For those who have seen the picture video of the adventures of my senior year, The World Tour, I hope you all liked it! Pictures are a great way to see the different adventures, but what about a book? So much happened last year that the best way to describe everything is with words. Many might know some of the story or some not at all, so I give you A New Adventure: The Story Of Senior Year :)

Chapter 1: A Summer Of Change

Standing on the balcony of the highest building of Damien Memorial School, a private catholic school, I leaned on the railing and looked down at the green grass below with my two best friends, Ethan Diaz and Jared Miller. It was a warm day (typical for Hawaii) and a gentle breeze fell over us. Despite everything that happened the past couple months, things seemed to be peaceful. Much of the stress that had been surrounding the school for the past week lifted with the end of finals and many celebrated and wished each other a good summer and a safe return for the next school year. Though many students had just officially became the new seniors, many did not experience the change or wouldn't until August, but for me, big change was about to come.

Moving had become a big part of my life growing up in a military family. Every three to four years, a new adventure would come. I had been all over the world from North Carolina when I was in pre-school to Italy when I was in the early years of elementary school. As a little kid, adventure and change was always welcomed because it meant getting to do something completely different, but as I got older, things would be different. As I became older and started getting closer to people, moving away and starting over again became something that was harder to do with every move. As much as I resented the idea of starting over again, especially right before senior year, but little did I know that great change was coming.

After school ended, I expected to be talking to the people that I had become closest to in the past three years, and while I did, the person I talked to most surprised even me. I met a girl with dark short hair and glasses back when I moved to Hawaii in the middle of seventh grade, and though I never really talked to her, the same girl would enter my life almost five years later. By this point, Alana Higa had grown so much from that girl I met in seventh grade, with very long dark hair and a infectious smile. Alana was the best friend of my new neighbor and that was what sparked our conversation as we caught up on what had been happening in our lives. Never would I have guessed that she was the cousin of the junior honors and AP lit teacher Philip Higa, and that sparked our conversation even further as she talked about him in the view of a family member and I talked about him in the view as a student.

After returning from camp and being with the some of the people that meant most to me for five days, my sister Georgi and I returned home, the movers coming in just a matter of days. Just as quickly as they came, the movers left after a three-four day period. Stress levels were once again high, moving around from hotel to hotel in a car that was packed to the fullest with two cats and record breaking heat without ac. Talking with Alana reduced that stress and the closer we became and the more we talked, it was clear that we had a lot in common. Had I not started talking to Alana, I wouldn't have known that it had been quite some time since Jane had last talked to her, and Alana felt the friendship was fading. It was at that point that I was looking forward to meeting Jane to try and restore a friendship that was once there.

The final days leading up to the last were days I did my very best to make the most of. Everything from spending a very large amount of money at the Hawaii State Fair, the last time Ethan, Jared and I were together, to August 3rd. On August 3rd, many of the friends that I had become closest to were now seniors with the first day of school. Entering the grounds, things were different from the last time I was on campus. The day was not warm with a cool breeze like it had been on that last day of finals, rather the air was very hot and humid just as it had been most of the summer. There was loud shouts and people running up as I came into view, friends that I became very close to and classmates alike. I saw my best friend May Roque towards the hill leading to the track and reminisced with her on how we had become best friends through French. Word got around that I was on campus and I was led up to a room in the highest building of the school, where Ethan, Patrick, and many of the other friends were waiting to start a cross country meeting with head coach Brother Samp in the front of the room. Sitting through the meeting, I listened to the usual talk about preseason and how there was big expectations this year. That was the point that everything was really going to change. Before I could leave the room with the rest of the crowd leaving, Brother Samp came up to the back of the crowd towards me.

"I remember when you came in as a freshman and I have seen a lot of growth in you both through running and the classroom. You should be proud of the young man you have become and thank you for your dedication. I wish you the best of luck." said Brother Samp reaching out to shake my hand.

"Thank you Brother Samp, it was a pleasure having you as both a teacher and a coach." I replied extending my own hand to shake his. Ethan waited outside with me and we found a bench to sit on just a little ways away from the room we had just come out of. We sat in silence for a couple moments as I thought about what Brother Samp had just said to me. Coming from the man that I dressed up as freshmen year for Halloween and the man who had been my coach for three years and teacher for one, that meant a lot.

"You know, I'm really going to miss you bud." said Ethan interrupting my thought process.

"Yeah everything is going to change isn't it?" I asked looking up at some of the people that were passing by. "Oh wait I just remembered there is something I have to do!" I said jumping up from my seat on the bench and running down back down the other side of the balcony. "Where are you going?" Ethan called after me as I ran down a small flight of stairs. "Be right back!" I called over my shoulder as Ethan was out of my line of sight. After running down a long stretch of classrooms and almost tripping over a couple more stairs, I finally arrived at the opening of room 401 and strode in without hesitation.

"Graham Gibson!" roared a very cheery man in his young twenties as he walked towards the front of the classroom. Mr. Freeman had come to Damien to teach Hawaiian history two years ago and though I was not one of his students anymore, I frequently stopped in the previous year to talk with one of my favorite teachers throughout high school. "Hey Mr. Freeman!" I called out as he sat down on a desk to talk to me. "It's going to sad not having a guy like you stop by my classroom every couple days. Thank you Graham for always checking up on me even through the hardest times. Where did you say you were moving again?" "Virginia." I replied. "Well that's definitely going to be colder in the winter! Speaking of that let me know if you ever come back up towards Idaho because we could go skiing!" "Yeah I'd like that." I said trying to put a convincing smile on my face. The thought of not being able to visit with one of my favorite teachers was not exactly a "happy" thought. "Hey I wanted to ask you about this before I left but would you mind writing a letter of recommendation for me? I really feel that you were one of the teachers who knew me best." "Yeah of course man! That would be an honor for me!" Mr. Freeman replied enthusiastically and as he did, the screen on my phone lit up. A text telling me that it was time to go so that we could take my sister to the airport. "Hey Mr. Freeman, I would love to stay and talk longer but I have to go take my sister to the airport." "No worries!" said Mr. Freeman as he stood up from the desk he was sitting on and embraced me in a man hug. Walking back down the row of rooms, I met Ethan and he walked me to the car that was waiting for me in the parking lot. When we reached the car and said our final goodbyes, he too embraced me and we both promised to stay in touch as much as we could.

Arriving at the airport not long after, both parents were sad to see my sister go, but this was something different for me. Georgi had been there all of my life no matter where we moved, so this was going to be the first place where she was not going with us. Add that to the fact that I had just said goodbye to all the friends I made in my three years at Damien, and it is safe to say I was emotionally exhausted and slept easily that night, with my big orange cat Wendell by my feet and an older gray one. Lulu, on the other bed. The next day was spent preparing for the flight later in the night, from checking to make sure that all our baggage was ready to go to getting both cats into the area they needed to be in to get on the plane. The flight was boarding at 6:40 PM and was departing at 7:20, an expected arrival time of 8:05 AM on August 5th. When everyone finally boarder and the plane was in the air, I looked out the window catching the last glimpse of the city and as the blue ocean faded from view, I knew my new adventure had begun.