TIC VIDEO. / 12:32 AM

TIC. / 9:52 PM

ENTRY: THE FIRST.
Take a step back. Admire what you have become, Katrina. Look at all the people that have touched your life; affected it. Seventeen years of change and maturity. Tears cloud my eyes. Joy. Pain. Love. A flood of emotions. Thank those who unknowingly affected your life. Savor the memories, Katrina.

ENTRY: THE SECOND.
I carry a camera with me. No surprise to anyone anymore. School events, class celebrations, candid happenings. Capturing faces that affected my life presented as an easy task. I wanted to surpass digital photographs to capture a different flavor. The verdict? Polaroids. I already carry two cameras: a digital and a video. Why not carry a bulky Polaroid camera that still requires you to look through the eye-piece?
The Polaroid camera has been in our possession since our move to Santa Rosa. It immediately printed our first memory in this town onto a small square frame. I dreaded moving to Santa Rosa. Born and raised in Los Angeles until the age of 8 told me I belong there. After the move to Northern California, more than half of my life sprouted in this very town. I met the greatest people, made wonderful friendships. It started with the first Polaroid picture.

ENTRY: THE THIRD.
Pictures say a thousand words. Actions speak louder than words. Words cannot nearly express the appreciation I encompass for the people who have touched my life. No harm in trying. An idea of a video interrupted my train of thought one evening before I drifted off into a dream-state sleep. I started filming clips of a select few to give a different visual. The simple request to talk about anything that came to mind posed as a difficult task for many. “What do you want me to say?” Introduce yourself and just say you like asparagus. “Katrina, you’re killing me with this ‘project’ junk!” I absolutely need footage for my project, no lie. Those are some examples of the conversations that arose throughout my quest to capture film. An epidemic of camera-shyness swept my friends and nervous chatter filled the small screen of my camera instead of calm and collected randomness. Either way, they received my thanks and appreciation for significantly affecting my life.

ENTRY: THE FOURTH.
Three years of growing. Three years of learning. Three years of ridiculous laughter. Three years full of memories. Three years of high school. (No underlying archetype of doom.)
Last night, I realized three years approaches an ending. With each progressing year in the class with Mary Jo Renzi, a growing closeness developed. A good chunk of time spent with the same group of classmates equates to a lack of awkwardness. Jody, Nora, Alisa, Gabe, Kate, AJ, Jake, Mark, Atul. That makes ten. In a class of sixteen. When together, all sixteen of us, there are no barriers, no tension. Just laughs and mutual understanding.
We gathered at the house of Señora Renzi to study last night. It presented itself as a new environment, but as soon as I entered the house, a rush of familiarity surrounded me. Immediate transition to conversation and charades commenced without an awkwardly dragged out “Heyyy….”
When Renzi asked, “Kate, Katrina, what are you going to do next year when these guys leave?” The question popped up in the midst of music and dancing. I froze. No Spanish, No Renzi, No seniors. I began to reminisce at how high school has been the height of my growth and transformation. Especially in H-5, the class of Renzi.
I’m only in my third year of high school. How many years with the “Spanish bunch?” Oh, that’s right. Three.

ENTRY: THE FIFTH.
To include every single noun that affected my life serves as an almost impossible task. The purpose of my choices of visual representation in no way purposely excludes subjects. It merely gives a sneak-peek; a teaser. If not featured in any of my visual representations, I assure you that you still hold a place in my heart.

ENTRY: THE SIXTH.
Discoveries. Oh the discoveries that intervened the middle of this production. I retrospectively realized the little moments that changed my life; the unforgettable experiences that will forevermore stay with me.
The most recent “unforgettable experience” happened over the summer of 2007 in the course of three weeks. The privilege of hosting a Spanish exchange student arose one morning during AP Spanish Language. Elena Rasho Mateos.
Prior to her arrival and the arrival of the other exchange students, I browsed the gift shop while the other hosts slowly trickled in. As the hour of their arrival neared, the excitement climbed. A batch of airborne travelers spilled out of the hallway. Our eyes searched for the group of students from Spain. Elena, Davide, Laura, Anahi, Paula.
As a group, we decided to grab a midnight snack before heading home. In-N-Out wins the unanimous vote. A thought strikes my mind. How will I ever keep Elena entertained and out of boredom for three straight weeks? We sure kept them busy. The park, mini-golf, go-cart racing, arcade, bowling, Los Angeles, movies, ice skating, San Francisco, and relaxing days at each other’s houses. A strong bond formed between the Americans and Spaniards quickly within the time span spent together.

ENTRY: THE SEVENTH
Take a breath. Forcing you to look back on the memories makes it easier to fully appreciate the things that have affected your life. Crazy, huh? Most definitely. The heartaches and heartbreaks, the lessons learned, and the memories made. All of it compacted into seventeen years. Life withholds incredible paths that lead to infinite journeys and opportunities. So live life. Don’t hold back.

-kat.