The Plan with a Side of Thunder

Cornell's Summer Academy woke up to a hot morning.  Once you walked out of the dorm, you could feel the thick air draping over your skin. As I went to RPCC, I saw Tamilyn and Christian with a new friend, Rachel. She was in Christian's hall and she's studying Body, Mind and Health. She said that she took this course because she grew up with a medical disorder, soo she wants to be able to give back to others who face these difficulties. Perhaps we got there late, but there was barely any food left! There was only eggs, potatoes, sausages, and cereal. They started to bring out french fries and chicken nuggets, so that ended up being my "hearty" breakfast. Dining is starting to become difficult! There's no home-made noodles or porridge to eat. Being away from the food that I'm used to eating and eating the same thing for the next three weeks or four years of my life is going to become tough. 

The practically empty buffet counter

Rachel,  Christian, Tamilyn, Jenna and I eating breakfast

By the time we finished eating breakfast, there was an awkward amount of time left before our next event, Crash Course 101. There was too much time to go to Bailey Hall, but too less time to do anything else. Our Crash Course 101 to college started a little later. The presentation featured videos and trivia questions. We started by watching a video that interviewed several Cornell students. They came from different backgrounds and they made different mistakes in college. I learned that you can't expect to get straight A's in college just because you did it in college. You can't fake your way through assignments and the professors won't remind you about deadlines. However, if you do realize that you may need extra time for work, go talk to your professor! Do not plagiarize! Not only is it illegal, but you will automatically fail the class and potentially get kicked out of college without a refund.

We took a small break to stretch!

In the second part, we did a personality test. Everyone got a handout with different qualities. You would rank which quality was like you and do some simple arithmetic to figure our what type of person you are. I turned out to be an adapter. My strengths are leadership and willingness to work hard, but my weakness is constantly competing. At first I disagreed with the negative because I didn't see who I competed with, but I realized I'm constantly competing with myself. There were other positives and negatives, which were pretty accurate although I hate to admit it.  Throughout the presentation, we had clickers like in "Who Wants to be a Millionaire". The presenter would present questions on a large screen and we as the audience was choose options and see if we were right. We also watched a mini movie about sleep. Apparently, teens are supposed to get 9 1/4 hours of sleep to be healthy.  Our sleep is separated into 90 minute blocks and the third and fourth blocks are the deepest sleeps. If you wake up during this time, there's no doubt that you'll wake up drowsy, cranky, or unprepared for the day. Our RCAs then took the stage and read several personal statements. The purpose of the activity was to see how we judges people. As the essays were read, we did not know whose it was, so we guessed who we thought it was. Lastly, the same Cornell students from the first video appeared in reflection video. They regretted partying, drinking, and trying to please people.

Mr. Chan-Law met us outside to discuss when we'd meet for the next three weeks. Gray clouds started rolling in and little sprinkled of rain fell. As more time passed, the rain poured. They were like pellets of water shooting down. Thunder followed. Again, my instinct somehow told me to leave my umbrella back in the dorm after carrying it for a week.  I ran into RPCC for dinner. Today there was international foods from Japanese to Italian. It was much better than breakfast. After meeting a girl from LA and a girl from South Jersey, I met up with Tomi and Rochelle. We saw a student sitting by herself so we introduced ourselves and kept her company! Summer is a student from Shanghai. It was her second year doing this program and her dream school is NYU. We headed down to the Activities Fair after dinner. There were only five activities to sign-up for, but we couldn't even participate in any of them because our class ends at six and they all started at 5 or so.

For my weekend homework, I read the CHESS manual. It really feels like that first day of school where you pack lots of school supplies and make sure you wake up early to leave a good impression. My plan is to be an attentive student in class and dedicate my free time to making sure that I'm going above and beyond. I overheard the professor saying that he was impressed by a student's work, when we haven't even had work yet. All of the students in this class are serious. There's students who have even gone as far as interning at a hotel already. This is when I turn my weakness into a strength. In order to come up with the best business plan, I need to compete with the other groups. They may have experience, but it's not too late to learn and thrive. Just like the change in weather from sunshine to rain,  Tomi, Rochelle, and I can work our way to the top with a boom.. I missed my chance for that 9 1/4  hours of sleep, but 8 hours will have to suffice for tonight.