It's Officially The End

“Leonard Eisen. Lucas Lochner-Bravo.” One by one, they announced the names of the Ivy League Connection’s newest members.  “Adrianne Ramsey.”  As the room filled with applause and congratulations, I found myself inching towards the exit. There was no way that I had been accepted—all of the other applicants were much better choices; they were far more gifted than me, not to mention more articulate and charming. I braced myself as the interviewers began to announce the fourth and final name. “Oluwatomi Balogun.”

It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly half a year since my name was called that day. The process following my acceptance into the Ivy League Connection was certainly a long and stressful one, but the end result was certainly worth all the effort. Now that a little over a week has passed since returning home, I would like to take the time to reminisce about my trip.

The first seven days of in New York were arguably the most eventful part of our trip. Each day we visited one of the nation’s most esteemed campuses, each one with its own breathtaking landscape and unique atmosphere.  I’m really apprentice of our tours and information seminars, as it was through theses means that I was able to realize what kind of school I would like to attend.

This trip has helped realize how close-minded I’ve really been. Before this trip, the only school I wanted to go to was UC Berkeley. I couldn’t even give a legitimate reason as to why I wanted to go besides “It’s a good school.” Through my experiences, I’ve come to ask myself a very important question: “Do I want to go to UC Berkeley because I think that it’s right school for me or do I want to go to UC Berkeley because everyone else wants to go to UC Berkeley?”  While I still plan on applying to UC Berkeley, I also would like to apply to Columbia University, UPenn, and New York University. Not only because they’re great schools, but also because I love their environments and I can honestly see myself being successful whilst attending anyone of these schools.

One thing that I certainly won’t forget about this trip would be the dinners. I honestly can’t remember a time where I was even a little bit hungry; if I wasn’t already full from a previous meal, then I was sure to more than make up for it during the next. I was treated to some of the best food that I’ve ever had in my entire life. Not only was the food always cooked to perfection, but their presentation was fabulous as well. However, I think that my favorite part of our dinners were the conversations. Thanks to our entertaining and knowledgeable alumni, our dinners were able to become as fond and memorable as they are today.

Our first week in New York ended all too quickly; it was hard to believe that in the timeframe of just one week I went from touring some of our country’s top schools to actually attending one.  My time at Columbia University is something that I will never forget.

I already find myself missing my friends and suitemates. I spent three weeks getting to know them, and knowing that we’ll most likely never see each other again is rather upsetting. While it’s true that we’ve exchanged contact information, it’s certainly not the same as sharing a room or dormitory.

I absolutely adored my Constitutional Law class. My classmates and instructors were amazing; I thoroughly enjoyed our class discussions and debates; it was a never-ending battle of wits in that class. Needless to say, I was able to fulfill my goal of exposing myself to new viewpoints. Whether or not I agreed with the opinion at hand, I would take the time to compare another person’s views with my own views in order to get a better idea of my own beliefs.  Because of this class, I was able to learn about both constitutional law and the importance of opinion and interpretation. Personally, I believe that it is necessary to be versed in both fields in order to become a model citizen, making the things that I learned in this class valuable both in and out of the classroom. As I said before, I really loved this course; a part of me even wishes that it have been a year-round, rather than just three weeks.

As for trips, I’m sad to say that most of my Top 15 Picks were left unfulfilled. However, that’s not to say that I didn’t have fun regardless. In fact, quite the opposite is true. I was able to visit so many famous sights, some of which that I had never before thought of going to. Some of my favorites were the Rockefeller Center’s Top of the Rock, Central Park, and the fireworks display on the Hudson River. This trip also marked many firsts for me, such as my first time on a boat and my first time on a skyscraper.

Never in my life would have I ever imagined myself in New York City—but as luck would have it, I was just there a week ago.  This trip was probably one of the best experiences in my life, and thanks to this blog, I’ll be able to remember practically every minute of it.While there's still a few weeks of summer vacation left, there's certainly nothing that can top this trip. 

Although, I thanked everyone in a previous post, I would like to make a few special mentions. I would like to thank Mrs. Kronenberg, Mr. Ramsey, and Don Gosney. Without their time and efforts, the Ivy League Connection wouldn’t even exist. These three people have helped countless students expand their horizons and achieve things they may have thought impossible. I also like would like wholeheartedly thank them for impacting my life for the better. I’m incredibly grateful.