I am (finally) a GRADUATE!

I am (finally) a GRADUATE!

Four years of hardwork and perseverance finally pay off as I come up the stage and receive my much coveted diploma.

posing beside me is my mom and my aunt who has helped me a lot to get where I am today. 

A journey four years in the making

Ten, te, te, te, ten, ten, ten, te, te, te, tennnn,nenen, ten ten ten ten ten, ten  tenennen tenenen tenenenennnnnnn!!!

The music is solemn and loud as 870 seniors walk up the aisle not to get married, but to graduate.  

I celebrate graduation with mixed emotions. I am extremely delighted to have graduated as an honor student, yet also saddened by the fact that me and my beloved batchmates, have to part ways. Each and every one of us will pursue our dreams and sadly, we won’t be seeing each other for a long, long time.

Four years seemed to have come so soon. Wasn’t it only yesterday that I entered the doors of F. Torres High School as a freshie? And now, as I bow at the stage, after I have received my diploma, I glance at the oval, staring  at all my classmates, my family, and my teachers, and say to myself:

“This is it.”

That moment when you receive that diploma, is the culmination of all those
sleepless nights, days of empty wallets, and hours of effort. You have to admit, its one helluva feeling.

Four years, so long, yet so short. Up until now, I still wake up early get my towel and my uniform for my shower, and as I go out the shower, I pick up my uniform  then stop short in my tracks, and I do a facepalm:

“Wait a minute, there is no more school.”

I reap the rewards of my effort

My name is spoken, “Adrian James Astorga” I go up the stage once more, not to receive my diploma, but to receive my medals, “First Honorable Mention.” I carry in my left arm, my mom, through hardships and problems have always been there for me. 

the Faculty of FTHS, bestow upon me numerous medals. 

It is a great honor indeed to be an honor student of the 100^th batch of Excellence of Torres High School, yes you read it right, Torres celebrates it’s 100^th commencement exercise.  Also another honor it is, to introduce the guest speaker, none other than, Manila City Mayor Alfredo Lim. 

I introduce the guest speaker, Mayor Alfredo Lim

Hands clap, and my medals are put over my neck. This is a great achievement for me indeed. I am thankful, very very thankful. I would have never gotten this far on my own, there were a lot of people that helped me, my mom, my aunt, teachers, and a lot of friends. 

presenting the honor graduates of the 100th batch of Excellence 

The end of a journey and the beginning of another

my mom and I solemnly sing the Torres March

As we sing the Torres March, together with my mom, who was also a graduate of THS, that feeling of sadness sets in, knowing that this would be the last time you'll sing the Torres March as a student. I try all my might to sing it with fervor, with solemnity, and with dignity.



And now, marching out of the oval, after a few pictures with my friends, I look back. The empty oval, my home for the last 4 years, but, the bird has to leave the nest right?

This journey was an adventure I wished, would've never stop, but it has too. I know the next journey would be even more difficult than the last-- College.

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One last Prom

A Prom Like No Other
JS Prom 2013: ONE LAST TIME

The JS Prom Cotillion

Three words to describe the Juniors’ and Seniors’ Promenade of Florentino Torres High School:
Magic. Elegance. Memories.

After two weeks of delay due to bad weather, finally, we celebrate prom.

Prom, the most awaited and most romantic event of the year, where couples dance the night away, and when kings and queens are crowned. Where love is in the air, and friendships are made even stronger.

 This is my last prom. I’ll miss my friends, everyone I hold so dear. My classmates all looked forward to this event. Our last hurrah. Being the emcee of this event was hard work, but being part of the magic that happened that night makes it even more worth it. So this is it, our last prom.

JS Prom Magic

---

Yes, there was magic when hundreds of Juniors and Seniors of F. Torres High School entered the oval to celebrate Prom. Magic indeed.

You might ask what kind of magic there was that night. It was LOVE. And guess what? The theme for the JS was: When Young Hearts Beat as One.

Shin Maca with his girlfriend Bie Duenas
as they hold each others' hearts.

I can bet that a lot of hearts came in sync and all came together to one slow rhythm.

Nothing beats two people, slow dancing to that oldies love song. It was sweet and romantic.

In the midst of the chaos, the noise, and the glaring lights, there were worlds that were created. Lots of them. I saw a lot of couples, dancing with each other, simply enjoying themselves. Time seemed to slow down between them, this was their moment, just the two of them, not minding anyone else. I felt so happy for those people.

