Going through a year's worth of photos

"Year in review" posts are pretty cliché I know, but I suppose that cliché things become cliché for a reason. If people didn't like getting roses on Valentine's Day or dancing in the rain or making "year in review" blog posts, then these things never would have been overdone in the first place.

Probably my most abused condiment of 2011.

At the beginning of 2011, I was still doing my 365. I was venturing out into the cold just for a daily photo (or, more often than not, staying inside and settling for a not-so-great photo). The breathe on my wrist was written daily with a pen. In January I went on an extra credit fieldtrip for geosystems with my friends. We got way too much dust on our shoes and Nikki got to take embarrassing photos of us after everyone fell asleep on the way back home, but we got to see a bat and the trip earned all of us an extra 2% for our quarter grade. I managed wrestling because it seemed like a fun thing to do with friends, but also because I had a little crush on one of the varsity captains. It actually ended up being a very interesting experience.

Photocred: Nikki!

After wrestling season, there was something of a fiasco with three of the wrestling boys trying the Flatliner Challenge at the Buffalo Wing Factory during Fat Week. Only two got out alive, although that isn't even saying much. They were very hot wings.

I got to wear a sari for the first time and performed in the Namaste club's dance during my school's International Night. As an eighteenth birthday present to myself, I got breathe engraved on my wrist forever.

I pledged to take my 365 seriously again (which worked for a little bit) and hiked to an elevation of 3291 feet with aforementioned boy who i had a crush on. Then at the end of March, a package came in the mail that would make me a Brunonian forever. Lacrosse season came and went. That boy did incredibly cute things for me like surprise picnics on the roof, kayaking trips to little islands, and showering me with rose petals in the process of asking me to prom.

Day 268/365.

As the end of senior year approached, things began to pick up speed. The senior boys (and some girls) got their act together and found prom dates, asking in ever more creative ways. I tanned on the deck while pretending to study for finals. I wrapped up my senior project in the neuroscience research lab and on college t-shirt day, everyone wore their school proudly.

Prom asking by box fort.

Our senior class trip to D.C. coincided with Prime Minister Netanyahu's arrival and so although there were many cute photos like this:

More often than not we also caught photos like this:

At the beginning of June, in the spirit of being seniors, My friend Michael and I scootered to school. The ten mile journey took three hours and involved getting lost, hopping fences, and a multitude of injuries, but it was undoubtedly worth it.

Everything seemed to be coming to an end. I could tell that this was happening by the increasing amount of group photos being taken. My three-year stint as an English teacher for Chinese grandparents ended as did various classes and labs.

I wish I could say that by the time prom and graduation came around, things seemed a little surreal. And I guess they might have been a little, but mostly things just came & went, and we took it all in stride. Beach week was crazy (everyone has way too many stories to tell from that week), and my 365 ended up being something I was kind of proud of. All in all, June was a pretty good month.

Graduation, in case you couldn't tell.

Day 351/365.

The summer passed like a blur. I hung out with way too many Asian people (story of my life?), completely geeked out at the premiere of the last Harry Potter movie, and made my friends model for me. I probably should have spent more time with my grandparents. My friends & I had baking parties and cute dinners. On that last night before people started going their separate ways, my girls & I had final pre-college heart to hearts in a library, jumped fences, skinny dipped, and cried way too much. I got awful marks from flea bites right before going on a cruise to the Bahamas, but i went out in a bikini anyways and counted on photoshop being my friend.

We went as house elves. Rainbow Dobby-style house elves.

My beautiful friend Karis...in a cow suit...?

Photoshop was indeed my friend.

And then just like that, summer was gone. It was time to pack up my life and drive eight hours north and worry about grades and making new friends. Lucky for me, the people I've met at Brown so far have been nearly all amazing people. I've made incredible friendships here that last, just like my friendships at home have lasted. I should probably dwell more on the experiences I've had in college, both typical and not-typical, but this post is getting long and i'm getting tired. 

Sorry that you all just read about my life.