Im writing this essay, the first Ive had in a while. Lately Ive been concentrating on other things, and I have even tried to submit art. But Ive worn myself out easily by drawing my own pics, as I still have had other things to worry about. Such as school.

But starting today, my hiatus (concerning my art) may be over. My years at the private school I go to in Warner Robins, Georgia, have most likely, most hopefully, come to an end on this day. Today was the last day of school, the last day of my 11th grade year.

Ive had ups, Ive had downs, deep downs.

But for all its worth, its not a school year to think about like “oh, all the good times we had.” No…Its simply a year to remember.

Cue the music (Coldplay- “the Scientist”)

If the memories of the school year are a journey for me, I would want 4 people, and only 4 people, to walk with me.

Almayna Chen

Michael Lee

Aaron Glasper

Takiya Patrick

These 4 people were not just my friends, my teachers (except for Aaron, we were “homies”); they were the people who had the most influence on my life for that school year. They were the ones who listened to me and could carry on an intelligent conversation with me. They kept me from doing shit that I could have regretted in the long run.

They kept me alive, really.

Mrs. Patrick, most of all; she was my favorite teacher in my whole life. I never had a reason to be bitter towards her, like I was with most of the other teachers. She understood me, and pushed me in ways that I could understand in BOTH the short and the long run.

When she died, at around 9:00 am in the morning, March 29, 2004, my life was nearly shattered into broken glass. Both mines and Aaron’s; he never had beef with her either.

To the two of us, she was the true definition of sincerety and serenity. Put her name as a definition under the word “Christian” in the dictionary, for she respected people’s beliefs, no matter how different they were from her’s.

Mr. Lee was immediately put in her place, even though he wasnt really qualified as a teacher. As a man who had just retired from the Air Force, Mr. Lee was nonetheless a very sincere and knowledgeable permanent substitute. At first I was sorta at odds with him because of my attitude like “forget America, Im going to Canada” stance, but then I was able to carry on such intelligent conversations as I had with Mrs. Patrick.

He even told me some pretty strange stuff. Like for instance, who would’ve thought that Saddam is a FreeMason?!

OK, tell me more about that later.

And by the way, both with Mrs Patrick and Mr. Lee, our class always had the most disturbingly candid discussions, about such subjects as the kinkiest forms of sex, the stupidest career moves by people in the news, and our own homeroom teacher, Mrs. Brown (she was a wigged and cocky asshole of a teacher to the most of us. Even my Mom got pissed at her! NYYAARRGGHH!!! HATE YOU, MRS. BROWN MOTHERFUCKER!!! DIE SHE-FUCKING-DEVIL!!! *stabs with a pitchfork and gets holy water*). Heh I always wanted to do and say that to Mrs. Brown (BEEYOTCH!!!).

Now Mrs. Chen (she doesnt have Chinese descent, her husband just happens to be of part-Chinese-Jamaican descent) was a very sincere person. She couldnt take noise, she just wasnt that kind of person. And she often yelled at me and everyone else because either it was too frickin loud in the classroom (half a large trailer, you all!) or I wasnt doing my work on the computer (computer was her cup of tea, she was just forced into being a science teacher, which is one of the main reasons why she isnt coming back next year).

But whenever me and her carried on an intelligent conversation (behind closed doors, of course!), she told me about her really serious issues concerning the school, and she was honest and straightforward about it. She told me alot of things yesterday that at first I was blown away by, but then I realized that from, her position, all of what she was saying, about the students who gave her the most shit, was actually TRUE. And alot of those same class”mates” also put me through alot of shit too, and I was immediately enlightened. And understand that this was her FIRST year at the school, I think it was her first year teaching PERIOD, just like Mrs Patrick. She’ll be sorely missed by me.

Now Aaron, oh boy! Aaron is around my age, and he was held back a year, and he was often considered the class clown by everyone else. And yes, he had a sense of humor that made the year a little better than it would have been if he werent at the school. He came in the middle of last school year, and he didnt change himself for anyone ever since.

His hero was none other than Tupac Amaru Shakur, and he admired his multifacetedness as a rapper (Aaron has all of Shakur’s CD’s), a poet (“In The Event of my Demise”), a dancer (for Digital Underground), an actor (Poetic Justice and Juice). Aaron showed a taste, if not a lust, for the thug life, as he himself was part of FOLKs, a gang that you might know of if you live in inner-city New York.

He also showed a side to me that he really didnt show to but a few others. He showed his knowledgeable side, his intelligent side.

I was shocked when he asked me this koen: “Did God ever make a rock so big that he couldnt pick it up himself?” I say both Yes and No, and either time he responded “Then He’s not the Almighty.”

Aaron encouraged me to not change myself for these assholes at the private religious school I went to. And in the end, I never did. He stood by me the WHOLE time. Never had an argument with him, never was angry with him for any least thing. Just like with Mrs Patrick.

These are the only four people that Ill remember (and WANT TO) from this school year. These are the four whom Ill miss most dearly, with all of my heart.

And as I go for one last time from the school that I was forced to call my school for the last 5 years, I want to say this to them:

“You 4 were the people for whom I had the most respect, admiration, and love. I doubt that Ill be coming back, and i seriously doubt that either of you will be at this school next year. But know this: Im glad that, out of the five years I spent at this school, you 4 are, and will always be, the only things I would want to remember about that period in my life. No one else matters in my memory of these 5 years, and I dont want them to, either. I wish the best for you 4, and if I dont see you again, I hope to see you in the next life. But then again, the world needs more people like you, so I wont have to worry about that!  ”

Cue the music (Whitney Houston- “I Will Always Love You”)