THE EVENT 2012

Has it really been 5 whole months since I've updated? Well, this goes for the rest of the year, I guess. Everything seems like "it happened yesterday". Previous CAS events. First days of school. Last days of school. But in reality, we are in the home stretch! Just over 6 more weeks of IB, then poof! We are released into the scary, larger world of university as (hopefully) well-rounded, inquisitive knowers. I only hope that I can do the last two years of IB justice.So what's gotten me into a nostalgic mood? Well, today's topic is "The Event".
A more vague title could not be made, in my opinion, yet it was so fitting. What used to happen (and still happens at most schools) are grad fashion shows, where grads strut down a catwalk in borrowed casual and formal fashions from stores. I volunteered at last year's Westwood grad fashion show, and truthfully, it got a bit boring. However, this year was different for Westwood grads of 2012. Instead, we put on an entirely choreographed show, from beginning to end. For the past 3 months, more than half the Westwood Grads have been rehearsing for "The Event". What did that mean for me? It meant waking up for 8:00 a.m. practices on Saturday mornings; cancelling tutoring sessions after forgetting that we had extra rehearsals on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons; and gritting my teeth and enduring a gruelling one and a half day rehearsal right before the actual show knowing that 4 design labs, an HI and a math portfolio were due the following week.
But, I digress.
It was, seriously, ALL worth it.

Perhaps it is the romantic in me that would like to glaze over the entire event with rose-colored glasses, but I am sure that not only are my following words true, but they won't entirely capture the essence of what indeed was "The Event". This was the first time I have ever seen true unity with my grade. Oh yes, all the teachers could say that we are the most responsible, ambitious, and likable grade in the entire school. But along with that, we are also a group of very stubborn leaders. We, as individuals, know what we want and how to get it. Trying to get us to get along together nicely, as an entire group, seemed impossible (if only that it had never, before "The Event", been asked of us before). But here we were, IB nerds (I say this with love, as I am of this group), artists, dancers, jocks, musicians, non-descript students....we were all devoted to making this event the success that we knew it could be. Not to say that it was without the road bumps. Time management, some group friction, choreography issues....but isn't that to be expected? And I always remember Mr. Tom's (the super, super super-glue of the entire show) last words before we began the show: that, four years ago, he taught a group of students that perhaps weren't all the best students intellectually, but were all unique in their own way. And those group of students inspired him to do something different. In essence, to give back. And those students... were us. And at that moment, I think no one in that theatre (including me) had ever felt more proud to be part of this graduating class of 2012. If we were enough to inspire a teacher to fearlessly change a long-held Westwood tradition (for the better) as little freshmen back in 2008, I can hardly imagine the positive change that we, as adults, would be able to cause in the future.

CAS Components

Creativity: Participation in various choreographed dance numbers

Action: Ditto.