The Beautiful, Brightly Blue Day of Blogging

This photo is proof of both merriment and sun.
Picturing Aisha Asif

This Saturday blogging tutorial was not only beautiful and brightly blue, it was also beneficial.

My day began with my alarm clock blaring a song from the musical Grease, "You're the one that I want, (you are the one I want) ooh ooh ooh, honey!" It succeeded in waking me. I shuffled into the kitchen, and after making myself a toasted bagel and cream cheese, I sat down to create my blogger profile. 

Except for not inserting a head shot, I finished just in time to take a quick shower and jump into the car. My mom drove me first to Cerrito Dance Arts Center, where we picked up my younger sister, and immediately after, to DeAnza High School.

I arrived early in time to see some of the morning session bloggers leaving. I waved to my friends Deborah and Joanne before heading into the computer lab.

She said smile when I said smile. This is Hummd Alikhan.

Inside were many desktop computers, a large hanging projection screen, and endless supplies of original and grape redvines. As ILC members started arriving, more and more introductions were made. Everyone was welcoming and friendly, cracking jokes and offering helpful information.  

  

Don encouraged us to sit towards the front, and subsequently handed us large packets of paper, covering ever possible aspect of the ILC from behavior to what size font we should use when blogging. 

We spent some time going through the packet, before trying a practice blog. We were allowed to write anything we please, as long as our formatting was correct. My three short paragraphs filled with tongue twisters was approved. 

Shortly after, we transitioned into the photography aspect of blogging. We excitedly headed outside into the warm sunlight, armed with cameras and new knowledge on how to best take a photo. Taking photos is an understandably weird but fun way to get to know new people. 

I glanced at the time, and was startled to find I had only ten minutes to successfully upload the photos to my desktop. After quickly checking to make sure I had enough photos, I skipped back to the computer lab, where Don taught us how to put photos into the blog, and how to download pictures to a photo storing device called MediaFire. We ended the session by covering more expectations, and learning how to use a computer lock.  

Writing this blog was fun, and I think I will enjoy blogging every day during the summer, even it means I must lose some sleep.  

It Was a Good Day

I didn't know what to expect. Even though I wished I could of slept in, the tutorial session was important. I am glad that I went. Don went over some very valuable points. 

I was afraid that I was going to be late because my dad did not know the directions. I did not want to get yelled at for being tardy. I arrived on time however and felt relieved when I spotted the ILC banner and realized that I did not have to go inside the school by myself to look for the computer lab.

Before it started, I ate grape vines. As I waited for the session to begin, I texted my friend. Don called me over and scanned my med card and my California ID as well.

Once it started, Don pointed out some very crucial things. I learned a lot and it was very useful. We took pictures as well to practice blogging.

Diana caught me off guard, but I like how it turned out

4 Hours with Don and His Relatives

Today I woke up feeling a little anxious about the morning tutorial session with a few of the Ivy League Connection members. I knew, based on the e-mail Don sent us, that the girls I knew from my school were attending the afternoon session. As I arrived I entered the class and felt welcomed by some of the members that were already there. I really do not understand why I was feeling so nervous in the first place. Everyone arrived and they were all so companionable.

Once Don started explaining everything that appeared to be in a packet that was handed out, I began to feel confused. My packet seemed to be different from the girls sitting next to me. Had I received the wrong packet? Was I missing a page? All these questions in my head and no answers. Right when Don indicated to turn to page 2 I realized all of my sheets were out of order. Right then and there I felt a sign of relief. 

Everything was going great afterwards until the WiFi started malfunctioning. At this time we all had the chance to meet Don's relative, Frustrated Don. Although he was pretty upset about the WiFi, he still managed to tell some jokes. One of the guys got a hold of an administrator and managed to obtain another account to log in. It wasn't all that great but it was better than before. We continued discussing all the instructions in the packet. Even though I was a little overwhelmed about all the specific instructions on how to blog, the formatting, font, indentations, and spacing, I realized it wasn't difficult afterwards.

Right when it was time to capture some pictures, I noticed I didn't have a way to upload the images. Thankfully Don, the lifesaver, had an external memory card reader. Everyone had a chance to get to know each other a little more while we captured random pictures. 

During the last hour I was surprised about all the things we had to bring to the trip with us. I would have never thought it would be useful to take a power strip, an Internet cable, and a laundry bag. Thank God for this tutorial session! It was extremely helpful and made me feel a lot more confident about the trip. Not only did I learn a lot of information, but I got to meet friendly new people. Now more excited than ever to attend the Women and Leadership course at Brown University!