People watched out for the famous couples, some even screamed out of pure delight as they watched.

My very close friend Vin with
Kio Ozawa.
JS magic <3 p="">

And me? Well, my tradition during prom? It was confessing to every crush I had that I like them, making up with old enemies, and dancing the night away with my special friends.

And one more thing, I didn't had a date. I'm not ashamed of it though, since I danced with a lot of women ;) In fact, I cant count how many I danced that night.

Have you heard of JS Prom Magic? Its when you fall in love with someone you dance with during prom, and that person ends up as your boyfriend or girlfriend.

That happened to me last year it became a summer romance, and I saw a lot of people going through the same thing that night. JS Magic, a great thing to see unfolding in front of you.

Elegance

---

Everyone went to prom in their best suits and dresses. Even if the outfits were simple, everyone  looked amazing.

Who knew that the wallflowers of the class ended up to be a stunning vixen. Or maybe that nerd came out as the guy of your dreams.
As for me? Well, see for yourself. ;)


A quick sidenote, our prom was postponed for days and because of this delay, the people who rented clothes ended up spending even more T_T but nonetheless it was worth it. Everyone looked great.

The Prom King And Queen

Of course, the main event of the night was crowning the Prom King and Prom Queen. After weeks of screening and intense deliberation, we were left with ten, yes TEN candidates. (A quick FYI, my mom used to be prom queen, during her JS prom, and one more thing? My mom also graduated from Torres HS.) These ten are the epitome of people with not just irresistible looks, and appeal, but also talent. You have to admit, entering a pageant is hard, I've been there and I've donethat, and I will tell you, that it is HARD.  So congrats to our Prom King and Queen. They really deserved it.    

Kate Naomi Doroja, Prom Queen '13
Photo credited to Mr. Anjoy Galope
of Anjoy Galope Photography

Memories

---

In the end, even if you had a date, even if you danced with a lot of people, even if you received that coveted crown, all of that would be in vain if you didn't make memories .

Seniors from Rizal and Bonifacio
photo credited to Mr. Anjoy Galope

With my bestfriend Rod Malaca

with my Partner Vee Velasco

And to make good memories, you need to have great people, people that made high school the best four years of your life. I'm so happy to spend prom with guys that really became a part of my life, no matter how long, or how short, our times were. Making prom possible was a journey indeed, and working with the people that made it happened was an honor. One of the memories I will cherish was being the Emcee of the event. The work was tiring, but definitely worth it. Prom is about having a good time, making memories, memories that will last a lifetime. 

Dancing the night away with my classmates made this JS prom, special. 
Thank you Por-Wan Rizal for that. 

IV-Rizal

As the night ends, so does the JS Prom end, (and this blog post too!) 

IV-Rizal

The JS prom was a truly memorable experience.
It was a night where everyone was beautiful, 

a night when love was in the air

a night when YOUNG HEARTS BEAT AS ONE. 



A big thank you to Anjoy Galope Photography for his very impressive shots during the JS Prom.

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I am a Honor Student, Cosplayer, Blogger, Lover, Friend, Councillor of the Second District of the City of Manila, Eco King of Manila

Hi! I am Adrian Astorga. And this is who I am. 

I was once a City Councillor of the Second District Of  Manila in the Annual Boys and Girls Week where High School students were given a chance to become public city officials.

Adrian Astorga aa Councillor

 I am so blessed to have great friends in high school. Here I am with a fellow Zero   Waste Youth Advocate.

In my spare time (which often never comes) I play the piano. 

I am a frequent contestant in several competitions. Here I participated in a quiz bee against the brightest students in the city of Manila

Here I won in a Science Investigatory Project Oral Defense. 

My Science Investigatory Project was about the use of corn cobs as an insulator. 

One of the Highlights of my high school life was entering my very first (and hopefully the last) pageant.

The pageant was about wearing recycled materials as clothes, and becoming a role model for saving the environment. The contest was called :

The Search for the Eco King and Queen

I was so happy to be crowned as the ECO KING OF MANILA

This was my partner during the contest.

My classmates go to outings sometimes. =) 

SWIMMING!

