Above: Kevin Berger and me (right to left) Right: The rowdy sophomores
Junior year was when I grew my hair long and became the person I wanted to be - a creative and social presence in my school. Kevin Berger convinced me to grow out my hair, and Samantha Fulop convinced me to try out for a play. And then I made friends with seniors, went on a school trip to London, and felt like my life was the way it was supposed to be. It was on the last day of my junior year when almost all of the new friends I had made (and who had made me feel like myself) were graduating, that I took a picture of a bunch of rowdy sophomores. I wasn’t really friends with these kids; I just thought they were cool. I couldn’t know that they would become my best friends during my senior year, and the only friends I would stay in touch with after high school.
I’ve danced at their weddings, visited their homes, and played with their kids. Even after college, I would see some of these friends several times a week, but now we live all over New York, and most of them have kids, so we only manage to get all of us together a couple of times a year.
One of those rare instances this year really made me think about my life.
Above: Phil, Josh, and Tim (from left to right) debating some moves. If you scroll to the top of this page, you might be able to pick out the high school versions of Phil and Josh. Below: A quick tutorial on how to play Rising Sun.
Afterwards, Josh put on some of the movies the guys had made before I met them. The movies were hilarious but also inspiring. I thought about how my students don’t seem to get together and make movies anymore. They’re much more interested in playing video games or scrolling through Instagram (kind of a stereotype but kind of true), so I decided to give my kids an extra credit opportunity - make a movie!
I used to make movies in high school (a bunch of which I sent away to be digitized this year because they were all on VHS tapes). Mattson, Imondi, and I made a PSA ten years ago about needing a hall pass, but I hadn't made any videos since then, so Mattson and I were inspired to do our own project. We made a movie, inspired by some stories his students wrote.
Now that we’ve gotten the creative juices flowing, I’m inspired to make another movie. A movie with more thoughtful framing and stronger writing. I even bought a new computer to help me with the endeavors. So my high school friends keep inspiring me; that night hanging out with them, and the subsequent film making, were some of the most important moments of this year, and those guys are still some of the most inspiring and creative people I know (I linked to Josh’s music, so I’d be remiss not to link to Phil’s art).