Well, our adventure at Pennsylvania is over. A part of me is sad and a little bit nostalgic but another part of me is happy to be home, in California. I'm attending a camp right now called Bay Area Asian Youth Fellowship and I'm happy to be here.
If I learned anything from being in Pennsylvania, it would be to reach out and take chances on people and other things. The first week or two of Pennsylvania, I was scared to talk to meet new people because I'm not the kind of person who would initiate a conversation. When people started coming up to me to talk to me, I started to realize how great the people at UPenn were. I think I really started feeling at home the last week of the program. It might have been because we had a lot more time to really hang out with the people, but it also could've been because I met a lot more people. I also learned this lesson from just taking the chance and going to Pennslyvania. I was a little unsure about going to the program in the first place because it was so far away and it was for a month but I'm really glad I took the chance.
I felt like the academic program at the summer program was very well organized. The teacher was amazing, I felt like she really cared about the students and she was very passionate about teaching. She taught us a lot about biology but she also showed us how a good professor should behave. Because of the fact that I want to take AP biology in the future, I'm really glad I went. The people in the class were very motivated as independent learners and I learned a lot from them also. Being in that kind of environment was encouraging and it was easy to be studious.
The college life is really different from what I imagined. We had a lot more free time than I had expected and the workload wasn't as heavy (but that was probably because we were in a summer program). We had so much free time that I didn't know what to do with it and I enjoyed that because at home, I barely have any. I learned that being independant is fun. I'm really looking forward to college in general now because of this experience.
I hope that this insight was enough to satisfy your curiousity about this experience. I'm at camp right now and we're about to go kayaking! I feel like the life lessons I learned at Pennsylvania was worth it and in conclusions, I'm really glad I went.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Our UPenn girls!
About Us
Welcome to our page! This year, we will be going to the University of Pennsylvania's Bio-Med summer program through the Ivy League Connection Program through WCCUSD. This blog will help us share with you our experiences, photos, stories, adventures, and new realizations that we encounter through this wonderful opportunity. Our trip starts on July 5, 2008 and concludes on August 2, 2008.
This year's Penn group consists of Susan Lee, Courtney Mariano, both from Hercules HS, and Cynthia Fong, from El Cerrito HS. We are being chaperoned by Ms. Patricia Crespo, assistant principal at El Cerrito HS.
We would like to dedicate this page to all of the contributors who made this amazing opportunity possible, and of course, to Mr. Charles Ramsey and Mrs. Madeline Kronenburg, whose constant support of us is undaunting.
We are very excited about this great summer opportunity and experience of a lifetime!
This year's Penn group consists of Susan Lee, Courtney Mariano, both from Hercules HS, and Cynthia Fong, from El Cerrito HS. We are being chaperoned by Ms. Patricia Crespo, assistant principal at El Cerrito HS.
We would like to dedicate this page to all of the contributors who made this amazing opportunity possible, and of course, to Mr. Charles Ramsey and Mrs. Madeline Kronenburg, whose constant support of us is undaunting.
We are very excited about this great summer opportunity and experience of a lifetime!
UPenn crew @ 4am!!
2 comments:
Cynthia,
It sounds like you matured a lot during your time at UPENN. I am glad that you had the courage to go and grow. I am glad that the Ivy League Connection played a part in you having a fabulous summer.
Enjoy your time at camp.
Take care.
Charles T. Ramsey
School Board Member
West Contra Costa
Unified School District
Cynthia⎯Ask yourself this question: as far as being away from home goes, what’s the difference between a couple of hundred miles and a couple of thousand miles? In the grand scheme of things, unless you have a car or a spare plane trip home, they’re really just about the same. If you’re weak in the geography department Pennsylvania really isn’t all that far from the Bay Area. I frequently checked you all out on Google Earth and even with my 30 inch monitor you were never more than a couple of inches away from us. So what was the big deal? Distance is always relative and it’s mostly in your head. If you get in a really big fight with your folks, aren’t you really about a million miles away from them? It’s all relative.
I frequently wear Aloha shirts and when people talk to me about going to Hawaii for a vacation, I have to tell them that in my mind I’m already there. It’s all attitude, Cynthia. In my mind I’m able to spend the day on the beach without having to wipe away the sand, slather on the sunblock or worry about someone snatching the good looking gal I’m with. (Okay, maybe the last one I wouldn’t mind actually experiencing).
It’s really easy to stay safely ensconced within our safety zone and never venture out beyond our own front yard. There are a lot of nasty things out there and you’re safe and sound nestled amongst friends and family. But what if the worst part of our world was what you already knew about and the whole rest of the universe was fun and exciting? How would you know any of this unless you adventured out to see the world?
I hope you’re not confusing “summer camp” at Pen with the real college life. How many classes were you taking? One? How many classes do you take during a normal college semester? Three to five? You’re a smart gal, Cynthia, so I know that you’ve figured out that when you get to college for real, things might be a little more intense. Such is life.
You’re going to make it just fine, Cynthia.
Post a Comment