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Too incredibly blessed for words.

Thank you thank you thank you Lord, for giving me the best friends I could have never asked for.

Favorites from 5/19 and 5/20.

Some of the dearest friends I could have ever asked for.

Too many great memories in one weekend.

The most beautiful moments in my entire high school career

- Winning GBDC in 2011
- ASB Disneyland trip with three incredibly dear individuals.
- Singing in unison with some of the most wonderful and talented individuals I have ever met, and being led by the most incredible teacher, conductor, and role model that I could have ever asked for. I’m so incredibly thankful for everything that has happened this year - tonight made me realize this. Thank you, choir 2012. It’s truly been a joy.

Kelly Clarkson: "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!"
Baba: Well, it may maim you. "What doesn't kill you may maim you..."

The Hunger Yonger Games.

I think ultimately something I would ask to somebody like Tyler the Creator is what do you live for? I’m sure he’d have a response, ‘I live for x, y, z’, and then I would ask, ‘Well, why’? And he may have a why, and then I’d ask, ‘Is that good’? And hopefully he would say ‘Yeah, it’s good’ and then I’d be like, ‘What is “good” and where do you get your standard of good’? Cause standards have to come from somewhere, and if there’s no standard of good or evil, then why live like your life is significant? Why pursue things? Why have dreams, why have passions? It doesn’t matter, your life doesn’t mean anything because there’s no god/God and there’s no standards and there’s no purpose. So when you cry at the MTV video awards and you’re excited for winning that, why? Because it’s significant to you. But it shouldn’t be, because nothing matters, so you’re the source of your significance now, and the only thing that matters matters to you so now you are essentially god/God and you’re significant but if you don’t believe there’s such thing as a god/God then there’s no such thing as significance because there’s no standard. And then he’d probably be confused and then hopefully we’d have to have more conversation.
- Christian rapper Lecrae upon being asked what he would ask if he had the chance to converse with Tyler the Creator and OFWGKTA.

While outside in the garden

Baba: You know, when you move to Michigan, you're going to miss all this scenery.
Me: Yeah, I know.
Baba: It's just gonna be Ice, Baby, Ice.
Me: ... you did not just try to quote "Ice Ice Baby"...

Favorites from the past.

Favorites from 5/2.

This week has been so incredibly surreal.

I spent Sunday afternoon making a video for the University of Michigan, not thinking much about it. I expected it to get at most 200 views. I put it on “unlisted”, which means that people couldn’t search for it. My dad shared it with a couple of friends and church members, and I just put it here on tumblr - that’s all the publicity that happened on our behalf.

And from here everything got crazy, and I don’t even understand how it happened.

I wake up Wednesday morning to 1000 views. The next morning, 5000. In the span of four hours, 6000. By the end of the yesterday, 8000. And throughout this thing I’m getting comments like, “By the way, your video is flying around the University staff - that’s how I saw it.”

I check this morning and I’m at 15,000 views. By 10:00 today, one of my best friends texts me, telling me that I’m on the Ann Arbor news. I get called to the college office at my school and I see one of the counselors enthusiastically congratulating me, telling me that the executive director of the school sent out the link to all the staff.

And throughout this whole thing, I’m left astounded, confused, and unsure how to react. In fact, I still don’t know how to react. But I can’t help but feel incredibly thankful that God would work in this way, and that he would allow me to experience such elation, although I don’t deserve it.

To everyone who has shown support either by watching the video, leaving encouraging comments, reblogging, sharing, or through verbal means, thank you so much. I sincerely appreciate it, and I am so thankful and fortunate to have you all.

And as for me wearing basketball shorts in the video.. PSH, I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU BE TALKIN’ BOUT.

Favorites from 4/26.

Chased after this guy for five minutes, not even knowing whether or not he was who we thought he was.
Good thing he turned out to actually be one of the Weasley brothers.

Chased after this guy for five minutes, not even knowing whether or not he was who we thought he was.

Good thing he turned out to actually be one of the Weasley brothers.

I’m on the waitlist for University of Michigan and I really want to get in, so I decided to rewrite the lyrics to “I Want You Back” by the Jackson 5 and perform it for them.