written around junior year of high school
Introduction
The title of this poem is pulled from A.H.’s senior dedication, which was written in the fall of 2016. Born in 1999 by in vitro fertilization to a graying couple, A.H. would later go on to win a volleyball championship, have his heart broken by a girl who didn’t like him that much, and attend the University of Pennsylvania. But in this photo, he doesn’t know all of this yet. There he stands, permanently, on the bottom of page 49, in front of an orange brick wall wearing large, rectangular glasses, a completely unknown future ahead of him.I remember many things about the people on these pages.When these people all left Taipei behind for bigger and better things, it occurred to me that no matter how much they would change in the next few years, this is how I will think of them forever. For this reason, the senior dedication section has always been my favorite part of reading the yearbook: These 140 words make permanent a very temporary time in our lives. And it is the collectively accepted impossibility of binding infinite feelings to a finite limit, that makes these words worth remembering.A thank you to our sisters and brothers, with whom there is never a dull moment. To our parents, who have loved us despite our ruining the furniture as toddlers and keeping secrets as teenagers (tattoos, piercings, or a bad test grade). To our best friends who have kept the secret tattoos a secret, shelved away with stories of adventures and first crushes worth telling again one day. To our home, who we’ve now outgrown.We owe our childhood to all of these; we are forever indebted to them.The following is composed entirely of excerpts from various senior dedications by the Taipei American School Class of 2015, 2017, and 2018.150 words do not do my love justice
150 words simply isn’t enough to thank everyone I have encountered妹妹- I’m so proud of you superstar.Sister: you pushed me into a pond when I was 5. you’re doing your best.Minna: take care of ma and pa and study hard!Emily: be good while I’m gone. Don’t forget to look both ways.Amy:, Jade:, Yasmin:, Kyra: you know I love youChloe: probably gonna miss you the mostCYN: my irreplaceableCharlotte: my best friend.Anne & Megs: Thanks for leaving me all alone in this pit of despairTae Hyun: three more years of what I sufferedBro: when mom and dad weren’t there, you were the one I learned from.Bro: take careJake: never settle.弟/keep being the gentleman you areyour last two years, theygo by so fastAH: everything since petriAUSTIN: stay strong boi lov u long timeLLOYD: u left me out of ur senior d 4 years agoTo my parents:Daddy: I know you’re watching over all of usMom: everything I hope to be as a woman.warm hugsbroad shouldersTo my parents: sacrificed so much,everything you have donethese incredible opportunities, I owe to yoursacrifices,the countless sacrifices,you have made for me.it is far beyond what I deserve and I can ever give back.Friends:old and new,Friends- everyone who made it a little less painfulFRIENDS:To Friends: How lucky I amCherie: Je t’aime a la folieBecky: my rock on this cold cold islandTHE BOIS:所有的朋友和兄弟wouldn’t have survived without you.youwill always hold a very special place in my heartCat: my first crush, Teagan: Made my year,Jon: love youwhatever happens,Baby chili flake: You are truly something special andsecond to none.the city. It’s taken care of me well.the thought of going to a school that doesn’t have orange brick wallstaiwan’s weather. i’m not going to miss that.7 years of friendship-this hell hole, for the past nine years-12 years from now-These past 18,18 years of love,18-Eighteen-years anywhere is a long timethank God it was TaipeiThe people I love (you know who you are):yes, you. I cannot thank you enoughfor forcing your way into my life.-our paths crossed-“I hope that we’ll meet againin a world of peace and freedom in the taxicab, if the accident will.”Wishing you the very, very best.