you're a teen and don't want to socialize, then something must be wrong with you, and you're not a normal teen at all.

I remember one time my cousin, who's 23 right now, was told by his mom not to come to the house for the rest of the evening. This was sometime around last year, and he, along with both of his parents and an older sister and a younger brother, live under the same roof. He slept at his girlfriend's house for the night, so based on the severity of what went down between me and my mom yesterday (did I mention that my iPod and phone are gone?), I'm going to stay over at my brother's house for the weekend, and hopefully, she'll cool down, and so will I.

Congratulations to Barack Obama

Today we started off the day with George Bush still our president, but today will end with Barack Obama being our next president, and the first African-American person to hold the role as well. I wish him all the best.

Without a doubt, Bush did a hell of a job as president, but most of his decisions weren't right most of the time, which led him to having the lowest approval rate ever. We definitely needed change. People could have chosen Obama or McCain, as either way would be change, but I'm glad people made the right choice to choose Obama, who the country needs right now.

Former President Bush, thank you for your eight years of service. Current President Obama, I wish you the best eight years of service (assuming people choose to re-elect him, but I'll keep my fingers crossed).

Another "okay" week.

The second week of school went, well, okay. Things are slowly progressing for me but I'm still not at the level I want to be. My GPA last term was a 2.2 and I'm really starting to feel the pressure as I enter the last week of the semester. I found out that I have to get at lease an 89 in English, Math, History, Science and Latin to get a 3.2 average for this term, which will round off to a 3.0 for the semester. I keep telling myself that I can pull myself together, but I don't know if I'm pushing myself to the standard I want to be at. NYU does not like slackers, and I don't want to be one. Why, during senior year, does everything have to be so difficult?

Yesterday I saw an old teacher of mine, who left to be a musician in Tennessee. I was really happy to see her because she is one of the high school teachers I have that made me like English now, and I don't blame her, considering that NYU's Tisch has writing programs, even in Film and TV.

BTW, I already got an acceptance letter from Marymount (yay!) and a non-acceptance letter from Purchase (boo). I'm glad I got into a college, and I handled not getting into Purchase well, considering that it wasn't a major choice of mine. But what if I don't get into NYU? I'm really scared. I have until April until I know if I'm going in or not but I don't think I can handle the news of not being admitted to the college of my dreams.

Week 2 of 2009's school year is over. Week 3, here I come! (P.S. Reason to be worried: finals week!!!)

Off to a good start....

2009 is looking good for me. I'm making sure my grades are up and stay up there. But all in all, everything is going according to plan, and I couldn't ask for more.

I'd rate last week a solid 9 out of 10. I deducted a point because there's stuff that still needs to be done. However, yesterday, I would rate a 15 out of 10: I saw my "ex-crush" yesterday!!! She's in college now (goes to CityTech in Brooklyn), so I'm glad she's moving up in the world. She's still single, too (I'm really getting above myself right now, sorry) but is remaining single for some time. She can't deal with guys right now, and I can't deal with girls right now, either. I want to handle my business first before I think of anything else, especially girls, and even skating.

I'm still not giving any hints when I'm coming back, but wait until February 13th and I'll break the news then.

Happy New Year!!!

Yeah, the title's self-explnatory, but happy new year to all!

Hmm, 2009 is finally here. I want to make sure 2009 is the best year possible, and not follow a repeat of 2008, which was the worst year of my life. I promised a return to skateboarding, but I still want to make sure my grades for my first semester warrant a good return.

And I finally sent out my NYU portfolio! I applied to the Tisch School of the Arts at the Film and TV Division. I had to send a three-part portfolio: one part is a resume (although I let NYU know that I pretty much haven't done jack in my life); the second part was a short story called "Karma is Dead", which is about a kid who has something stolen from him, and the third pary was a dramatic short story of a life experience of mine titled "Back on Track". I pray to God that it arrives to Tisch in one piece and also that I get in NYU. If that happens, 2009 will definitely rock for sure!

That's all for now. Have a great 2009! 02/13/2009! (I'm still teasing my return when I'll announce my return to sakting.)