jordan's sophomore year

jordan is finishing up his first week of summer vacation. it's been an amazing year for him and it's hard to believe he is halfway through his high school career.

we were talking the other day on the way home from swim practice and i asked him if there was one word that he could think of to summarize the year. he said it was commitment.

he showed a tremendous amount of commitment in everything that he did and he has a productive year to show for it.

his first day as a sophomore feeling a little more confident and comfortable. he carried a tough course load and excelled and struggled this year. he maintained a high gpa and received maxima cum laud honors at the end of the year. we always joke that the academic portion of his day is smaller than the extra curricular part of his day. but he takes his studies seriously, always has. he knows that school is the most important part of his time at nd.

 his heart lies with the band. through summer band camp and long rehearsals he absolutely loves being a part of this amazing organization. there was a new band director this year and things changed a little bit. but jordan was committed to learning the pieces and worked hard to keep the program up to the high standard that the previous director had created.

he went to every football game, parade and festival and took each one seriously. these kids work really hard and sacrifice a lot of free time to be a part of the band.

his pride for what he does is impressive. he goes to the band room any time he can to practice, and it didn't go unnoticed.

he is waiting to hear from the teacher if he will get the lead snare spot next year. it's looking promising but he hasn't gotten the final word. either way, we look forward to hearing him play the nd victory march again.

he was committed to the water polo team. he went into it hoping that it would be a positive experience. it stinks that water polo and football are during the same season. his responsibilities to the band made it hard to do both. he would sacrifice a band practice to be at a water polo game and vice versa.  the games were exciting and he definitely improved over the season but his heart was just not in it. he couldn't wait for the season to be over. he told me that water polo taught him what it meant to work hard and to give 100% every time. we would have pep talks along the way, especially when he was disappointed by his performance or his feedback from the coaches. it's a tough sport during a tough time. he's happy he did it but he's even happier it's over.

swim team was a different story. this year he saw it as something he wanted to do instead of something he had to do and he saw big changes. i think a lot had to do with the friendships he made on the team. but he was more serious about swimming this year and about setting goals and working toward them. he pr'd in all of his events and hopes that qualifies him to be on varsity next year. he never missed a practice and kept going after the season ended. he even asked to join a swim club so he could train during the summer and fall. we are looking forward to seeing what he accomplishes next year.

he spent hours in the winter perfecting his twisty puzzle skills. he wanted to enter some rubiks competitions to see how he did against the big guys, and some small guys. this is his time on a 2x2 puzzle. the 3x3 one takes him a little longer to finish, 18 seconds.

 he committed to going through the confirmation program at church. he wasn't always on top of the meeting dates and requirements, and it took some reminding, but he made it through.

i think what really stood out for him this year were the friendships he made. he found that group of friends that support and encourage and cheer each other on. it was so fun to watch.

and in his free time(?!) - he committed to playing with encore, the band he has with his cousin. they didn't play many events but the corechella event was the biggie. they were so excited to get to play at chris' high school fundraiser and they sounded better than ever. chris graduated from high school this year and is moving away to college. it's going to be hard on them to have to split up the band but we know there will be a reunion show when chris comes home.

he took a practice test for the sat's and then he started getting letters, brochures, post cards and mailings from colleges. i had to pull this one out of the stack because well, it's stanford. he hasn't been thinking much about college until now. he knows that next year he will have to focus on where he wants to go and what he wants to study. it's all so exciting yet nerve racking. hopefully we will find a way to make it easier on all of us.

and this year he was just a teenager. playing video games, sleeping in and listening to his iPod. he still likes to hang out with us and talks to me about his day. he stays home when he's not at school but i can see that changing in the next two years.

this summer he is swimming, drumming and marching in the back yard. he already has assignments for his ap classes and he hopes to get his driver's license.

looking through the photos of the year i realized how quickly time passes. i am doing my best to enjoy every moment but i know the next two years will go by so fast.