Introspection of Idyllwild

Hey you all. TASP Reunion baby! I've just stepped in as well, and seeing that I am alone (as far as I can see), I inspected the vestiges of Isaac's visit. Man that boy has been brewing up a strom in California, hasn't he? It's so interesting to see our futures unraveling, fulfilling the prophecies that Adam and Jenny made about us all. How on the first day they told us we'd be getting to know some of the most exciting people we've ever encountered, that some relationships would continue into our collegelife and adulthood. Man they were on the ball. Heraing about you guys at your respective schools is an endless source of inspiration. Whenever I'm in a flunk, feel like I can't get done what I set out to achieve, I simply just read our blog. And as you all indulge yourselves in your respective colleges, meanwhile....

Can you believe I just got out of the SAT? Those dreaded things? It actually wasn't so bad, as I had good reason to go - decided to raise my verbal. But on a more emotional level, I never thought I'd say this but, I felt so great about taking that test, waking up early, and being productive. Too many times have I woken up at 11 on weekends, waited til 1 to get moving. But you guys know what feeling I'm talking about. It helped that the weather here is so moist and autmnal; the clouds roll inhere on the mountains as we art students lurk about the Jefferson Pine Trees and breathe in the droplets that almost hover around us. This weather is so pristine now, the first day of brisk, fresh air and comfortably warm jackets and plad scarves. All that's missing are the orange/red trees from back home, in Vermont.

I've become the hippy of Idyllwild, the green, organic, earthy crunchy environmentalist with a liberal attitude and long hair. Of course I'm just in my normal state of mind and character, but I'm the only Vermonter with a Vermont paradigm, I fit quite the stereotype here. But it's a great sense of current identity, how I can change it, where I'd like to stay with it, and so on. Ironically enough, however, I've discovered a new passion most definitley in pursuit of my interdiscplinary dream career, and this discipline is Environmental Science. I have always been concerned about the Earth and it's well being, society's flaws ad how its environment is being degraded in its own way. But as soon as I started taking Environmental Science here I've gone bananas. I started an Environmental Club here to promote awareness and to address concerns of our daily practices here involving the use of natural resources, and about 1/8th of the student population signed up! I'm beginning to have screenings here of important documentaries such as "The Corporation" and "An Inconvenient Truth". being in an Arts school, I just feel this calling to help everyone here realize our relationship with the earth, considering everyone here understand and appreciates the wonderous beauty of nature and uses it to paint, to compose and play music, and everything. I think I may have found my academic niche (or, at least a fundamental root in all the disciplines I delve in), but I'm not jumping the gun just yet.

Other than that, tings here have been getting so busy. In Performance Workshop, the only required class for "Interdisciplinary Majors" or "IM's", we're doing our initia test performances. Next Tuesday me and a couple of other kids are doing a musical/dance performance depicted in the hillbilly south of the 1930's and 40's. Our goal is to start off with a Leadbelly tune called "Cotton Fields Back Home", as me and a girl sing and play the melody and another guy is playing the spoons as we're all dressed in that good ol' southern attire. Meanwhile, a life size string puppet is dancing with us and another dancer - quite the howdown. But halfway through the song that glorifies agriculture (and we have a painted field behind us with a famous quote of Woody Guthrie, "This song is Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of Copyright # 154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody caught singin it without our permission, will be mighty good friends of ourn, cause we don't give a dern. Publish it. Write it. Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, that's all we wanted to do" written in the skyline), we switch to an amplified, hard rock White Stripes version of "Boll Weevil" a song that talks about the dustbowl and vacancy of crops. Simultaneously, the backdrop is ripped down and behind it is a sombre depiction of a city with a quote about copyright infringement and such. We're trying to make a statement about all them copyright acts, but seeing as we're all super stretched out we may not be able to get that second switch in.

Meanwhile, I'm joining the Calculus Club, College Applications are well underway (Oberlin is my dream), Painting is doing wonders for my aesthetic understanding, Parent's weekend is coming up and thus Jazz band has a concert coming up. My Jazz Band teachr is off the hook, he is so unbelievably amazing. He has played with all of them - Miles, Coltrane, Hancock, Gillespie - I mean everyone. And his inspirational presence is astounding. During our Theory classes he brings in philosphy, metaphysics and what he calls "High Math" where 1 + 1 = 3. I've been learning so much it's unbelievable. And my guitar instructor is equally as passionate about what he does. When he's not bombarding me with work, we talk and talk about all the Jazz Greats, he lecturesme on Pat Metheny. Man, this place is a trip. The people here have such a great sense of community and a vibrant attitude towards life - it might be the elevation. I know everyone already, it's really embellishing my individuality. Although I'm in a "solitude amongst others", I'm so comfrotable and within good company here I can't wait to see what happens.

But that's my life thus far here, I'm finding new friends, new ideas, new skills, new everything. And I'm still in High School. Remember when ya'll thought I was crazy in doing another year of high school?

Anyways, I hope you al are doing well. I really hope we can see each other again sometime. This next summer sounds promising to me, but we'l see.

Henrik