Sleepless (with Excitement!) in El Cerrito

As I woke up this morning, I lay in bed realizing that in less than 24 hours, I would be on a plane flying to St. Louis. The excitement of the proximity of our trip has been starting to sink in over the past few days, and I had difficulty falling asleep last night because I was already starting to think about all the adventures that are to come. 

Today I'm experiencing the phenomenon of time slowing down. I've been trying to fill the day with tasks so that it will pass faster, but I'm basically finished packing already and that would have been a good way to kill time. Packing is a long process for me, so I started last weekend and have been throwing stuff in my suitcase throughout the week. I always get paranoid that I'm forgetting something vital, but after reviewing the packing list from Don, the UChicago suggested packing list, and compiling a packing list of my own, I think I should be good to go!

The weather report for our time in Chicago

I've spent probably too much time over the past few days researching our itinerary, checking the weather, and reading the blogs of other ILCers to get a sense of what's ahead, and all of it has just built up my anticipation for our trip even more. I know it's going to be an amazing travel experience, academically, socially, and culturally. I think this trip will be the perfect stepping stone for me as I start to think more seriously about my future college plans.

Seeing as we are meeting at 2:50 in the morning tomorrow, I'm planning to get to bed extremely early tonight. I want to be well rested, plus I want to start adjusting for the time difference. However, we'll see if I'm successful in actually achieving sleep, I'm guessing I'll have an abundance of pre-trip energy. I've been looking forward to this adventure since I got accepted to the Ivy League Connection in January, and now it's finally about to begin!