Absolutely Excited but Nervous

Today I spent a large part of my day double checking my luggage and picking up some essentials I was still missing, like my own phone charger. Between all the running around, I made sure to spend most of my day with my family. My mom made some cheese pasta, which I could eat tons of, breaded chicken, and salad. We don't usually all eat at the same time, but we did today. Then we went out for frozen yogurt. When we dropped my oldest sister off at her house she reminded me of a bunch of things to be aware of and to let my family know when I land in Chicago. It's bittersweet because I know she thinks I'm growing up too fast.

I could probably cry of excitement right now, but there's also all the anxiety of being so far away from my whole family for the first time. I've been away from my parents for a week or two at a time, but it's always been accompanied by my sisters. Then there's the worry that the class will be too difficult, or that I won't be as bright as the other students who have taken a summer program at an Ivy before. Even the worst case scenario that I'll lose my luggage with all my belongings. Nonetheless, sleeping seems so difficult knowing that in just a few hours we'll be saying our goodbyes at El Cerrito High School and boarding that shuttle to the San Francisco airport.

A Few Hours Before Lift Off

In approximately 10 hours from now, I will be in the air at San Francisco airport headed for Chicago. I can't really even express everything I'm feeling at the moment. Excitement? Fear? Exhilaration? However, one thing I definitely feel is exhaustion. Throughout the past few weeks I kept random tabs in my head for things I should probably pack and it wasn't until a few days ago where I finally put that list together and really saw what things were missing from my luggage. I can definitely say that in this past 3 days I've went to Walmart at least 5 times. And I'm pretty sure I can find any aisle with my eyes closed at this point.

As for how my family will feel about me being away, their reactions are pretty different. I think my dad is more used to the whole idea since he's always traveling across the country for school related things so he's very calm about the whole thing. He just gave me my allowance and was like "Well, see you later." 

My mother was a bit different though. She keeps asking me if I'm scared that I will be away from home by myself to which I reply that I'll be away for actual college in a year so I'm glad I could get the chance to get used to it. She then replies that places like Berkeley and Davis aren't very far. Ultimately she's just scared of the idea of me being really far outside of California but I know she will get used to the idea eventually. 

My younger siblings' reaction to the whole idea are a bit more brutal. I try to scare my 4 year old brother by walking out the front door and saying "Bye I'm going on an airplane." Yet he just stares at me like I'm crazy and annoying -- mostly annoying. He'll start asking about me no doubt.

I asked my youngest sister how she would feel with me gone. My other younger sister is away at a Berkeley academic camp similar to ILC for 6 weeks so she's going to end up being the oldest in the house for the first time. And she replies to me with "Well finally I can have the PlayStation to myself for once!" Can't blame her for saying that. But I bet she will be the first one to call me when I get to Chicago. 

Well everything is packed up and I'm definitely ready to head off. Right now the hard part is just getting to bed early. But I'm turning off my phone and leaving it to charge so I will have no distractions. Definitely ready for tomorrow!

Day Before

Tomato and Eggs , Grilled Chicken , and Boiled Iceberg Lettuce

It's finally the day before the Cornell Cohort boards the plane to the East Coast. While I am extremely excited to attend Cornell's Summer College program for high school students and tour around Chicago, I'm also extremely sure that I will miss my family. I have been away from home on overnight trips before, but this is the first time that I will be away for more than a week. It's actually really overwhelming and scary when I think about being away from my mom for so long. Usually, I know that she's within driving distance from me and could come if something were to happen, but this time it's different. She'll be thousands and thousands of miles away from me. 

I talked to my mom about eating out today, but we decided a home cooked meal would be best considering that I will probably be eating out quite a bit for the next several weeks. My brother, mom, and I made my favorite foods in the kitchen. It was actually an interesting experience because my brother is usually never in the kitchen. I totally thought, and told him, that he was taking up a lot of space since he was standing randomly for a lot of the cooking, but props to him for seasoning and grilling the chicken when the time came. I showed my brother how to make the tomato and eggs while my mom boiled the iceberg lettuce. 

The Orientation

Tonight was the last event for Ivy League Connection until Cornell cohort boards a plane to start our college touring. We listened to Don talk for a while about what to expect before the trip and then the chaperones all introduced themselves to our parents. All of the chaperones did wonderfully, especially Michael Myrga (my chaperone) but I also really liked the introduction from Brown's chaperone. She started off with saying she has an accent. She then delivered her punchline, "I didn't know that until I came here." I personally think her little joke really livened up the mood and made the parents more relaxed about sending their children thousands of miles away from home with an almost complete stranger. 

Michael Myrga is the one in the green shirt. 

After some more talking we went into a break out session where our chaperone talked about our itinerary and other trip related topics. It wasn't until right then and there that I realized I am going to be boarding a plane to the East Coast in approximately 15 days. Prior to the orientation, heading to the East Coast seemed very far away and didn't really process in my mind yet. Now, it seems as if the trip is coming really fast and that I'm not at all prepared. There are still many technicalities to be worked out before we can actually board the plane, but as we all receive more and more information I get more and more excited. 

I don't look excited in this picture, but I definitely am.

