Literally speaking, we've reached the end of the school year, the end of our last Literature production and the end of our high school chapter. It has been a great ride. But before we say our goodbyes, I'd like to share some thoughts about our recent accomplishment (also because we're required to do this).

As many of you know, I've always wanted to act. It's always been a dream of mine. But after playing Cassius, I am more determined to really make my dream come true. Don't laugh at my optimism please! (Also thank you Dani for giving me your role, even though at first I thought you were crazy for handing it to me 3 days before the play.) I know that Acting as a profession may seem like a long shot and a one-in-a-million chance, but I really don't see myself doing anything else! I love acting. Memorizing lines and exaggerating emotions -- that's what I want to do for a living, nothing else. Hopefully the many roles I've been blessed with these past 4 years would help me land a bigger role in the future. Thank you to our casting directors and scriptwriters, Keena, Maxine and Mo for always believing in my abilities. I don't think I would have fallen in love with acting if not for the many lead and supporting roles I've been given in High School!

Another thing I'd like to point out is how impressed I am with the whole class for pulling off our extremely crammed play! I know that right now it seems way too cliche to go on and on about how amazing our class is, but hey it's the truth! No doubt. No bias. We really knocked the judges and the audience off their seats, metaphorically speaking (except for Mrs. Paranas who probably laughed her socks off throughout the entire play). We managed to give a great show despite the insufficient time. That just proves that NOTHING can stop us from achieving greatness! 

Great props team + Amusing yet complete script + Talented actresses = YEAR IVB CAST AND CREW

Lastly of course I must thank Ms. Arawiran for convincing me that Julius Caesar wasn't boring. Yes I admit, I was lazy to read it and study it. But the audio tracks and the "quotable lines" discussions really changed my perspective on the book. I didn't think Shakespeare could offer more than Caesar's death. In fact it wasn't even about Caesar entirely! Most acts comprised of Brutus, Mark Antony and Cassius. Nevertheless, it was constructed in a way that kept me wanting to know what was gonna happen next after every scene -- kudos to Shakespeare for that! 

We did it guys. We just finished our LAST Literature play as high school students! Hopefully this won't be our last production together! I hope to work with you all again in the future, maybe as professionals the next time. Thank you again, really.. thank you.

Anyway... For a play with only 2 days or even less practice, we actually did a really good job. Who knew that most of you guys can act on demand! Even without much practice! And you guys memorized so much lines in just how many days! that's what i learned about ll you awesome people during our play. about me... hmmm... i learned that i make a really good servant. lol. maybe it's my calling. hahahah. i hope not. About Shakespeare, is it me, or is he a little too violent? well based on Macbeth and Julius Caesar, he likes killing people with power. Hahahaha. Honestly, before i read the book, i didn't know that Caesar was gonna die. like i was really clueless about the story. I'm really glad that the people in governments aren't like that anymore! how do people live with themselves if they know that they took away someone's life. even if it is for the greater good, i don't think killing is ever an option. 

I'm sure that not a lot of you are gonna read this, but for those who are, i just wanted to tell you guys that i love you all so much and i couldn't have asked for better people to spend my last year in High school with. You guys are really amazing!!! Thanks you all 4 B-eing awesome! Hahaha. See what i did there! I think it's safe to say that we definitely CRUSHED IT!! 

I'll be honest, guys. When Ms. Arawiran told us to write something about what we learned during the production of Julius Caesar, I was already set on writing a corny, typical, and overly mediocre description of how we all "worked as a team" and  how the play was a "pleasant surprise" in the end for all of us. All pride aside, this is what I usually expect myself to do when I'm told to do something I'm not up for at the moment. Alas, this was exactly what happened when we found out we were doing a play on Shakespeare's Julius Caesar instead of The Fellowship of the Ring which I dearly looked forward to doing the previous year. Because of this, I really had a challenging time because of what I did and the consequences took it's toll on everyone because so many practice periods passed and we were still not finished editing the extra-loop-holed script. From this, I learned about myself that one of my biggest flaws is that I oftentimes simply do whatever I want for my own comfort and overlook the consequences of my actions on myself, but more importantly, on other people. The worst part is that I'm much too proud to admit it. This would seem a tad personal to be putting this on a public blog for everyone to see, but I just wanted to take this opportunity to apologize to those who were affected by these careless and selfish moments of mine. I'm really sorry, guys, and I admit it now. You all deserve much more than that. You all deserve more than that because you guys never condemn me when I become difficult to work with or even be with. None of you ever choose to cast the first stone when I get into my manic-depressive, listen-to-me-before-I-give-you-really-low-grades-in-the-peer-evaluation mode. You are all so forgiving, kind, and agreeable--which I think is what made our play such a success in the end.

Instead of saying how great you guys are at acting (which you all probably know already), I just wanted to say how I realized that everyone in this class has been such a perfect second family to me. During the acceptance speeches in award shows, many of the actors, directors, and producers always talk about how they've been blessed with such a great cast and crew and that they couldn't ask for a better secondary family than theirs. Although, I am fairly certain that their cast and crew has not at all been nearly half as wonderful as you each of you guys are. One of the things I love about you guys is that you overlook each of our differences to be able to bring out the best in everyone. I really saw this during the entire run and production of the play because despite our mistakes and failures, it wasn't simple one or two people carrying the burden of cleaning each other's mess. We all helped carrying each other's burdens without leaving anyone behind--that is truly a perfect family. Even if Julius Caesar was all about killing each other's friends and allies, I think that the audience, instead of seeing this, saw and admired the solidarity and camaraderie that is Year IV-B.

Shakespeare was truly right when he said, "All the world's a stage, and all men and women mere players." My dear friends, the school that we've been going to today is our stage, and I couldn't ask for any other people to share it with better than all of you. Unfortunately, there will be no encore and we'll all be exiting that stage (pun intended) in our lives and enter into a new one--with all new roles to play and different actors and players to share it with. I mourn for the day of our final curtain call that would finally end our days as co-actors together: our graduation. I hope that the acts and scenes we've shared will be forever burned into your hearts as they did in mine. Hopefully, in the distant future, we may cross paths again and guest-star in each other's lives once more.

Thank you so much again for sharing the stage. That's a wrap.