Thursday, April 21, 2011

My First Blog After Learning How To Blog

I woke up this morning really early because I was so excited to get to the blog tutorial. When I got to the Hercules Library I saw a mass of people outside. We sat down, introduced ourselves, and I got to see who everyone was. Putting faces to names. As a Brownie, I waited to see who else was going to Rhode Island for Women and Leadership.

Eventually Don Gosney pulled our attention to the projector and we all watched as he explained in extraordinary detail how to blog and photoshop. Although the Library's wifi was slow, I tried to keep up with what Don was doing on my laptop. The two hour tutorial seemed to fly by and pretty soon we all got up to mingle amongst ourselves. I listened to others talk about their past ILC trips to the East Coast and their plans with the one coming up in just a few months.

I can't wait to go to Brown in July and I look forward to the School Board meeting and dinner in SF in May.

Blogging Begins At Hercules Library

It was excellent to see many of my classmates, Brown buddies, and ILC cohorts at Hercules Library today. I had invited my lovely mother to come along, as she had expressed an interest to blog as an ILC parent. Despite my dismayed look and my mom's blank countenance, we were ready for Don's tutorial (photo by Dyana So). After following some advice not to sit in the back row, I moved to a closer seat, turned on my laptop, and followed Don as he explained the magic of Blogger and Photoshop.

When I got home, I read Austin Long’s blog about his recent trip to Yale. His descriptive experience made me excited about the upcoming summer program at Brown. Austin went to Brown last year for the Physics program and he currently attends Pinole Valley High with me so I plan on talking with him at school sometime about what I should expect during my time in Rhode Island.

Thank you, Don, for setting up this tutorial to go over computer basics, ethics, and professionalism. He was right that we needed to discuss these topics due to issues in the past, and the advice was well received. Blogging has officially begun for me and I look forward to sharing ILC milestones in the near future. The Brown University Macroeconomics dinner is coming up on May 3rd. Until then, I bid everyone happy reading.

First Blog—On Blogging!

Unfortunately, I am lying in bed with a terrible fever typing this, but still, I feel obliged to write a little something about today. Yes, this is my first blog so bear with me.

This morning, a good number of the ILC students showed up for Don’s blogging tutorial at the Hercules Library. We all arrived on time, and Don was proud of us for that (he said so himself)! I enjoyed meeting other students in the program because, like Don said, we all have to work together.

So he covered the basics—not only on blogging but on what is required of us as ILC cohorts. He showed us the difference between a good blog and a bad blog and gave real examples of both. I was surprised to see how many blatant errors could be made in one 958-word blog: 81! Now I will make sure to carefully proofread my writings so that I won’t be used by Don as an example of a bad blogger. We also read Austin Long’s “Bulldog Days”, a well-written blog about his visit to Yale. Hopefully with more practice, I’ll be able to write exceptional blogs as well.

Again, Don reminded us to act like adults so as to not embarrass the program and our schools while on the East Coast. He also admonished us for not checking our emails frequently enough. But he wouldn’t be telling us these things without a good reason, and the warnings are appreciated. So thank you, Don.

And to conclude my first blog: I’m so excited to go to Brown!

Tutorial Experience - Act Like An Adult

Today at the Hercules Library, about 15 or 20 ILC-ers sat in a library for about 2 hours and learned the importance of blogging, how to shoot pictures and edit them, and the important rules each and every one of them must follow. It might sound tedious and boring, but it was actually very fun and interesting.

For me, it was nice getting to see some of my fellow Brownies and in fact meet a couple of them for the first time! It was also a nice touch to meet those in a different group as me, such as the Yale kids (the two that don't go to El Cerrito High School like Tom Miller) and those doing the Hotel Management class. I think that it is good to treasure the times you meet ILC as a group, seeing as though you don't have many opportunities to unless you go to school with branch of the class.

I think that having a tutorial at this time was great. For Brownies, this tutorial is 2 weeks before our dinner and the school board meeting, so it's great that we get to meet again as a group and are reminded of the expectations put upon us.

One of the most interesting parts of what Don discussed with us as a group was about behaving like an adult. It is noted in the packet [that he gave us] "Never ever use as an excuse that you're only a teenager or you're just a high schooler." We are being awarded a $12,000 scholarship to spend about three weeks on the East Coast in AMAZING Ivy League schools. When I was younger, my family would travel to the East and visit Ivy Leagues such as Dartmouth, Harvard, and Princeton. I remember touring these schools, taking pictures, and thinking, "Wow, it would be so neat to go here." I never thought that I would get the opportunity to spend nearly three weeks taking a [summer] course at one of these Ivy League campuses. It blows me away that I'm being given this opportunity.

This opportunity should be taken seriously. Every one of those who got into ILC worked really hard to be picked for the program after writing an essay (I picked at and edited my essay day after day just to make sure it was absolutely perfect) and nail a no-turning-back interview. Everyone has worked hard to get into the program, now we should all work hard at acting mature. I know we can all do it. I certainly wouldn't want to see anyone get kicked out of the program after all hard we've all worked, especially my fellow Brownies! (:

The behaviors that Don talked about that had happened in the past had me really stunned. I had heard about these incidents that had happened on the East Coast when I was younger (I was probably about 12 years old), and I was shocked then, but hearing it as an older person and being in the ILC, it just amazed me (not in a good way!) that some and certain people can act so immature and strange when given an opportunity such as ILC or just being in one of the classes at the Ivy schools. That's not a good look to give a program, and it's a horrible look to give to yourself! I mean, who wants to be known as "that person who screwed up", etc.? I know I wouldn't, and based on the shocked and strange looks that Don got after he told us those behavior stories showed me that everyone else who attended the tutorial (and hopefully everyone else in ILC!) didn't want to either.

Overall, I'm happy we had the tutorial today. It was fun and a good way to spend time with those in the ILC. I hope those who attend the April 30th tutorial have just as much fun as I did!

Acting like Adults-Tutorial Response

This morning, in a fancy meeting room at the Hercules Library, we had a mandatory tutorial about blogging, photo-shop, and some basic guidelines for the trip. Of course we got to hear some horror stories of examples of what not to do. The meeting lasted around 2 hours and Don gave us a very helpful handout explaining what is expected of us, which, as usual, is Ivy League standard.

A topic that seems to always arise and intimidate even the most mature of our cohorts, is how people mention that now we will be treated as adults and that the excuse that we are "just teenagers" is no longer valid. I am confident that all of our members will be on their best behavior; However, it is funny that people can say how important the youth of our generation is, while at the same time trying to transform us into adults in the midst of our youth. I completely agree that maturity is a crucial quality to developing into a respectable adult, but at the same time I feel that it is the intense ambition and immature innocence that makes teenage minds so valuable. We just need ways to harness that uncontrollable passion and motivation into making an impact in the world. I believe that growing up too quickly may in fact make that goal more difficult to reach.
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