Four weeks ago, I got on a plane and
began an incredible journey. Yesterday, I got off a plane and realized how
important every aspect of that journey was for me. The trip I took with my
cohort to the Midwest and Chicago was a wonderful experience in so many ways,
and as I reflect on the trip, it’s impossible not to be reminded how lucky I am
to have been given this opportunity, and how thankful I am for everyone who
made it possible.
In the beginning of our trip, I was in
a constant state of excitement with the prospect of being away from home and
exploring all these new places. As our cohort trekked from college to college,
I felt like a traveler going on an educational vacation. Each new school we
visited was a new destination to discover. Visiting a university everyday
caused me to think about college almost constantly. The process of college
applications and decisions are both interesting and relevant to me, and being surrounded each day
by different college cultures and learning new information made me think about
these issues on a deeper level. I learned a tremendous amount about college
that I hadn’t known before, and each tour and information session opened my
eyes to new factors I want to take into account when considering colleges.
There was also something special about the dinners we had with alumni and
admissions officers for each college. Talking to these people about their
schools and being allowed to ask endless questions enhanced my understanding of
the schools in a way unattainable through just site visiting. It was also
beneficial for me to talk the alumni and admission officers because it made me
establish a professional persona. I feel like I matured greatly through the
campus tours, information sessions, and dinners, and this sense of self growth
makes me more confident and prepared for tackling issues later in life, both
college related and otherwise.
Beyond the emphasis on college that I
experienced through the first part of our trip, I also started to develop as an
individual. Despite being a cohort and having Alana to chaperone us, there was
something about having no parental presence that affected me and encouraged me
to become more responsible. Each day I had to focus to make sure I was
maintaining my own health: going to the gym, eating properly, getting enough
sleep. I also had to constantly remind myself to stay in the moment and get the
most out of the experience, and I think because I was self aware about these
concerns, I was able to receive the full benefits of each experience.
This sense of independence was
increasingly reinforced with our arrival at University of Chicago and the start
of our stay there. Now I was really on my own, completely responsible for
keeping my room tidy, getting to the dining hall on time, and being a proper
student. I like to think I rose to this challenge well, and I’m proud to say I managed
to get ample sleep and exercise, which contributed to being a healthy,
productive person for the duration of my stay at UChicago. There were times
when I felt the distance from home, and it was sometimes difficult to be in an
environment where I was the primary person worried about myself. At home, I am surrounded
by friends and family who care about me a lot, and we are always doing little
things to make each other happy. I would occasionally find myself saddened to not
have that atmosphere in the college life. I loved all the people I met at
UChicago and made a lot of great friends, but because the college experience
focuses so much on independence and individuality, there wasn’t the sense of
closeness that I’ve established with my friends and family back home. I think
that part of this is due to how short the program was, and I believe that in an
actual college setting there would be more time for me to develop closer
friendships and create a new sense of family. Still, there were many aspects of
this focus on independence that I really enjoyed. I liked looking after myself,
and in a way the college life let me be more selfish than I would be at home. I
was in control of my own schedule and activities, and this was more freedom
than I’ve had before and very satisfying. For the most part, I didn’t have to
accommodate other people, which allowed me to do as I pleased almost all the
time. Gaining this concept of being totally in charge of my life was new and
sometimes scary, but for the most part an amazing experience that was both
valuable and fun.
It’s impossible for me to talk about
our trip to University of Chicago without talking about my class. I am
completely satisfied with the academic experience I received, and extremely
grateful for how it has helped me grow as a student. I was expecting my
Developmental Psychology course to be rigorous, and it was indeed a challenge.
Having this high expectation helped me be prepared to confront the workload
and critical thinking required by our course, and although the first week was a
little overwhelming at times, I quickly adjusted and was pleasantly surprised
to find myself smoothly finishing homework and having free time in the second
week. I also tried to be a good participant in our class. Coming from a high
school where our class size is usually between 30 and 40 students, it was a
treasure to have a class of 14. The discussions we had were insightful, and I
loved hearing the different perspectives people had to share. Developmental
Psychology was also a fun class to have discussions about, because it deals so
much with humans and how we think, learn, and feel. Through psychology centered
discussions, I learned a lot about my classmate’s personal experiences, and
this further enriched the knowledge we were learning. I also have to give
extensive credit to our instructor for making the academic experience valuable,
she was great at guiding our discussions and also contributing ample
information about her own life experiences to supplement the material we were
learning. Additionally, I loved how she treated it like a college course by
giving us challenging work, but acknowledged the fact that we were high school
students and gave us helpful advice and suggestions on how best to succeed at
the work without killing ourselves. The system of support helped me navigate
through the course work and has made me feel reassured about facing academic
challenges in my next two years of high school, and especially later in college.