I also do some cosplaying =) 

So this is me. Adrian Astorga

Honor Student, Cosplayer, Blogger, Lover, Friend, Councillor of the Second District of the City of Manila and Eco King of Manila

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Almost There

Almost there

THE JOURNEY

High School, we started off as a bunch of teens simply awed by a new chapter in our life. Met new friends, exposed to a new environment, stayed up late, did a lot of homework, went to prom, went to your first date, loved somebody, hated somebody, broke you heart. This is high school.

High school taught me to be independent. I didn't rely on my parents as that much anymore. I learned to stand on my own two feet. I learned how to budget not only my money due to the many projects that we have but also to budget time.

High School presents a lot of new things to us. This is the time when we make friends, friends that will accompany us through one of the most important parts of our lives. High school is a bore if it is all work and no play. It is not all about gaining you knowledge about the world but also gaining new knowledge about yourself.

High school is a spiritual journey. A journey of self discovery. People change a lot during these times. And friends do play a part in this. We learn to interact, to talk to people to socialize.

my classmates, my family

Challenges don’t come one at time but more often than not all at the same time. We are tested to our limits. Assignments due tomorrow, impossible projects on the same day, a dance presentation the day after that, and so on, so many things to do so little time, welcome to high school.

Time passes by quickly

Sometimes we wish it would just end. That the barrage of things to do would stop. That we should just get our diploma and say good bye to high school. And now, now that we are seniors, now that we are just months away from graduation, we stop. We actually don’t want it to end. How ironic that we used to say “I WANT TO GET OUT OF THIS PLACE NOW!”, now we are actually saying that we don’t want to. We actually want to stay.

my Computer gaming buddies @ JS Prom

We feel the end coming. We all feel the days are numbered, that the moments are just only a few. That we will at the end of the day, say good bye to each other, that we all have to go to different colleges, that there we might never see each other again for a long time.

I’ll sure miss these days, days that I would stay up late doing my projects, days that my friends and I would hang out after school and play computer games. We laughed, we cry. We share moments that we wish would never end.

I’ll miss my teachers who have molded me not as a better student but actually a better person. I’ll miss the morning rush, walking as fast as I can praying that I won’t be late for my first class. I’ll miss the days that we are together through both the good and the bad times.

I can’t possibly imagine how 4 years of high school pass by so quickly. Wow. I can hardly believe that all of these will soon be coming to a close. Now, I lay here on my bed reminiscing, remembering the highlights of my high school life.

Now the road that we are all walking together seems to end, and we all see new paths. New paths that will, sadly, separate us.

Savoring each moment left

I think that the limited time left actually is a good thing. That knowing the fact that we are going to graduate actually encourages us to enjoy each moment that create every day, no matter how small, no matter how irrelevant it may seem.

a very special friend of mine since 1st year high school

We laugh a little harder. We cry a little longer. And we smile a little brighter.

As the end goes ever near, we talk about our plans, our dreams, and our aspirations. Where will you go to college? What would be you job after that? Will I get married?

It is so cool that we won’t be remembering when we all went to a fancy vacation, when we went to a fancy restaurant, and when we all went to the spa. No, we won’t be remembering these things, the things we will be remembering are: the jokes we shared while we are eating lunch, the time that we all got humiliated by our teacher for not being able to solve a math equation, the moments we just sat down and talked, but most importantly the thing we will remember the most, are just merely simple moments. Moments that we would just hang out and chill, listen to the music, and just dance like crazy.

an outing to a resort

 

                                    

                                                                                             It’s not the end of a book, but rather a beginning of a new chapter
 

Now that I think about it. It’s not really an end. As the saying goes:

“We don’t say goodbye, we say till next time”

with a couple of friends with our teacher 

We are nearing the finish line. We are definitely almost there. High school was one heck of a journey. But I know better things are yet to come, I just know it.

Sure we might hug, share a few tears, shake hands, say our best wishes, but we will never forget each other.

I know that somehow we will all find our way back together.

Now, I am just that more exited for graduation. It’s not that I don’t want to see them again but I know that we must all part ways for a while, maybe meet new friends, make new experiences, and study some more.

I love high school. I love every second of it. I love the people that go with it too. But most importantly, the moments that are not REMEMBERED but rather NEVER FORGOTTEN.

And maybe years from now, we might be doing these things again. Making and sharing new memories.

So yeah, we are almost there but that doesn’t mean we will never meet again.

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