Greg

Eeyup.

Speech Thing:

Words cannot accurately summarize my experiences in this place. I’ve enjoyed some, I’ve hated some, and for the majority, I’ve been entirely too indifferent. However, the time I’ve spent here will be cemented in my mind for years to come and I cannot assign a tangible value to it. I’ll never forget the people I’ve met, the things I’ve learned, the friends I’ve made.

Freshman year. Hmm… It sure did happen. My freshman year involved me existing quietly and whizzing through core classes with few friends while sticking close to my then senior Brother. I noticed that the kids who were happiest seemed to have one thing in common. Music. They were in bands, they played together, they were generally closer than non-music based friendships. So I picked up a guitar and got to it. Then I said “Wow this is hard” and picked up a bass instead. For every bass player in Green Hope there are a minimum of six hundred and fifty five thousand guitarists. I was a rare breed and as a result, I was swept up pretty quickly. Two old friends from Middle School took me under their wings and taught me what it meant to be in a “band”. We were called Peach Fuzz, catchy right? We played three shows if my memory serves me. Our music was… less than polished but we cared about having fun a lot more. The band fizzled out but we all remained friends; a pleasant result.

Sophomore year is a distinctly fuzzy blur in my memory. I really do wish I could tell you more about it, but my collection of pictures, as well as my number of distinct memories from this stepping-stone are both entirely non- existant. My relationship with music and songwriting grew exponentially and I realized once again how much I loved piano after a long time of treating it with disdain. But I expand upon that in the next year of school.

Junior year was fun. Seriously. I cannot remember a time when I was more carefree and excited. (A sense of carefree that may or may not have had an effect on my college acceptances. But, meh.) My musicianship was the main highlight of my Junior year. I realized with astounding clairty and a scary sort of valor what music had done for me and how I can not just play for other people, but for myself. I began producing my own electronic music (later junior year, early senior year) under the name "Jackle App" which has gotten me a little bit of acclaim, a lot of new friends, and about 15$ in album sales. Which is more than enough! As a matter of fact, the music you're listening to right now was made by me!

Sweet Celestia, senior year... It was a whirl-wind of change for me. I finally felt a distinct place among my peers and my presence among them was cemented. I determined who my real friends were and how little I cared about what people thought of how I presented myself. I started to become who I wanted to be. I also found my permanent opinions on my religion, or more specifically, the lack-there-of, and politics. Senior year has definitely been my favorite year. My passion for the world around me and its people became so much more powerful and meaningful. Senior year is also when a certain "affinity" showed itself in my life. I officially became a linguaphile. Language is one of, or quite possibly the highest point in my interests. It dominates my thoughts and brings about such enthusiasm and interest that I've never felt with any other subject.

我想学习中文, わたしはにほんごをべんきょうします. My family is Spanish, pero, desgraciadamente no aprende espanol. However, I'm not letting that hold me back! In college, it will be the basis of my studies, and hopefully part of a double major I'm planning (International Business/Japanese Language majors).

Well, that's all I have to say about that. I've really enjoyed myself and I'll never forget what I've learned. I want to thank everyone who's helped me, who's enjoyed being with me, and who have been my friends.

I'll let the pictures fill in the rest.

OR

It's been fun!