Belonging

High School.

You either had a good time, or you absolutely hated it. To me, the desire to fit in and feel a belonging was paramount as a freshman joining a sea of new faces and cliques, not to mention the unfamiliar territory I would be spending the next four years. Intimidation and fear were a couple of the emotions I experienced at first. But after some coarse tuning and a little faith, I was a typical "high school kid."

I recognized early the need to have friends. And to me, the more friends I could get the better. I didn't care what ethnicity, social status, or clique they were affiliated with. I would befriend anyone, and everyone I could. My best friend introduced me to the school choir, which would be my first of many activities I'd engage in in high school. In my opinion I couldn't sing, but the interaction with others, and developing friendships made up for that.

Students at Washington High School at class, train...

High School Sweet 16 Toast

Japanese school uniform, Yohohama, Japan

Even though I never went punk like Mr. Graffin, my interest in music would shape my life and provide a foundation for my sense of belonging in high school. It was also a great way to meet girls, which was of course the motivation to get up and go to school each day.

As I got through my sophomore year, I realized I wanted to do more. Since singing in choir wasn't the "coolest" thing to do, I decided to try out for the schools baseball team. I was a decent ball player, and after the first couple of practices I gained the respect of my fellow teammates and was considered part of the team. The friendships I would make playing baseball would last a lifetime. As I look back, it was at that point I had...