Francis Garcia | Week 16: Keep a Place for Me

Photo Credit: Commission Based (initially found on Pinterest)

“Keep a place for me, for me.”

I started writing this blog post with nothing in mind to write about until I opened Spotify on my phone, and “Self Control” by Frank Ocean played after streaming a few songs as I was locking in on a color plate for anatomy and workbook pages for Spanish. When those first few lines played after “SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK” by Joji, the poignant and rather nostalgic attitude that I received from those lyrics about that poolside convo about summer last night inspired me to write this blog post—actually, the last blog post of the school year, and what better way to close out the school year than with a blog post on a song (or two) while reflecting on the memories we have made up until this point, especially given the umbrella topic of memories for this penultimate fourth quarter of our time in high school.

That poolside convo in the intro into the first verse about being the “boyfriend in your wet dreams tonight” and living once a “blonded life” marked with virginity makes tangible the shifting dynamics in our social life and autonomy over ourselves as we lose our innocence and expose ourselves to various things, even things that can damage us or enlighten us. That line I opened this blog post with holds some emotional weight, that poignance that is desperate to hold close to someone before letting go. And the way this line is repeated between motifs of summertime and gentle strums of the guitar just properly evokes that sense of longing, my longing to keep connected with those close to me even when we depart.

…

…Honestly, I don’t want to leave high school. That means leaving behind my friends whom I have made and grown close with. That means leaving behind the memories I have made. That means leaving behind the cheers and tears I have shared after every exam we have taken, every performance we have completed, every game we have played, every joke we have shared, every piece of gossip we have exchanged, every…

“I, I, I know you gotta leave, leave, leave.”

I know we have our own directions to follow and our own dreams to come true, but I hope that as we depart junior year and into the last year of high school before graduating, we hold onto the memories we have made. I hope we continue to make the most out of all the seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years (wait, actually, just one year, haha) we spend in high school and carry them wherever we go and share them with the people we meet in the future.

Honestly, this blog post has not been as well developed as I thought while writing, but I hope that the message I intend to convey is clear: that we should not take our time right now for granted. Thank you for the moments we have crafted together since the second we have met—whether for the first time in AP Lang or back in the middle of seventh grade when I first moved in. :]

(Now, if this blog post became a rhetorical analysis prompt for the AP Lang exam, this would definitely be hell for the test takers since I already made clear the message and implicitly outlined the purpose, and I think you all know that you have to create a thesis that does not include any purposes or messages outlined in the prompt. But then again, that last paragraph isn’t really the context of the prompt nor is it even a prompt. Anyways, I think I’m WAY over the 500 word limit. That should be enough from me, manifesting 5s for everyone!)


Comments

  1. Durga KurupathMay 21, 2025 at 2:28 PM

    Hi Francis! I actually just finished writing a blog comment on Mridula's post that explored similar themes, but I just had to write you one because I'm also very passionate about this. (Joji's "SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK" also caught my attention because it was the last song I listened to, lol.) I just had my 17th birthday yesterday and it struck me that we are only one year from 18 and graduating that it feels so unreal. It marks a major shift of leaving parents, moving out, and pursuing independence. Truthfully, I don't want to grow up at all even though I will admit that high school is not my cup of tea. Yet, just like everyone says, life must go on regardless. I agree with your sentiment that all moments we share should be savored and appreciated because at some point, we'll look back on them and manage to find regrets somehow. It's so important that we invest in things that will propel us forward but still give us the feeling of what it means to live once. It still feels like 8th grade to me and as overwhelming as it may be, the uncertainty is also exhilarating. To sum it up and also appeal to the English lovers out there, "carpe diem!" What a wonderful trip down memory lane!

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  2. Nichelle RodriguezMay 21, 2025 at 9:51 PM

    Hi Francis! This was one of your most expressive blog posts. I loved you managed to incorporate music (especially my favorite man, Frank Ocean) into this post. I have not really seen anyone else attempt this feat yet in their blogs, and it was genuinely such an interesting thing to read. But back to the main point, I really agree with your feelings about leaving high school. Matter of fact, one of my close friend and I had an extremely similar conversation last winter, sitting in the cold night air outside Suju's. We were talking about how high school is a place where you have watched everyone around you grow up, and have grown with them yourselves. As people bond and get closer, it becomes unfathomable to believe that we are all going different places in life. Thank you for sharing!

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