As I look back upon the past four years, in some ways it seems like my time at Kiper has been a lot like a day at the Magic Kingdom. From the moment I heard about Disneyland, I knew that I wanted to go. I counted the days until I got there, much the way that I counted the days until I left Harbour Pointe to migrate over to Kiper. Time passed so slowly because I was anticipating the great times ahead. At the end of middle school, my classmates and I thought we were so cool because we got to make that trip to someplace fun and exciting. On the first day of high school, we got up early like eager kids ready for a day of play. At Disneyland, people line up early to get their tickets and begin their enchanted day. As freshmen, we lined up early to get our class list, incredibly thrilled to finally be here. Our heads were full of the stories we had heard about how exciting it would be. Little did we know what awaited us. With our admission pass, commonly known as the schedule, we too got a map. Like Disneyland's, ours had pictures of the paths to take, leading to our varied destinations. Some thoughtful senior had actually color-coded mine, so I knew which direction to go. Our maps led to the science hall, the English hall and the Performing Arts Center, while Disneyland's led to Adventure Land, Toon Town and Main Street. Their map listed various places to grab sustenance like the Rainforest Cafe, Mickey's Kitchen and Rocket Pizza, while our map boasted four: the Commons, the East Campus Cafeteria, the Student Store and, God help us, the vending machines. With 10 minutes to go, the class of 2003 hurled themselves into the crowd of hustling students. Some of the freshmen were simply so glad to be there that the mod didn't... ... middle of paper ... ... as a freshman and stared up at the brick edifice known as Kiper. It is incomprehensible that we have grown up so quickly and are about to leave forever. Never again will we all be in the same place in time. All good things must eventually end, but the wisdom, the friends and the experiences that have changed us will remain a part of us forever. It is unbelievable that the admission pass has expired and the gates are about to close. It is time that we leap out of a storybook fantasy and into the real world. Four years later, as graduating seniors and young adults, it is time to stow the baggage we collected, climb back into the car and drive down the road to the future, never looking back. It is time to journey out into the world, to make our places as individuals, a group no longer and to make our own unique mark upon the world. Congratulations, Class of 2003!
When I was in elementary school, I loved to read. I was a total nerd back then ... okay maybe I still am, but one thing has changed. Now I don't so much like reading. My favorite poet was Shel Silverstein, who wrote "Where the Sidewalk Ends." He seemed like he was a total hippie, but that's cool because I like hippies. My grandma is a recovering hippie. I like her too. Anyway, Shel Silverstein wrote about the coolest things. He wrote about magical erasers, eating whales and a boy with long hair flying away from people who were taunting him. He captured all of the things that I loved without knowing that I actually loved them. Now you may ask, how does this hippie relate to our graduation? Well, he wrote a poem entitled "Traffic Light" and this is how it goes:
Good evening. Some of you out there may not realize this but those of you who attended Suntime Middle School have been with this guy for the last seven years. I would like to ask you all, not just Suntime Middle School grads and who all else, to join me in thanking Mr. Weather for his patience and dedication to the success of our education over the years. We are the Class of 2000. The first graduating class of the new millennium. The past four years have been pretty wild. We started out as a bunch of rats in a small cage, but as time went by we learned and matured and became big rats in a new small cage, but in any case, the cage door is now opening; the handlers turning us wild things loose. As we leave "Where the Wild Things Are," home to some of the best cat fights, fist fights and food fights this side of the Cascades, I have a little surprise for all of you sitting in front of me here tonight in your caps and gowns … we ain’t seen nothing yet!
Ever since I was a child, my family and I have been Disney fanatics. The Disney empire has created many amazing places, but my favorite location to visit is the Walt Disney World Resort. Every day 50,000 people from all over the world arrive at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida to experience the magic. When the park first opened its gates in 1971, 10,000 visitors made their way through. That number has multiplied five-fold and continues to multiply to this day. Since the 1971 opening, over 600 million people have experienced the magic of Disney. In my lifetime, I have visited the park with my family and friends six times. Each visit lasted four days in order to experience all the parks and their unique offerings. When I’m in Disney World, the experience each time is incredible.
When I think back to my trip to Disney World, the biggest thing I remember isn’t the Mickey Mouse hats, the amazing castle, or the princesses. It was our map with all the bathrooms circled in red. The constant waiting for my mom so I could go ride the spinning teacups or Space Mountain. I used to get angry that my family always had to wait for her, but now I understand. It wasn’t her fault, it was her disease.
Furthermore, Disney World was the best experience for me because I went on the most amazing rides. Walking around the park, Monica, who is my older sister, would always tell me stories about the risks and dangers of getting on a rollercoaster and stories about people going to the hospital die to their horrible
Everyone who has ever been to Disney World thinks it’s going to be the vacation of a lifetime but when we went it was the vacation from Hell!
