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and so we talked all night about the rest of our lives…

Heaven knows I’ve written enough sentimental entries about my final year in high school to fill a blank novella, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fully get over the fact that I’m finally graduating and leaving this place. Well… it’s not like I’m terribly sad to be leaving; I’m seriously overjoyed that next year I’ll be far away up North in Massachusetts having the time of my life in college. But the sheer reality that I’ve already suffered four long years in this cesspool of education is hard to grasp.

I think in my past four years I’ve complained enough about the sucky aspects of my schooling, so for once I figured I’d go back and talk about the few things that made senior year completely and totally worth it.

1. AP Computer Science
Okay seriously. I don’t know how else to express CS except an extreme case of love-hate. The class itself gets so tedious and annoying at times, but at the same time it’s awesome because we all suffer together, collaboratively. That’s exactly the same type of feeling I get from MIT’s environment; even though it will probably be gruesome and difficult, the sheer notion that we’re all going through the same thing together is something that I really enjoy. And besides, there are so many fun moments in CS every single class period, whether it’s picking on Alex Innes or listening to Clayton’s bad jokes or having Ms. Pittman tell Nate to shut up.

2. AP Biology field trip
The AP Bio field trip in September down to Port Aransas was, to put it lightly, freaking awesome. So what if I had to do a bunch of biology labs I didn’t care for? So what if I was freezing in my bed every single night? So what if the floor was disgusting old tile and the bathrooms had to be shared by four people? So what if the bus ride there and back was 7 hours long? I had a blast with a bunch of people that I daresay I ended up being extremely close with. Walking on the beach in the moonlight, fitting 10 people into our cramped room to play ERS, eating cookies and chips & dip, staying up late talking about relationships and being the first to drift off to sleep (and sleeptalk), picking up hermit crabs and ctenophores, swearing colourfully during games of Chinese poker and Presidents, fitting 10 people into the tiny booth at the pizza place… good memories were made, I will confess.

3. Science fair
Nothing can really top scifair in my list of awesome stuff from senior year, honestly. School fair was fun. Regionals was exciting and we came up with more inside jokes (such as eating our lunch in literally 5 minutes before 2nd-tier judging) - it was so amazing to stand there in a circle with everyone in the Biochem aisle and listen as they slowly, teasingly announced all the first place winners. That was some serious tension and really got the adrenaline going, haha. State was even more amazing since we had such an amazing group of people this year, and even MORE inside jokes were made (Faith getting arrested, partying in Ashley Covington’s room). And then, of course… Intel ISEF 2008, seriously the best week of my LIFE. I met so many awesome people and it ended on a very good note =) I’m going to have to make a scifair post going all the way back to the beginning and discussing how I’ve grown throughout the years…

4. MIT acceptance!
March 15th, about 3pm. “On behalf of the Admissions Committee, it is my pleasure to offer you admission to the MIT Class of ‘12.” I think that in itself is enough to explain why this was a highlight of my senior year. Just think about it… it’s freaking MIT! I get to study under great professors, be in a place with students who are on my same wavelength and value that same collaborative spirit that I do. I’m just SO. VERY. GRATEFUL. that I was given the chance to attend. I’ll have to copy/paste the letter I originally wrote to attempt to convince MIT to accept me; I don’t know if it did any good, but looking back at it now, I feel really accomplished because I truly feel like it expressed my real sentiments towards MIT and I’m confident that I was accepted because of the characteristics I expressed in that letter.

5. Senior prom
So those who know me also know that I’m not really social. I don’t attend get-togethers and parties often. But I’m really glad that for one single night, I actually stood up away from the computer and went and had FUN with all my friends. Dinner at Carino’s was awesome (table of 14, anyone?) and even though I didn’t dance at prom itself, I had a lot of fun just socializing with people in general, and the evening ended very well. I feel proud that I actually ENJOYED a school event, haha.

6. Random things during the school day
So many little things also made my year truly unforgettable. Such as.. skipping French to work on science fair, playing cards with Chris and the others in the library, phone-stalking Steven with Ashley Covington, walking around with Steven during student aide, sharing peanut-butter cups with John Veloria, invading the food boxes in Mrs. Mann’s storeroom, and various other items. Good times.

I don’t watch anime anymore nowadays; I find most of the series (with the exception of Rozen Maiden, ahem) to be terribly cliche and cheesy and boring. But there -is- one series, even though it’s really childish and cliche, that still carries importance in my heart, and that is Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch.

It’s a mahou shoujo series, which means lots of cute, wide-eyed heroines with sparkly backgrounds and romance and amusing baddies that they eventually make friends with (oops spoiler?) However, that’s not the reason why it still means a lot to me. No, the reason why is that this was the the first series where I was able to truly bond with other fans and made a ton of friends (Ekuri, Josephine, Jody, Kaen, Aisasami, Sepia, many many more..) The glory days of the Mother Symphony forums spent speculating about the next turn of events, talking about all the pairings and songs and fanworks, roleplaying, ranting, just generally having fun. This is a series that contains not only a lot of cute animation and music, but memories that will last me a lifetime.

Thus, as tribute, I’m going to rewatch the entire series start to finish because… hey, I can. It’ll be a nice way to revisit the 2003 years… wow, has it really been that long since MMPPP first started? It’s been THREE years since it ended? No way!