Until June 22nd

Don stopped by to snap some photos while our
cohort was gathered.
I think I didn't smile soon enough.

Today at Pinole Middle School all of the Ivy League Connection scholarship recipients, our chaperones and parents met up so we could have one final meeting before we see each other again on Departure Day. The chaperones each introduced themselves and talked a bit about themselves. It was mostly an orientation for our parents; to reassure them that we'll be in good hands while we're back east.  For the most part, we ILCers heard stuff we had heard once or twice before from Don. Mostly it was how to pack, loaner items, rules, and expectations. 

The really nice part of the meeting was breaking up into our cohorts with our chaperone so our parents got a chance to meet Mike. He brought cookies for all of us, which was really sweet of him. We seriously have the best chaperone. We also got our itinerary, and my cohort was rather bummed out to see that visiting Columbia was not part of the trip. Also, our cohort is the only one that will be taking 5 flights altogether, sounds exhausting but we can do this. Our first stop is Chicago, and I'm thrilled to know we're going to have a whole day to explore the city. Mike booked us a tour of Northwestern University and UChicago. I cannot wait to see the campuses and take in all of Chicago. 

All 5 of our lovely chaperones

Around that time, my parents became aware of how independent this experience is going to be, our chaperone isn't expected to see us every single day or be with us every time we decide to explore something new at Cornell. This whole thing happened so quickly. It seems so crazy how this anticipated trip is getting closer and closer, and with that the realization that we're going to be pretty much on our own. Nevertheless, Mike reassured if anything happened he'd be there, staying at hotel run by Cornell's Hotel and Management. 

After we all gathered back together, Don brought out and showed some of the loaner items available and explained why we needed many of these things. There are so many useful things and so little space. We're reminded to pack very light, as it's going to be hot and we'll most likely buy things to bring back. Once Don had gone through the numerous items list, he told us we should probably start the packing and everyone either went home, turned in forms like I did, or had something for Don to scan.

I wish it was already Departure Day, but I'm definitely scared too. I don't want to forget anything or bring too much, but nothing is ever perfect. All we get to do is wait and hope for the best.

~ A Final Meeting for All ~

Today at Pinole Middle was the Ivy League Connection final meeting.We all waited for a little while outside the Pinole Middle School gym waiting for the doors to unlock. After the doors were unlocked we all sat in a little center of the benches and continued to wait to Don to begin speaking. Don first talked about what we were going to be going over and details about the trip. Than, he introduced the chaperones as one-by-one gave a speech which talked about from what they hope to accomplish with us to a little about themselves.

Chaperones of each cohort giving a introductory speech

All the speeches were great it was a great sight to see each of the chaperones being the equal amount of excitement to travel to the East Coast as we were. After, we all dispersed into our cohorts with chaperones talking about the schedule, than onto our college visits, and more in detail about what will actually happen at Cornell. It was great visit for our parents because they were able to actually able to get know more of who will be with us on our trip and know more of our schedules and even a wake up call that we are actually leaving to an Ivy League College. It was time to fill out and turn in our loaner request forms for things that we don't have that are necessary for the trip which was great that the Ivy League actually does help out with even the little things.We were also reminded about stuff to bring which I'm making my checklist. Finally, we were provided with blogs from previous ILC'rs informing on the things to expect and more what to bring lists.It already becoming crazy that in two weeks I will be on a plane to New York for this summer program and hopefully next year I will be on a plane to New York for college.

A Little Reassurance for the Parents

So today was Orientation Day. It was an event with most of the information the ILCers already knew however it was definitely a day for the parents. Today was the day where the parents would completely hear and understand the game plan for how we will get to Cornell, what we will do between that, what we need to pack, rentals and many other details. 

Don explained the process of what we needed to pack and the limitations that would happen at the airport. I had attended with my mother however she completely knew the drill when it came to flying since she's traveled a lot not only nationally but especially internationally. 

We then broke up into groups relative to our cohort and Mike being the awesome person he is, brought us all super amazing cookies to snack on while he tells us the Cornell game plan. I was super sick attending the conference and had a really bad cough but it definitely died down when he brought out the cookies (This proves that food is the cure to all things bad!). Anyways he told us a lot of information that we knew the basics of but he definitely went more into detail which helped a lot. He told us the exact schedule of what we would be doing before we get to New York and what we would be doing in Chicago and such. He also told us to find cool places to hang out in Chicago which is great because I have a good friend of mine from Chicago and I'm definitely asking where all the best spots are to hit up in the city. I'm also excited for the college tours we will be taking while we are there (University of Chicago and Northwestern).

Mike also went more into detail about the airplane situation and how the Cornell group will definitely have the most stops and flights to take. He also informed us about his exact role before we reach campus and when we reach campus (Cornell) and how we will end up being a little more independent then but how he would still be there to help us out whenever we needed something which is great. 

Then all the cohorts went back to the bleachers to listen to Don's final details on things we need to bring and rentals. And that was about it for the whole day. Overall it was a great final meeting before we take our flight and I can definitely say that I'm excited. Now to get onto the packing stage, which might be the hardest part for me. 42 pound limit for luggage? Now that sounds scary. But with a lot of the advice I received today and from the past journals of former alumni, I think I could make it work.