Working on projects in BBN throughout this year has really opened up my eyes to the variety of things that happen on campus. In previous years, with the busyness of my own schedule, I hardly had the time to stop, look around, and admire all the talented people that go to the same school as I do.
Last week, I found myself in the culinary kitchen with Corey Nguyen, where I captured the team practicing intensely for their competition that would be held in Sacramento the following weekend. I had of course always known that FVHS has a cooking class, as well as a culinary team, but this was the first time I’ve seen them in action, or even entering the room. Filming the B-Roll (the footage that is put over interviews to make it more visually interesting) was more fun than I had thought. Their movements appeared swift and calculated. Watching the food preparation was a show; it was like eye candy. At times, I put down the camera and just walked across the room. Every step I took, an entire spectrum of smells danced through my nose.
At the end of their practice, they were critiqued by Mrs. Gordon, their coach. She informed them of all the things they had gotten wrong, and what they needed to improve on. It was then that I realized that the fantastic display I witnessed ten minutes ago was just something normal to them.
During first Semester, I worked with Dennis Pham on a Drumline feature. I had seen the Drumline at nearly a dozen school events beforehand, but the assemblies, football games, and Glow Shows didn’t really equate to the experience I had when first entering the (mostly) soundproof Drumline practice room. Before they began their routine, the captain walked up to me and handed over a pair of ear plugs. “You might want these,” he said with a smile. I underestimated how loud it would be.
Some of them weren’t even wearing earplugs, which looking back I now find symbolic. They were used to it, and I wasn’t. Similar to culinary, I was amazed and surprised at something that they just saw as normal.
There’s a plethora of students at Fountain Valley High School with immense talent. What may seem to be normal and possibly even mundane to them, can look absolutely astonishing to others. Through BBN, I’ve been discovering these people. And everyday I try my best to share their talent with the school.