Anyways, without further ado, MMPPP episode 1: Tears of Pearl

Have I ever mentioned I love the opening sequence for MMPPP? Taiyou no Rakuen, though not my favourite song from the series, really sets the mood for the plotline overall; a song of a starting out on a journey, inspirational and breathtaking. The sequence of animations is both nicely timed (pet peeve of mine) and provides a beautiful introductory vignette of each of the major characters

The story starts off on a very good note. It’s really common in anime nowadays to have REALLY sucky first episodes, which is just a turn-off in general, but MMPPP starts off the action right away with the introduction of some interesting questions that pop up right away. Why is Lucia looking for her pearl? Why did she come to the human world to do so? Why were her servants worried about her leaving that day? What are Nikora and Hippo hiding from her? Of course, however, like most shoujo anime’s, it starts with a bit of not-so-funny and dry stereotypical humour, such as Lucia tripping over vacuum cords or singing so off-key that it shakes the entire house. That’s slightly ironic since Lucia’s seiyuu wasn’t really a good singer to begin with, so having her sing off-key was just a bit much. I will praise her for improving GREATLY over the course of the series, though =)

For those who don’t know already, MMPPP’s initial storyline is based very loosely off of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale of The Little Mermaid. Lucia’s flashback in the first episode reflects that quite clearly, but I’m actually really happy that they didn’t end up create a dry anime version of the fairytale. I really like series that are based off of literary works but end up with a completely different storyline and characters (Romeo x Juliet is an excellent example!)

Another thing about MMPPP that totally rocks is the character development. Already from the first episode, we’re introduced to quite a few important characters, and from their first appearances, you can already get a really good feel for their characters. Kaito’s first meeting with Lucia emphasizes both his cocky and confident aura and also his softer side as he pulls out the box with Lucia’s pearl. From the first appearance of Hanon, one can already see that she’s a really energetic and carefree yet emotional girl. And of course, we can’t forget baddie #1, Izuuru =D

If there’s something that’s really cheesy about MMPPP besides walking penguins and dancing mermaids, it’s the fact that the weather changes are really cheap and sudden…

but that’s okay, because we’re at the part of the episode that’s my favourite… transformation and song! And for that, I’m going to pimp out the TCG set that I made of Lucia’s underwater transformation from my former TCG Lovely Tempest ;D

Now, the first song sequences at the beginning of Pitch (season 1) were nowhere as flashy as those used in PURE (season 2) - a screenshot from one of the PURE episodes is shown as a comparison - but the music is still kickass. Lucia’s voice is still really raw and untamed, so it sounds pretty sucky as a solo here, but thankfully it improves a LOT. The song itself is Legend of Mermaid, which remains one of my favourites to this very day.

Well, that’s pretty much a wrap for episode 1. Most of the other episodes with the exception of the finals ones are kind of in the same vein. Typical day in Lucia’s world, baddies show up to screw it up and steal the mermaids’ pearls, Lucia and gang sing their awesome songs, win the battle, and rescue everyone. Sounds very MotD-ish, but the keystone episodes (such as 13) in addition to some really cliffhanger appearances towards the ends of the episodes, are the ones that really help drive the series forward. For example, in episode 1, it’s revealed in the last 30 seconds that Hanon is also a mermaid princess. Each episode often includes some small hint or clue as to what’s to come, and that’s what keeps us watching~

Perhaps in the future I’ll talk about MMPPP’s music (which I can pretty much swear I am the biggest fan of, thank you very much - no one else has quite the complete collection like I do). Speaking of which, I still need to reupload all the complete MMPPP discography..

Oh, yes. And did I mention the awesomeness that is the Black Beauty Sisters? ;)

10am, Sunday, May 11th. I’m standing in front of the baggage check-in kiosks at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport with my huge red suitcase, my handbag, and my laptop bag. Excited shivers run down my spine as I cluch my project notebook closer to my chest. This is it. I’m going to Atlanta, GA, on a trip that I had only dared to dream about since… I don’t know, freshman year.

That’s right, guys. Only a mere week ago I was jumping up and down in disbelief at the fact that I was going to the largest gathering of brilliant young scientists in the world… and now I’m back at home, sitting in my office, exhausted after six days of partying (i.e. nerdfests) at the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair 2008.

… you know, I think I’m going to cry from sentimentality and nostalgia. Seriously.

I have never, in my entire life, had such a good experience as that I have had this week. I have never been as happy as I was this week. I have never spoken to such amazing people, never felt such excitement, never been so thrilled by simply being allowed the opportunity to be in the same room with students around the world just as passionate about science as I am. You know, sometimes I lament about the fact that I wasn’t able to make it here to ISEF sooner in my high school career, but at the same time, I reflect on this idea and you know what? I don’t think I would have appreciated it quite as much. Not only does this, being both my first AND last time, mean so much more to me as a mark of the culmination of my personal development and scientific endeavors… I also got to share this joy and exhilaration with fellow MIT prefrosh! You know who you are ;D

To appease my longing to hitchhike on a plane back to Atlanta (so I can either spend some more time socializing with the ISEFers who still remain or just sit in the GWCC and revel in the awe and sheer wonder of what just took place there), I’ll have to take you all back to review what was definitely the BEST week of my life. Starting tomorrow, I’ll have to skip down Memory Lane and tell all the juicy details, but since I’m dying from lack of true sleep and thus feel terribly drowsy, I’ll leave you with this teaser of an introduction. In the coming days I’ll post a day-by-day anecdote of my adventures - hope it doesn’t bore you all too much!