Learning the actual material of our
course was another special experience for me. Developmental Psychology isn’t a
class that I could take at El Cerrito High, and in general the psychology
options are limited. I find the subject fascinating, and I would be excited to
go to class each day and learn something new about the human brain. I genuinely
enjoyed reading the textbook, and am thankful that the ILC purchased it for me
because I believe I’ll continued to enjoy its contents. What was amazing about
our class was that we didn’t just read about children’s brains and behaviors,
we actually got to study them. I had never set up a research question and
experiment like this before, and learning how to read empirical articles for a
literature review, develop straightforward methods that really tested our
question, and conduct research on participants in a professional manner were
new skills for me. I had a lot of fun going through these processes, and I just
loved the feeling that I was constantly learning something new and improving
myself as a student. The opportunity to conduct research on children was
probably my favorite part, because I love kids and could connect to their
amusing antics and responses. A large part of why I chose to take the
Developmental Psychology course was because I wanted to understand children’s minds
better, since I interact with children a lot in my life. I definitely feel that
I gained sufficient knowledge in this area, and it will be hard for me now to
play with children without viewing them as little brains, working to improve
their executive functioning and gain the necessary experiences they need to
enhance their development. The other thing that was terrific about our
Developmental Psychology class was that every other student shared my
enthusiasm for the subject as well. Some students had already taken psychology
classes, some were interested in pursuing it in college, and some, like me,
just found the subject of child psychology utterly intriguing and wanted to learn more
about it. Having this classroom environment full of people who genuinely want
to learn and care about the material being covered is an experience that I
unfortunately don’t encounter much in high school, and I cherished it.
Beyond the college life and academic
experience that I gained at University of Chicago, this trip also offered me an
amazing opportunity to be a traveler. I’m so happy to have attended a program
at a university right next to a big city, because it meant there was never a
boring moment of free time. I gradually learned to navigate the public
transportation systems and was able to go on adventure into the city of
Chicago. I love exploring new places, and every time we would walk around the
giant skyscrapers or the beautiful, sprawling parks, I’d find myself with a
smile on my face. There’s something exciting about the feeling of a big city
bustling with people and things to do, and I adored this energy. There were
also so many museums to discover, and I’m thankful to Alana for organizing
excursions to ensure we got to enjoy these features of Chicago. Seeing a famous
painting or staring up at the remains of a giant dinosaur is a sort of magical
thing, and the moments I got to observe these things were truly unforgettable.
The city of Chicago has so many attractions, and though I couldn’t do
everything, I’m very satisfied with the many sights I did manage to see. These experiences were some of the best moments of the trip for me.
I was expecting this trip to be a life
changing experience for me, and as I reflect over the past few weeks to write
this blog, I can honestly say that it has been, in bigger ways than I imagined.
My knowledge and perspective on all things college has greatly deepened and
increased, and I know this is going to help me as I navigate through college
matters. I also have a greater appreciation for what I gained through our
college visits, and I want to share this with my friends and peers. So many of
my classmates view college purely based on reputation, but my newly acquired
firsthand experiences have made me realize how much more there is to consider,
and how important these other factors are. College is a big decision for high
schoolers, and I think trying to give my classmates the most advice I can is
necessary for all of us to get the most out of our potential future college
experiences. I also improved myself as a student through the course I took on
this trip, and I intend to carry this work ethic and classroom skills back to
school with me and try to encourage them in my peers. I now know what it’s like
to be in a school setting where everyone’s excited to be there, and I think
trying to foster this environment at ECHS will make high school more fun for
all of us. In terms of personal gain, I have gotten so much out of this trip. I
developed a better sense of independence and college life, learned multitudes
about a subject that interests me, and got to experience a new city in a part
of the country I’d never traveled to. I enjoyed practically every minute of it
and realize how fortunate I am to have been granted this opportunity. I don’t think
there’s any way to end this blog about my trip as a whole without thank yous.
Thank you to Alana for making the trip run smoothly and being a great
chaperone, thank you to my cohort for being excellent traveling companions,
thank you to WashU, Northwestern, and Notre Dame for sharing so much about
college with us, thank you to University of Chicago for offering this
incredible program to us, and a giant thank you to Don and the Ivy League
Connection for caring enough to make this program possible. My trip to
University of Chicago was one of the highlights of my life so far, and
certainly the experience in which I learned the most. I think it’s hugely
important for students to be able to gain all the benefits I was able to
through this adventure, and it is fantastic that the Ivy League Connection
exists to make these adventures realities for us.