New York, Are You Ready?

Junior year is finally over and the refreshing days of summer await me. About this time last week I would have probably been at one of my Forensics Speech and Debate meetings after school, but now I'm packing for my trip to New York City to take a Presidential Powers course at Columbia University! 

Before I began packing, I checked my grades online on powerschool.wccusd.net and I was relieved to see that I had yet another set of straight A's this year! Throughout my high school experience, I always chose to take the hardest classes offered at my high school, and now that I'm a junior I was able to take advantage of a broad variety of AP courses. Out of the six classes I took the past two semesters, I had 4 AP classes, 1 honors, and one regular college prep course (physics, since that was the only physics offered at my school). As you can tell by my blogger page, I truly enjoy challenges and I always welcome them with open arms because in the end, emerging victorious from a challenging curriculum means much more than taking the easier way out of things and taking short-cuts. Even if you don't do as well, at least you tried your best and stepped out of your comfort zone to push yourself and possibly this time, learn more from what you did wrong than what you did right. That's my philosophy. After all, a smooth sea never makes a skilled mariner. 

Anyways, after seeing my grades, I became really happy and the feeling that I had succeeded fueled my energy and excitement for my future trip. I cleaned my room and with the help of my dad, I took one of our empty luggage from the garage and placed it on the floor ready to be filled. I haven't quite gotten around filling it quite yet, but I have prepared a list of necessary materials that I must pack and tossed in a few of my basic necessities in the luggage. In preparation for our trip, I went to CITI bank a few days ago and filed for an ATM card (which I received just yesterday morning) and ordered a few prep books online so I can possibly study for upcoming SAT subject tests or other tests of the sort in my dorm whenever I might have free time. To be honest, It's been only four days that I haven't had school but each day so far has been swarming with busy activities. I'm determined to finish a lot of my summer duties before I leave for Columbia so once I'm in New York, I can focus more on my studies and dedicate myself to the best of my ability in order to take more advantage of what Columbia has to offer. I'm almost halfway done with my summer assignments, and I'm starting my application for a cabinet position in Junior Statesmen of America. Once I have completed everything on my "to-do list," I will finally feel at ease and finish packing. After all, we still have plenty of time!

Regardless of that, I'm so excited! It's almost hard to express my feelings about this because I feel like there aren't an adequate amount of words to portray my sentiments. Likewise, I can't believe I'm going to study for almost an entire month at Columbia University! This all feels like a pleasant dream and I cannot wait to fully take advantage of the opportunities that await me. Although I will definitely miss my family when I'm gone, I can safely say that on the night of June 17th, the night before we leave, I probably will not be able to sleep due to my excitement for this trip.

In just 5 days, I will be able to witness, encounter, and best of all, experience a whole new life; new places, new people, new perspectives, and different cultures. And to this, I truly look forward to.

Now on a different note, I realized on one of my previous blogs where I mentioned all the sites I look forward to visiting, I forgot to mention one of the United Nations headquarters in New York. Since I'm planning to start our schools very first UNICEF club on campus, I think it would be great to visit the center, if, of course, my schedule allows us and it's okay with both my chaperon and cohort. If we are permitted to visit the center with our cohort, I think it would be a very rewarding experience.


New York, I hope your ready for our students, because the clock is ticking and Ivy League Connection representatives will be there in just a few more days.