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The End.

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Vacation at Canada in Summer 2016.

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The local beauty of San Diego.

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If I have to choose one day to remember out of these four past years of high school, it will have to be graduation. My family from around the world are gathering on this day to watch me walk the stage and leave a significant portion of my life at Valhalla behind. This day will be filled with celebrations, joy, pride, honor, but mostly sadness. Sadness for the fact that most  of us, who have became so close over the past years, are all moving on and pursuing our own paths of life, most likely never to see each other again (besides the humanless interactions over social media). This is an essential milestone for every lifetime, and it will especially be memorable for me and my family because I have been given the honor of giving a speech at this hallmark of an event as a salutatorian. I hope I can leave a lasting impression on my classmates, that I could inspire them or motivate them in my speech to strive for the hidden excellence in themselves at all times. Just thinking about being up there turns my stomach upside down, but I am excited to step completely out of my comfort zone. I can not wait to make my family proud. This has been an especially hard year on them, from financial troubles to the death of my dear grandma and beloved uncle, I wish to bring some joy back into their tired hearts. I will touch Odin’s hammer like I did on Odin’s March as a little freshman. I was so scared and lost back then, I was so little in comparison to everyone else. I have felt the opposite for the past year as a senior, but now that I think about it, the revolution has returned as I enter into the real world, scared and lost at the University of California, Los Angeles.

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Attending the senior activities has not only given me reasons for my last year to be as memorable as possible, but also reasons that make me sadder and more nostalgic as I approach graduation day. Being called up as the Salutatorian of the school on Senior awards night was probably the highlight of my four years here and I felt empowered and appreciative of myself for all the hard work I’ve put up through. When the principal spent two minutes explaining my accomplishments to the 300+ students and their families, stating “with an incredible grade point average of 4.659, please help me welcome Mr. Faisal Alshamaa to the stage”, my heart almost exploded in excitement. A ripple of awe and gasps through the entire crowd had left me breathless and almost frozen in time. I was feeling an out-of-body experience, looking at myself walk to that stage and congratulating myself and then looking at my mom in tears of joy and pride. So many beautiful and pure memories. Dressing up with my friends for Odin's March was another one of those things to remember. There was so many of us, (almost 80) who were wearing matching shirts and bursting with Norseman pride. I felt I was a part of a community, a family of love, happiness, and power. I feel that through these activities, and participation in dress up weeks, I broke out of this introverted, self-conscious shell of a boy that I once was. I started not caring about the judgement of those around me. How can one their lives based on what others think of them or their way of life? It never made sense to me, but by forming these bonds with the seniors around me through the activities, I was able to gain confidence in myself and improve the self-image I have created for myself over these years, thus realizing my worth and the love I was constantly surrounded by.

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6. Letter from my friend, Alexandra Somo

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6. Letter from my friend, Alexandra Somo

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Dear Faisal,

Most people may leave high school remembering you as the salutatorian of our class; the guy who will be going to UCLA. These piers are amongst the unlucky Norsemen who didn’t have the honor to be your close friend and know you for you, beyond the amazing accolades you have earned. I on the other hand am so honored to say I got to be your friend. Starting in AP Bio… the glory days. I can honestly say the only good thing that came out of that class was meeting you. (this is where you start crying)(jk not yet) From the moment I met you, you constantly surpassed all expectations of a true, studious student. Your care for your academic success was inspiring, and put me in check. My mom would switch you for me anyday. Honestly, I would too. It upsets me when you try to underplay your success, solely because they’re just academic and you’re “not well rounded”. Let me tell you. You can EASILY gain respect from anyone you meet given your humble nature, work ethic and pure heart. I genuinely rank you high up in people I have acquainted in my schooling career just in these two short years and that is saying a lot. There is a plethora of thank you’s I can extend to you, and even though I may not hit on all of them, I will try: thank you for making me feel much more special than I am, thank you for giving me hope for the future of humanity (and medicine ;), thank you for beating all odds on our minority group and thriving way and beyond academically and with your kind soul, thank you for you humor and knowing what lines not to cross (and checking people who don’t know their boundaries), thank you for staying true to your morals and not conforming to society, thank you for having an appreciation for things that truly matter, thank you for being such an amazing friend, and thank you exciting me for you future, for that I am anxious to witness your success and undoubtable achievements. I wish I could contextualize something that embodies my gratitude for you, which I don’t think I quite did.. But I tried… when you try your best but you don’t succeed… sums up my high school career. Anyway. You’re da bomb Faisal (not in an offense way pls) Love you!!!

