Success is Not a Static Thing, It is an Everlasting March.

So before I start, I just wanted to point out something I have realized while reading all my peers' blogs. I realized that my blogs are more based on my evaluations, my observations, realizations, and what I infer/learn throughout the day that particularity changes me or affects me in some sort of manner. On the other, a lot of other blogs are more of a daily summary activities. So I've made a compromise with myself today, although our daily activities and agenda are numerously mentioned throughout each and every blog submission, I will still continue to include my critical thinking but also try and include a little more detail of our daily activities. This way, my blogs will potentially be more thorough and still include my usual analyses. (Too bad I'm just limited in time due to us coming home late and waking up quite early every morning; busy busy BUSY schedule)

So this morning was another very typical "morning routine." We woke up very early in the morning and stayed up very late as well to finish blogging the night before. Today was probably the hottest day so far on the trip, but I must admit I actually prefer the heat over the cold so I definitely have no room to complain!

Not only did I have really engaging conversations with both my chaperon and Mrs.Kronenberg throughout the day today, but I also had the opportunity to see the Hudson River while enjoying their company. I hadn't personally known Mrs.Kronenberg very well throughout my time back in the bay area, but I'm glad she visited us yesterday and I had the opportunity to get to know her more; she's a very warm and caring individual and I definitely enjoyed speaking to her.

Relaxing with the Roosevelt family.

Now on the other hand, must I say that the train ride where we had our first glance at the glazing waters of the historians lake was not the final time we saw it? Why? Well mainly because it would be absolutely impossible to forget a visit to president Franklin D. Roosevelt's summer headquarter, including his birth bed across from the lake. It was a marvelous site and allowed me to appreciate his personality and determination to a whole new level. The tour guide did a magnificent job describing his life on the daily basis and the relationship amongst the individuals within the household. From the moment walked the pathway and through the door frame to the time I got back on to a van to head to Vassar University, I would take each step as if I were walking in the shoes of a Roosevelt in that era. I imagined sleeping in the beds as a guest, walking the hallways with passion and determination against the slowly destructive polio disease, or simply just being with the honor of having a role in the life of such a tremendous leader within our nation's history. For a minute in my life I felt like some special and important appreciated by the world and my surroundings. Well let me tell you, it was definitely an amazing feelings.

After the tour, we also watched an informative documentary about Roosevelt's life and culture. His passion struck me and ultimately became one of the many strong aspect that resulted in the strong sense of admiration I have towards him. He never gave up and was always highly optimistic, which is also the characteristics of a perfect role model for me. I too portray similar characteristics and particular personality traits, so I was extremely honored to see similarities between myself and an individual of such high reputations.

Sat in a seat in the theater dedicated to Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Absolutely beautiful library at Vassar University.

Later we visited Vassar University, the university I conducted a lot of research about while back in Pinole. I was excited to finally attend a tour after hearing and also reading so much about it so I can also see what the college feels like in person. I learned a few interesting things that I actually didn't know about until my visit. For example, Vassar students had a tea gathering where pearls and white gloves were deemed mandatory. Also, a student at Vassar was very interested in philosophy and a man replied to her curiosity towards the subject by saying, "Philosophy is too much for your tiny female brain to handle." Although a male individual saying comments like that towards females was particularly common in that era, I was highly offended. Philosophy is definitely one of my interests and something I enjoy extremely, and my pride towards the female race just simply did not allow me to absorb such a comment. However, I admired the University for proving to individuals of that sort that women can make a difference and introduced equality to another level. Adjectives describing my experience towards Vassar would be simply inspirational and hope-oriented fueled by ambition and passion of various individuals in history.

Before we knew it, it was already dinner time once again, this time at Le Bernardin. Each and every day I walk out of the these restaurants thinking, "This was the best dinner yet," and I end the following night at another restaurant with the same exact mindset. Everything has been so fantastic so far in our trip that it's truly hard to chose the amongst all our daily activities what exactly we enjoyed more than the other due to the fact that they all so amazing that a decision of the sort would be both highly debatable and questionable. Whether it's the individuals we are granted the honor to meet and engage in interesting conversations with, or simply the atmosphere and the taste of the food, each and every dinner so far has been unique and special in it's own way.

Adrianne Ramsey; I love her so much!

This dinner felt almost like a business meeting to me. The conversation was definitely engaging and active, (like always) but this time more than usual. We debated as a group for hours as to how exactly we are going to give back to our community upon return. Of course, you may be thinking, "But you just arrived!" Yes, but community is of utmost importance to us all, and the duty and main purpose of this trip as a whole is to give back to our community in a large and upscale manner. We plan to live up to (and of course beyond) our expectations and give back to our community in a way never done before. For this, we have already began our initial steps in preparation and organized our ideas in a coherent format for analysis. In all, I enjoyed our discussions today, and not to mention, the fact that Mrs.Kronenberg was there to join us.

Meryl Streep, she was literally this close to us.

Above are a few pictures of the food I ordered tonight, I don't quite remember their names but I can tell you they surely were delicious. The meal consisted of 3 courses plus a dessert and drink. The very last photo was simply a compliment from the chef.

The most perfect coincidence occurred today in the restaurant, we sat a table away from Meryl Streep for four consecutive hours! The coincidence here is that we visited Vassar, the college she graduated in the daytime, then saw herself my sundown.

Chance or fate? You tell me.