Fandom High School

"Last class, kiddies," Drake said. "Gather 'round, because I'm going to tell you a story. Once upon a time there was a little boy who was half-human, half-demon. He got picked on by all the other demons because he was a half-breed, so he vowed to be the biggest baddest demon he could and make them all respect him. Now this demon had a BFF, we'll call him Drake, who told him, 'Buddy, this isn't right, this isn't you, this isn't who you really want to be. You're just going to make yourself miserable trying to please people who aren't worth it.' But the demon said 'Grrr argh' and went about his evil business and was generally miserable and unpleasant. That is, until he met a pretty little witch and fell in love and realized Drake was right, as he always was, and that he was only being all demony to impress the other demons, not because that was what he really wanted. So he gave up being evil, embraced his human soul, and they...well, they didn't entirely live happily ever after because his former boss kept coming after him and eventually possessed him and then he died and came back and went a little crazy and died again but not really. But that's not the point...well, maybe partially the point because even while he was 'dead' he was watching over his witchy love and sent his BFF to make sure that said witchy love didn't give up on love and that her witchy sister who totally doesn't teach here didn't lose her love, either, and then the BFF cheated and let the witches know just who was watching out for them and maybe they should reach out and help him and then they'll live happily ever after.

"But I digress. So what is the point? The point is, be true to yourself. You know who you are -- though sometimes you may have to search for that -- better than anyone else. You're going to get pressure from your family, your friends, your employers, everyone around you. You're going to tangle with duty and destiny and things that scare the crap out of you. You're going to struggle with a need to be accepted and to fit in. But trust yourself. Trust your heart. You know what you want and what you need better than anyone else ever will. Don't wait until it's too late to do what you want to do. You're all capable of great things, even those of you who aren't magic or mutants or from another planet. And you'll all be pushing up daisies one day, so don't waste any time to make your mark. Carpe diem, seize the day, and make your lives extraordinary. As a very wise man once said, 'Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy Shit, what a ride!"'"

Drake fluttered a hand at his throat. "I'm a little verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves."

Drake began the class by rocking out to Whitney Houston (before she went crazy):

I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone's shadows
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I live as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can't take away my dignity
Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me
I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me
The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
It is the greatest love of all

"Well, greatest love and worst love if you abuse it," Drake said. "I'm not saying I want you all to be little egomaniacs bent on taking over the world, however fun that may seem at the time, but loving yourself and having a positive self-image is the key to carping your diem. You can't live life to the fullest unless you know just how awesome you are. I know, I know, easier said than done. So here are a few things I want you to always keep in mind:

"Don't sweat the small stuff. Figure out what you're really good at and cultivate that. Realize that you have limits, nobody's perfect, and that's not a bad thing. Don't put yourself down -- nothing is going to decarpe that diem than telling yourself you're a loser or a failure. If something goes wrong, try again, or just move on. If it works out, celebrate! And most importantly, tell yourself how awesome you are, but don't lose sight of how awesome other people are, too.

"So that's what I want you to do for me today. This is your free pass to brag. Tell me how awesome you are. Tell me the cool things you've done or are going to do. C'mon, let's hear it."

Drake had commandeered the Danger Shop for class today and had had a fun time programming it that morning, if by "programming" you meant "poking at buttons and hoping for the best." It currently looked like an amusement park from hell, including a roller coaster, a drop tower, and...a pit of wriggling snakes (all non-poisonous) and a large glass box full of tarantulas.

There was also a blackboard upon which was written:

"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do."

~ Eleanor Roosevelt

"Ella there knew her stuff," Drake said. "Sometimes people let their fear get in the way of living their lives to the fullest. Fear of failure, fear of rejection -- those are the big ones. And I could just stand up here and lecture to you about facing your fears and conquering them, blah blah blah, but instead I'm going to give you a challenge. Pick something here that scares you...and just do it. If you're afraid of heights, try the Tower of Terror. If you're afraid of snakes, jump into the snake pit. It's all a hologram, right? So you're not really going to get hurt. But it's a step in the right direction to conquering your fear, and if you can get over arachnophobia or acrophobia, you can get over any fear.

"Now, if you're not afraid of anything, then just have a good time. More power to ya."

Drake was in Serious Mode (or at least pretending to be) when the class gathered. He was also unashamedly ripping off one of his favorite movies, and he didn't care what anyone thought about that. "the human race is filled with passion," he began. "And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, 'O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?' Answer: that you are here; that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?

"We are food for worms, kids," Drake went on. "Because, believe it or not, each and every one of us in this room is one day going to stop breathing, turn cold and die. But each of you also have in your hands the power to make your lives extraordinary. Don't wait until it's too late to make your lives even one iota of what you're capable. Now, that's heavy stuff for a summer workshop, right? But I'm just here to push you down that path, to help you see just how amazing and invincible each of you are. It's going to be ultimately up to you, but if I can help nudge you in the right direction, then my diem, it's been carpe'd.

"So, it's the first class, and I'm going to be a little lazy. Actually, you're going to do all the work and help me decide just what we're going to do for this class. I want you to each tell me your name, age, where you're from and a little about yourself...and one thing you want to do before you die. I gotta tell you, anything involving death and violence is going to be right out, because I'm a lover not a fighter. Try to come up with something fun, something that could be shared with others...something within the power of one awesomely hot demon. And I'll see what I can do.

"Oh, and I already randomly choose some TAs by throwing darts at the class roster -- MiniDrake, Didi, the job's yours."