excuse typos or flaws that you find. i was pressed for time. =/
but you get the gist of it. :)
Ashlee Sumilat
ENGL 111-3
Narrative Final Draft
9 October 2009
Breathtaking scenery? Check. Best friends? Check. Sleepy eyes? Three times check. A few of my best friends and I are sitting in a circle underneath a large, white wooden cross atop one of Mt. Rubidoux’s peaks admiring the city from a different perspective and soaking in the beautiful sight. The morning sun is just rising, waking up the wildlife of Riverside, California on this balmy early-June morning. Moments earlier, the sky was fairly dark and all of the local building lights and city lights were on, transforming the scene before us from a typical, ordinary city to a beautiful black canvas dotted with different-colored glistening jewels. I’m completely captivated by it. But it was no easy trip coming up here to see this. I personally woke up at 4 o’clock this morning since we were supposed to meet at my friend’s house around 4:30 or so, making my slumber a grand total of three hours, maybe even a little less. My friends are suffering from the same amount of shut-eye, or, rather, lack thereof. We had to rush to get here because we wanted to beat the sun before it rose, and we left later than planned. The hike up wasn’t particularly enjoyable either. All of us took the shortcut, meaning that we scaled the mountain, opposed to walking up the paved path, and most of us were short of breath trying to make it to the top in time. But we’re here now, and this beautiful scene is our reward. Today is the day that we leave high school behind and we’ve chosen to celebrate it with each other in this way.
To an outsider, my group of friends and I may seem like any other high school bunch of teenagers that eat lunch together everyday and hang out on the weekends every now and then, but we are much more than that. Throughout this past year, we’ve shared our hearts and thoughts with each other while grabbing food from Ricebox or Maki Yaki, two of our favorite regulars. We’ve shared many similar interests and hobbies such as photography, volleyball, and music. There have been many times when we’ve casually gone places not expecting much--“Hey, wanna go to Yogurtlicious? Or the Mins’ house?”--and for hours spent time together, laughing and creating numerous inside jokes, establishing that event as the highlight of the week. When the good times came, we celebrated together, and when bad times rolled around, we prayed for each other until they passed. Our parents knew each person on a name-to-name basis and weren’t surprised when their house was suddenly and spontaneously filled with six or seven teenagers walking through the door saying, “Hi Auntie! Hi Uncle!” These people that I spent so much time with this year are very near and dear to my heart.
While trekking the hills behind Hulda Crooks Park in Loma Linda during one of our regular early-Sabbath-morning hikes, one of my friends suggested that we as a group get together a breakfast picnic basket during graduation weekend, climb Mt. Rubidoux, and watch the sunrise. That was several months ago, or perhaps just one month ago (I honestly can’t remember). I was skeptical as to whether or not my friend’s plan would actually come through, but here we are (most of our group anyway), graduation day, sitting on a few boulders at the top of Mt. Rubidoux watching the sunrise together. The only thing that’s missing is the breakfast picnic basket.
We all enjoy the peaceful atmosphere for a few minutes before one of my friends speaks up. He suggests that we go around the circle one-by-one and “share our troubles with each other.” With a unanimous agreement, he starts it off by talking about a few things that have been on his mind recently and then goes on to the next person.
I sit and listen to the prayer requests of my friends as they talk. Their requests range from a variety of different subjects, such as family problems and spiritual concerns, but most of them are, understandably and not surprisingly, about college: fears and anticipations, financial concerns, and the like. For so long we’ve thought and talked about college, but today legitimatizes the fact that it is indeed a reality approaching soon.
One of my friend’s “testimony” of sorts is filled with tears as he reminisces about how unhappy he was at the high school attended last year and how incredibly happy coming back to our school for senior year made him. He shares how appreciative he is of our friend group and how we are more like family to him than anything else. His sentiment is heart-warming and makes me misty-eyed. This is the first time I’ve seen him cry in a while, and the fact that he chose to let down his guards and truly be himself for a few minutes created a sense of intimacy and bonding between all of us.
The circle comes to me and it’s my turn to share. My concern/prayer request, too, is about college, but it’s different from everyone else’s. See, all of them, or at least 90 percent of them, are going to the same college. I am one of the few that is not. Originally, I was supposed to go to Pacific Union College with them, but things changed last-minute, so my college plans had to accommodate that change. So I share how upset I am about not being able to be up there with all of them. Missing out on all the inside jokes, being left out of certain experiences and memories, and even something small like not being able to complain about the same teachers is not an inviting prospect to me. With hesitance, I acknowledge the fact that things won’t be the same when we all leave for college, and I truthfully say how much that hurts, especially since I became so close to all of them just this year, so I ask for their prayers of comfort.
The last person shares the things on his mind and heart, and we decide to go around the circle one-by-one and pray for the specific prayer request of the person on our left. Someone is assigned to start and another to end, then we all bow our heads and dedicate each other to God. As we’re all sitting in this circle, fearing the uncertain future together, I can’t help but liken us to an army or a group of soldiers bracing and preparing ourselves for war. A bit overdramatic, I know, but in this moment, we’re recognizing all of the different challenges that we’ll face in the coming year, whether they be academic, spiritual, emotional, or social, and we’re choosing sharing it with each other and with God. The sacredness of the moment gives me chills.
We finish praying and give each other huge hugs while laughing a bit and wiping a few tears from each other’s eyes. One of my friends sets up his tripod and puts his camera on timer before pressing the shutter button and rushing to his designated spot. The camera beeps slowly for a few seconds then a few times rapidly before going off, photographing all of us in our positions. I ask to see the picture on the screen after my friend dismounts his camera from the tripod. He shows it to me and I stare at it, being fully appreciative of the fact that such a contraption exists to help capture what just took place under cross today. I think of the saying “A picture speaks a thousand words” and I can’t agree more. This photograph speaks of a year’s worth of laughter, an hour’s worth of memories, and a lifetime of friendships. They are ones to cherish.
