Grads, do not go where the path may lead...

Who would have thought that sitting on a small makeshift stage in a hot gym with a lot of rowdy kids and their parents would be fun? Not me, but it certainly turned out that way. That was my grade 9 grad. Being the "Mistress of Ceremony" (I mean, that title in itself is just awesome :P) was surprisingly entertaining.

I'm relieved to say that the event turned out well, and with Sameena Sherman playing guitar (watch her become an incredible indie star... I'll have called it), and Maren and Alex with their valedictorian speech, you could say it went perfectly.

After the formal ceremony we all headed out and took photos and chatted with family. That was certainly chaotic, but I had a good time taking photos with Ms. Short and all those 7C kids. Everyone trickled in to the small gym for the dance, where I mostly just took photos of friends (I'm not really in to the junior high dance styles).

Towards the end there were all those awkward hugs (people I didn't really know giving me quite dramatic embraces) and the tears of friends and acquaintances. I'm not one to cry at these sorts of events, and that didn't really change last night. Although, I did feel dispirited when I saw the sweetest (and easily our school's most serious) couple dancing to the last song played. They're going to different high schools, and it hit me as to how big a deal this will be. I realize I'll soon grow accustomed to my new school, but of course I'll still miss my good friends whom I will no longer see on a daily basis. Sheilagh is off to her local high school, and of course Lyle has another year at Mck. But I still have two months to spend with them before the next school year.

Around 11 pm Maren, Sheilagh, Vi and I walked down to Whyte ave for the afterparty, meeting Gill at the restaurant... there was a lot of pizza and warm chocolate brownies involved... That was some hardcore unhealthy food. But it kept us full and awake until 3 am, so I suppose it's all okay.

Finally, at one in the morning, Maren's dad gave us a ride to Gill's house where we had an classic sleepover. Lots of random jokes and funny stories were shared... in a lot of ways it was the "perfect" end to junior high, just laughing with some of my oldest friends. It's like something out of one of those horrible all American teen novels... oh dear.

But enough of being sappy and scared that my life will spiral in to the depths of a Judy Blume book, I need sleep!