graduation 2011.

graduation is such a momentous occasion, as it marks the end of one chapter in our lives and the beginning of the next.  it's crazy to think that, exactly one year ago today, i graduated with the wonderful aliso niguel high school class of 2010.

yesterday, i had the pleasure of supporting several of my good friends as they walked in their own graduation ceremony, with the class of 2011.  although it was quite hot outside and we (me, christine, ina, taylor, zach, matt, jason, and gavin) had to do a lot of walking to get to the ceremony, it was completely worth it to be able to support our friends in such an important milestone in their lives.

and, of course, it was great to be back at the high school football stadium (a.k.a. the marching field), the place that brought us all together in the first place.  it seems perfectly fitting that the field we spent countless hours on together for marching band/drumline/color guard practices should be the last place we all set foot on as high schoolers.

i'm so happy for and proud of all of my friends that graduated yesterday.  they each have so much to offer the world and i can't wait for them to start the next chapter in their lives.  congratulations, class of 2011!  you did it!

the wolfpack.

i feel like almost every day this summer has been a reminder of how the aliso niguel high school marching band, drumline and color guard program creates lasting and supportive friendships.  and tonight was no exception.

we (me, christine, nili, ina, evan, jeff, samantha, and jessica) got together to support our good friends (jason, matt, cameron, dan, and zach) play a game in their basketball league at the Y.

they call their team the wolfpack, which totally works for them because they act like "brothers" and play really well together.  and tonight was definitely their best game so far.  it was very fast paced and aggressive and it was obvious that they were trying really hard, which made it super entertaining!  it actually held my interest the whole time (and that's saying something because sports generally don't hold my interest all that well).

these are our game watching faces:

unfortunately, we lost the game, but that's perfectly fine because it's really not all about winning.  participating in this kind of a league is more about having fun playing a sport that you love than what the scoreboard says.  plus it's a great excuse to spend time with friends :)  regardless of the score, tonight was a victory in my eyes because the wolfpack put up a great fight and played hard.

after the game, we had a little post-game munch sesh at in-n-out, where we spent the next couple of hours hanging out.  yet another great night :)