As the Footsteps Die Out Forever

lately, I've been feeling reminiscent of the good ol' times. The times back in the far, far past of the summer of 2006. A time when i was, i guess you could say, turning into the human being i have started to shape myself into in my current years. Recently, i dusted off my illegal, burned copy of Keasbey Knights by Catch 22 (Sorry, Mr. Kalnoky, but at the time i had no money and an Internet connection and way too much free time). I look back on that summer as one of the greatest times in my life. So, i guess the cliche is true: these really are my greatest years. This was the summer where my musical 'persona' started to flourish. Ska was a new thing to me, even though i had played in a ska band with my friends. It was the perfect mix of good friends, hot weather, teen angst, and boredom. This blog in fact does tie in a little with the earlier post about TSA. At the time, Lucas, my guide through this musical journey i was going through, was teaching me about all these different arrays of bands like Streetlight Manifesto, Catch 22, The Slackers, and Choking Victim. With no school in the way, we were able to all hang out around the bay area and just enjoy each others company and savor the imminent separation of high school graduation.

The reason i bring up these happy memories is because today i decided to give Catch 22 a listen again and instead of doing my homework, all i could do was just think of all those awesome times we had together, whether it was going up to El Sob and hanging out in berkeley, or stopping at Jes' house for some band practice. That school year, adam and i were going into our junior years while lucas, nick, alan, devon, jes, julia, and heather were all going to be big ol' seniors. I didn't know if they knew or if any of us knew, but we had to have known that that would be the last summer we would have together that was care-free. No worrying about going off to college or what was gonna happen after school, but just plain fun. Catch 22 is my biggest connection i have to that time. When "Keasbey Nights" starts with the muted guitar strums, i imagine all of us on Ocean Beach around a bonfire or in Nick's garage attempting musical genius.

I can't help think back to those great times because this summer it's my turn. it's my turn to be worried and frightened about what's going to become of me. i have no clue. I'm petrified. But typing this blog right now, it makes me think that because it's no longer mandatory and I'm still adding to it, that this might be something i could get into. This might be my career path in front of me. These words could be the inspiration i have been looking for. I just needed something to push me into the right direction. I'm not sure what kind of things i could do. Fiction, journalism, movies, TV. They are all the things i have been introduced to thanks to Mr Gibbs and Mr. Greenwood, quite possibly two of my coolest teachers I've ever had....ever. They're definitely in the top 5. And the fact that Mr. Greenwood's into a lot of the same stuff as me, musically and in entertainment, makes me hopeful for whatever may come.

So thank you, Catch 22. You have helped me make a difficult decision even easier.