It was just an average afternoon during sixth period art class. I was working on my project when Ms. Hook handed me a yellow quarter sheet of paper. Little did I know, that sheet of paper would lead me towards three memory filled years that would shape my high school career.
I looked down at that sheet of paper and saw my name written in Ms. Van Thiel’s curly hand writing followed by the sentence “You have been recommended by your English teacher to try out for Rampage!” Initially, this offer did not intrigue me; I was more in shock that Mr. Lieu would recommend me to write for the school newspaper based on the scores he gave me on my essays. I slipped this note into my backpack and, as the bell rang, headed out the door towards the boy’s locker room to get ready for football practice.
Like many other kids out there, I wanted to be the star athlete coming into high school. My plan was to play quarterback for the football team and small forward for the basketball team to lead the Temple City Rams to state titles in both sports. Then, I was going to be highly recruited as the nation’s top prospect and accept a full athletic scholarship to play sports at USC and become the first person ever to be drafted in both the NFL and NBA.
Those dreams were crushed when I made a fool out of myself at the first day of summer camp in front of Coach Saxon and got sent to go practice with the lineman instead, and when I realized that I was only getting off the bench during garbage time under Coach Hollinger and Coach Lawrence during summer league basketball games. Yet, during my freshman year, I only saw green lights when it came to sports. I had tunnel vision and directed all of my focus on being the best athlete I could be, until that yellow quarter sheet of paper cautioned me to slow down.
Trying out for Rampage became the best decision that I have made in my entire life. I cannot imagine what my life would be like today if I had not received that yellow quarter sheet of paper and made the decision to attend workshops at the end of my freshman year. This little sheet of paper changed my life and taught me that life’s unexpected gifts are its best gems. While a big part of high school is about planning to set up for the future, getting this slip of paper showed me to also let life take the wheel and see what great places it can take me.
I never would have thought that Rampage would become my pride and joy during high school. Although it was hard work at times, I never felt any strain in having to sit down for three hours a day at a desk in front of a lagging computer in the Rampage room and build a page. Instead, the job only brought me a sense of enjoyment because I knew that I would be making new memories the moment I stepped foot into that room because of the people I would be working with. For many of these people, I can’t imagine what my life would be like without them, and I would have never met them if I had not received that slip of paper during sixth period art. These people, whose spirit, passion and kindness (and sometimes vulgar) made staying at school until six for late nights, something that I will dearly miss for the rest of my life.
Although I won’t be signing a multi-million dollar NBA contract anytime soon, I wouldn’t trade my time in Rampage for anything in the world. The fun, the people and the journey are priceless.
TCHS School Newspaper