With a full heart, love

Alexandra Somo

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My dad's expertise and passion on watch is nothing less of admirable in my eyes. His everyday hard work inspires me to become the kind of man my father is in the future.

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Prom was hands down the best night of high school by far, so many memories. I remember how I was trying so hard for everything to just go perfectly. Anything that was slightly off had the potential of ruining my night. But I soon realized that the faults of everything was the reason we were having so much fun. I had the privilege of taking one of my best friends to this special night, and I won’t ever forget how easily we connected and laughed. I am happy I took Brittany Mattia, whom I’ve known and had a good relationship with since sophomore year! She looked nothing less of stunning, and I believe that we killed it together. The complete chaos of the whole day was one of the many reasons I won’t ever forget it. We were late to pictures, she pierced my nipple with the corsage, I almost crashed her car three times on the highway while blasting throwback music, we rushed the dinner and she didn’t even eat her steak (which I paid 100 dollars for!!!!), and we danced till we were soaking in sweat. Everything went perfectly wrong, which I turned out absolutely loving. I asked her to prom with major help from her best friend Gisele, who basically orchestrated the entire operation. We created a scavenger hunt where at each location she would find a puzzle piece with a letter of prom spelled on it and a flower, and at the end I held a bouquet and a sign that said, “Brittany, you are the only piece that is missing, PROM?”. I would have never thought of this without Gisele’s help. I feel that I really did take advantage of being young, careless, and reckless on this night but I somehow also felt like I’ve aged into a man in my suit and tie. I spent $350 dollars on this day, and although I complained prior, it was well worth every penny. As my friend Fadi said, “You only go to prom once, this is more important than your wedding day that you could have 2 or 3 more times in a lifetime”.

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College, how can such a word hit me with such excitement and anxiety at once. I have worked with the utmost determination and academical zealousness these past four years. I busted my “Halverson” to get where I am today and I just can not wait to continue riding, no climbing, this wave of youthfulness, as enjoy my last years as a teenager and enter into the big 20’s before I graduate. I was nervous I wasn’t going to get accepted anywhere at first, regretting and beating myself up for not doing more: more community hours, more clubs, more AP classes. But I soon realized my self-worth and potential when I got accepted into UCLA. Los Angeles is such a big and scary city, and the highest of academic rigor is the foundation of this university, how am I supposed to possibly make it? I will make it because I am finally starting to believe in myself and my capabilities. As a salutatorian, I know that even though high school courses are nothing like those in college, my mindset of success and determination is fixated, unchanging, and unwavering. I know that the satisfaction of reflection in the future, being able to say “I made it”, will be greater than any possible stress and struggle I will definitely face to get there. I think that my thoughts are in the right place as I step on and walk the stage soon, leaving these four memorable years behind me, and begin to sprint toward my real goals in life. Although I wish I could have my best friends by my side, I know that greatness and success do not come with comfort. One has to step outside their comfort zone to accomplish what they feel the need to do, and those who don’t remain average. Greatness lies ahead, or so I hope.

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All Love from Melad, Joseph, Aymen, Yazen, Marcel, Robin, Rami, Santi, Rafi, Fadi, Alvin.

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My best friends in high school, have created the most significant memories in my life. Fadi, Rafi, and Santiago are more than just my best friends, we are a family, we are nothing short of brothers. They have taught me that family does not necessarily have to be related by blood, that one is not bound by genetics to whom they have to love and have to support no matter the circumstance. They have forced me to step out of my bubble since the beginning of highschool and continue to this day. They force me to go outside, whether on adventures through the hidden areas and passageways at La Jolla, or to get a McDonald’s ice-cream cone from down the street before dropping me home. These brothers have given me the craziest memories to remember as I reminisce in college about my past years. I don’t know how I will move on and how I will find people that are as great as them in my upcoming years at UCLA, and how I will adjust to their absence. Santiago also happens to be my next-door neighbor and we have been spending nearly everyday together for the past four years. It is unique finding someone you can spend time doing absolutely nothing with, and still be fully satisfied and having fun. I will miss that presence, but I will never forget it. I have never experienced betrayal by this family, and never a dull moment. We shared interests and went through phases together and simultaneously. I have watched them grow into respectable men, and they have watched me in excitement as my hard work paid off and I was recognized  the salutatorian of my class. I will always remember how they would cover my bills, and wouldn’t let me pay most of the time, saying “we are celebrating you tonight”. Whenever I asked, “how could I ever repay you guys for the things you do for me?”, they would tell me, “just remember us when you are a doctor”.