"The Crew" 

A Peek Into the Future

Most Saturdays, I sleep in for a plentiful amount of time. I am trying to make up for the lack of sleep that comes during the last week of the quarter, when grades are due. This morning, however, I woke up at 7 with an important event waiting for me.

At about 8:10 AM, I left my house to go to my school. Today was an especially significant day, as today was Tutorial Day for the Ivy League Connection program. I arrived at 8:25, extremely attentive to the time, as I did not want to be the victim of Don Gosney's Don't-You-Dare-Be-Late Policy. 

After a good hour of frustrations at trying to get the computers to connect to an internet network, we were able to get a lot of information regarding the trips to our respective universities this summer. The meeting didn't feel like a formal, uptight one, but rather a friendly get together. I conversed with new faces and felt reassured by the kindness at everyone who I spoke to. 

At the Tutorial, we were given tips on how to blog, how to photograph, how to travel, and how to act throughout the length of the program itself. At the meeting, I began to fully understand just how much I was going to have to plan in order to get to Brown University this summer Attending this prestigious Ivy League school was going to be challenging.

There are many norms and expectations to meet in order to be a part of the Ivy League Connection program, but I know for sure that once I am on the plane heading east, all the work will have been worth it.

De Anza High School

The Thrilling Tutorial

Today I woke up feeling paranoid about getting late to the tutorial. Although the night before I had accumulated all the things that I would need to bring to the tutorial, I rechecked everything for my assurance. The yummy pancakes my dad had cooked made me less anxious. Then I quickly dressed and headed out the door to De Anza High School for the tutorial. When I got there, I realized that I was half an hour early. I saw my friend, Julie, also waiting and I quickly joined her.

Before the tutorial began, Don called all of us who needed to get their medical insurance and government issued photo identification cards scanned. After that, we all took a seat in the computer lab. Each of us introduced ourselves to the rest of the group. Don introduced his good and evil cousins and began to go over how to blog.

This is when all the computers of De Anza High School started hating me. I had to switch from computer to computer to log on to Don's practice blog. Even my phone betrayed me at this point and would not let me accept the invitation to the practice blog. After fighting with the internet, I was finally able to log on to the blog. Even though I had to battle my way to log on, it was fun learning how to blog. We got to play around with the features of the blog site and post a practice blog.

Then the best part of the tutorial came...pictures! We took pictures with each other and learned how to upload them. Don shared with us some techniques and ideas that would help us enhance our pictures. It was so cool when Don photoshopped a picture. His skill thrilled everyone.

After that, Don went over the protocols and expectations of the Ivy League Connection and the institutes in which we would be studying during the summer. He shared some unpleasant experiences that have happened in the past and warned us not to follow those examples.

Then he went over the things that we would need to bring to the East to accommodate with the hotels, dorms, and bathrooms. The list was interesting and surprising. We even did a laptop security drill using a laptop security cable. With this, the tutorial ended and we all began to converse with each other.

I talked to someone who did the DNA Based Biotechnology program, which I will be doing this summer, at Brown University last year. He shared his experiences of the course, the college, and the trip with me, which made me even more excited for the summer.

After the tutorial, I became even more ecstatic about the trip. I met extremely friendly people in the tutorial and learned many new things. In addition, throughout the tutorial, Don was hilarious. I am very excited for the upcoming events and my amazing journey in the East.

My beautiful friends, Shanti and Julie, and I (from left to right)! The credit of this amazing picture goes to Jun Chen.

Feels like Summer

It was a beautiful day today, as we anxious ILC'ers gathered at DeAnza High School to go over blogging protocol and the basics of  the journeys we will be taking this summer. Once everybody arrived, had grabbed some snacks, and were seated, we started introductions. While there were many new faces, I was happy to see some old friends and classmates. We also received (surprisingly heavy) packets chock-full of answers to some of the questions I had been wondering about for the past few days. Being a very organized person, I was very very happy to see a packing list at the end.

Don taught us a few photography tips and tricks, like the importance of making sure the camera isn't wavering and how to create an efficient organization system for photos. There were some problems with the WiFi that wasted some time, but they were for the most part eventually resolved. We got to take some pictures (as shown below), which we then uploaded and played around with. The overall atmosphere of the session was very amiable and I often found myself laughing at jokes told by Don. I was pleasantly surprised at how much less serious it was then I previously thought, and how friendly everyone was. 

Before we knew it, it was time to go. We got our medical cards and ID cards scanned, and people started to leave. I learned a lot about our trip this summer, and I'm more exited than ever to attend Brown. I cant wait to meet the rest of my cohort and attend future ILC events, most importantly however- I cant wait for summer to come!

Me, courtesy of Gwennie.

Helen and Tamika