I woke up today, jumped into the shower, and finished packing. I dashed off to class and arrived with about two minutes to spare. I did a lot better than some of my classmates though; after a late final night everyone was exhausted and some people showed up a little late.
We turned in all of our final assignments and Kisa had us do a forced choice activity. On our first day of class we also did a forced choice activity, so it felt like we were coming full circle. As we moved from one side of the room to the other, I was happy to realize that I have become a more analytical thinker than I was before and I felt much more comfortable making my choice. For example: Twilight or Harry Potter? (If you are concerned about an absence of gravity in this activity, don’t be. This was the silliest question and the lack of solemnity was only because we all chose to answer this literally. In case you're curious, I chose Harry. Of course!)
After a few more farewell exercises, Kisa gave us a little time to take pictures and say more personal goodbyes. We all dashed around the room shoving our cameras at our classmates. Several people got teary-eyed. We were kicked out around 11:30 to go have lunch, and were reminded to meet by the main green at 12:45 to present our Action Plan presentations.
During lunch, all of us ILC girls dragged our luggage over to Faunce Arch in preparation for our imminent departure. The heat made this an uncomfortable and difficult procedure, but by 12:15 I had deposited my luggage in the student center. Caroline and I ran over to the Rockefeller Library to return some books and then headed over to the Ratty for lunch one last time.
There were a few final speeches in the big auditorium in Saloman Hall, and then we split off into small groups to present our Action Plans. I was so nervous to present my speech, but I should not have worried. I had prepared more than adequately and the audience (about seven other students and a facilitator) was very supportive. I heard some interesting Action Plans and got a couple of ideas for things to do better with my own plan.
And then, it was time to say goodbye. We ran around finding our friends and taking the last few sets of pictures. I didn’t realize how hard it would be to say goodbye to Kisa, Tiffany, Laura, and even Dean Rose. (I don’t know if Dean Rose remembers who I am, but she is SO COOL!!!)
Poor Ms. Williams had a terrible time corralling us all into the shuttle bus because we quite simply didn’t want to leave. Our friends escorted us to the student center and helped us carry our luggage to the shuttle. It took forever to even reach the student center because kept hugging each other and taking more photos. I hadn’t really expected to cry, but we pretty much all started sobbing at the same time. I think it was a combination of looking at Maddie’s teary eyes and realizing as I was hugging Kaylyn that I might not see her again that really set me off.
Finally we were all crammed into the van and we drove off, waving frantically through the windows. We turned the corner and they were gone. As one of my classmates said, “Gosh you guys, why do you all have to be so amazing? I would be so much happier right now if I had just hated everyone so that I would be glad to go home now.”
These friends that I’ve made have helped my life become so much richer now that they are in it. I’m going to miss them, but I know that our whole class is going to keep in touch.
No comments:
Post a Comment