“To all who come to this happy place; welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past...and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that have created America...with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world”, said Walter Elias Disney as he gave his opening speech at Disneyland, Anaheim in 1955. Disneyland was a place that was welcomed to everyone. Disneyland became an inspiration to the American people by peaking curiosity and adventure to children.This family- friendly amusement park gave those who entered it, the opportunity to expand their minds from technology, to history, adventures and
When we got settled into our hotel all I wanted to do was go to the theme park and begin to have fun, but my dad had said it was too late to go. Even though we had agreed not to go to the theme parks we still decided to go to Downtown Disney for dinner.
I knew he was talking about Disney Land, but I just didn't understand. This made me even more anxious for tomorrow's opening, I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I smiled with great pride as I walked up to the big decorative sign that has little animated characters around it and says Disney World and walked in. Today was the day. The day where I was going to prove everyone wrong...
Let’s flash back in time to before our college days. Back to then we had lunch trays filled with rubbery chicken nuggets, stale pizza, and bags of chocolate milk. A backpack stacked with Lisa Frank note books, flexi rulers, and color changing pencils. The times where we thought we wouldn’t make it out alive, but we did. Through all the trials and tribulations school helped build who I am today and shaped my future. From basic functions all the way to life-long lessons that helped shape my character.
I nervously opened the doors to my future, hoping for the best for myself. At first, I believed departing to class would be simple, but when the bell rang for the first time I had no idea what class room goes where and how busy the halls were going to be. Suddenly, the entire world around me scrambled to class, and on occasions bumping each other along the way; it was a widespread panic for most of the freshmen. Fortunately, I found some wonderful teachers to direct me to my rooms that I will spend the next year
The second I stepped foot onto the amusement park’s property, I could feel the magic swirling all around me. As I walked through the crowds of people young and old wearing Disney apparel and Mickey Mouse ears, everything seemed so enchanting: the cheerful music, the twinkly lights on all of the buildings, and the stores that could have been from my favorite Disney movies. Walking along the streets, I took pictures of everything around me because I did not want to forget a single detail; I took pictures of the vibrant yellow, red, and pink flowers that lined the streets, the buildings with intricate details and designs, and the massive roller coasters that glided so swiftly on their tracks. The air was filled with heavenly scents of sweet churros, and I had to get one; it was delectable. Everything at Disneyland seemed perfect and like it was out of a movie. Even as I was about to leave, I got drawn back in; spectacular, bright, colorful fireworks started bursting right over my head, and I could not bring myself to go. My first visit to Disneyland was truly enchanting and magical. At the time I thought no other vacation could
The first time I was at Disney World was a long time ago. My family and I were really excited to go for a long time. The Disney World we went to was in Japan.The First we flew there we would up in the morning and go to some of the parks there. I was really young but I still remember everything to this day. We went to all of the parks and most of the shows that would play. We stayed in Disney world for a little over a week. It was our last day so we went to our favorite park animal kingdom. We had a ton of fun but it was about time to get packed up and go on the plane. The plane ride would take around 14 hours long. We were on the plane finally and it was really stormy. There was also a lot of turbulence. The turbulence seemed
When I heard my parents talking about going to Disney World I was so excited. It was a long trip down to Florida and I could not sit still, because I was so excited. We finally arrived that evening and decided to stay in a hotel near the theme park. When it was time for bed I could not go to sleep for a long time, because I was so excited about going at Disney world. When I saw the big mirror ball from the entrance, I was amazed. Disney world had a wide variety of rides. There were tons of rides that shocked me. Some of these rides made you feel like you were riding in a jet because of how fast they were. There was even a roller coaster ride in the huge mirror ball. It was a slow ride, but I still liked it because there was air conditioning inside the ball. We spent all day at the park until we had ridden everything. That night Disney World had a firework show. The fireworks seemed like they lasted forever with the amazing colors bursting in the air one right after another. When the firework show finally ended my parents told me that it was time to leave. I was...
Upon my arrival I stood eagerly in line awaiting my turn. The excitement flooding my body, people all around me, and cheerful music ringing in my ear. The closer my body reached the front, the more my butterflies fluttered in my stomach. As a day of new experiences was about to begin, I grabbed out my camera, and began to create memories with a click of a button. Once it was finally my turn to enter, the man at the ticket booth grabbed my pass, scanned it, and told me “Welcome to Disneyland!” Once I heard the magical, “swoosh” noise from the ticket booth, I jolted right into the park. My friends following behind me, just as eager and ecstatic as me. Disneyland, my second home, is the place that’s consumed my life for the last three years. While I do go every other month, it still creates new and wonderful memories each time I attend