Friday, July 3, 2009

The End of the Beginning

Now at the end of the first week, everything feels so familiar to me. It feels normal to wake up and cross a common room to get to a bathroom. It feels normal to walk in and around the campus as I please -- with respect to curfew and such. So on and so forth. I was talking to Jessica about it, and we both already became so accustomed to this lifestyle within the first few days. Actually, to us the first few days seemed like several days already. We've been really getting the hang of life as a college student.

In terms of education, I think I'm progressing. Like I said in an earlier post, I felt at least somewhat familiar with the lab portion at the start, and by Thursday I had become even more used to experimentation and laboratory tools. The lectures/seminars are a different story, though. My responses to them have varied, mostly because information often went over my head. I have never learned some of these concepts. But I feel that as the course goes on, I'll become more comfortable with the discussions and such. It wasn't until Thursday that I was able to actually participate in discussions with our mentors and professor. I'm trying to work my way so that I'll pick up enough information to start really delving into discussions.

Well, I'd share more, but I think being on a rocking boat two days in a row has gone to my head -- I still feel the ground moving beneath me. Off to bed, and then out to a day of socializing with my fellow Columbians tomorrow! Good night.

3 comments:

Don Gosney said...

Jackie,

This won’t necessarily help you and your cohorts for this year but it would help future generations when you return if we could hear in greater detail about the pitfalls of the class and the level of preparedness you felt you had.

It seems strange to read about you being old college hands when it was just a few days ago I snapped your photo as you shipped off. Strangely, because I’ve been on these blogs night and day for the past couple of weeks, even to me it feels like you’ve been gone for months.

Don Gosney said...

Jackie,

If you think that the rocking back and forth on the boat these past couple of days was fun, you’ll have to hear my stories of spending four and half days with 120 mph winds, 45 foot swells and 16,000 feet of icy water beneath me.


Solid ground never felt so good.

Charles Tillman Ramsey said...

Thanks Jackie for the post. I am glad that you are comfortable at Columbia, but why? Take us "inside the walls" and let us know your perceptions. What are you suite mates like? How have them made an impression on you?

What does it feel like being in one of the largest cities in the world and the largest city in the Country? Do you feel that Hercules High School has prepared you for this experience with your modern Chemistry class? Do you enjoy the class?

What do you hope to bring back to Hercules High School? Are people curious about the Ivy League Connection? Have you had a chance to explain to anyone about our school district and the challenges we face back home?

Let me know.

Enjoy the Holiday and have some fun.

Charles T. Ramsey, Esq.
School Board Member
West Contra Costa
Unified School District

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