The End of Our Trip, But Not Our Journey

The time spent in Chicago for the past three weeks is something I had been looking forward to for a very long time. The process leading up to Departure Day took up months and I spent every waking moment yearning for the lessons I would learn, people I would meet, and the memories I would make while in Chicago. Despite all of the anticipation and planning for the trip, the realization that everything was really happening didn’t hit me until Departure Day when we were standing in the cold in front of El Cerrito High School at 2:00 AM. 

I felt a little nervous since I really didn’t know what to expect but more than that I was really excited. I knew very little about the process of admission into a university and even less about what it was actually like to attend one. Through the ILC, I was given the opportunity to not only visit two top-tier universities but to also spend three weeks taking classes and living on the campus of one of them. I knew this would be an amazing experience that would provide me with invaluable information and I was incredibly excited about it.

My first week at UChicago was one full of ups and downs. In our first couple of days in Chicago, we spent time sightseeing, learning about the city, and visiting the Northwestern campus. Throughout all of these events, I learned so much and had a lot of fun. Arriving at the University of Chicago, settling into the dorms, and meeting the people I would spend the next three weeks with was also really fun. Once class began, sadly, things became a little less fun.

During the first few days of class, I became quite overwhelmed with the amount of new material that was being thrown my way. Once Dr. Fineschi began teaching, I realized I didn’t know many of the basics concepts needed to understand the material. My skills in lab were also lacking. This became frustrating very quickly as I fell behind right out of the gate. Looking back at my frustration, I believe some of it was just me psyching myself out because I knew less than my classmates. Once I sought help from my professor, who was very encouraging and helpful, I began to really enjoy everything I was learning. Lectures became easier to understand and lab was one of the best parts of my day. I am really grateful for having two incredible professors, Dr. Fineschi and Dawn, who taught me so much and always went out of their way to help any students who did not know the material.

Aside from my professors, I also learned a great deal from my fellow classmates and other students in the Summer Session program. All of the students I encountered were so incredibly motivated to do well. In fact, you know how in some classrooms there is that one student that always seems to know the answer, always raises their hand and always goes above and beyond with their work? My class was full of that type of student. I loved being in this kind of learning environment because everyone was extremely hard working which motivated me to work just as hard. My classmates were also great resources to reach out when I was stuck or confused by any assignments. Although most of the time they were extremely helpful, sometimes we made it worse for each other as our class fed each other’s anxieties with doubts about how an assignment was meant to be done. Dawn even said that out of all her other sessions we were the class who stressed most over assignments. Regardless of that, I am happy to have met each and every one of them as they inspired me to work harder. 

I also enjoyed learning from the other students in the summer session program. Getting to establish relationships with people from all sorts of different backgrounds really taught me about myself. I learned how where I am from has shaped who I am and who I want to be. Hearing people aiming for top schools like Columbia and Harvard made me realize just how different our backgrounds are. Just a few years ago when I was living in Iowa, my dream school was Iowa State. My move to California and my trip to UChicago have made me realize just how much is out there. 

Other than this realization, something else I have taken away from those incredible people is amazing friendships that I hope will be long-lasting. Meeting Maria, Adela, and Cecilia were definitely one of the highlights of this trip. Hearing stories from previous ILCers of the friends they had made, made me hopeful that I would find people like that as well but I was still very doubtful that I would. Now having met them, I am so happy that I did since I don’t know what my experience would have been without them. When I was stuck in my dorm room stressed about finishing my lab report they were all very encouraging. Whenever I wanted to go into the city, around campus, or even just to Baker they were always the ones who went with me. Having them really brought my experience to a whole new level and for that, I am forever grateful. 

Having these relationships with everyone was made easy since I lived in the same building and even on the same floor as some of them. The close proximity in which we lived in also allowed me to be more productive when it came to partner or group work. I could easily go up two floors to meet up with my group in order to finish our project. Living in the dorms also helped my individual studying as it was easy to find a quiet place in which I could study quietly. This differed from home as I live in a small house where there is always something distracting me from work. Experiencing campus and dorm life really helped me grow as a person as I had never really been on my own in this way. Through the freedom we were given at UChicago, I learned how to better my time management so I could get my studying and blogging done with enough time to spend with friends. 

My overall experience at UChicago was one of struggle and growth. At the beginning of my class, I was extremely discouraged to see that I was behind most of my classmates. I also struggled with trying to keep up with them. I quickly learned this was not a bad thing as I realized I was struggling because I was learning and growing so much. I also realized even though I was not as knowledgeable or experienced as my classmates, getting to study alongside them was something I should be incredibly grateful for, as I was one of only eight students from our district that got to do so. In the end, I am thankful for everything I was exposed to in Chicago. All of the lessons I learned, people I met, and memories I made are something I will remember for the rest of my life. This trip has truly changed my life and because of that, I am incredibly thankful to everyone who contributed to making this a reality for me.

[MSJ] : How can three weeks feel like forever?

Well, when you're surrounded by smart and motivated people, taking a class that usually contains ten weeks worth of material taught by a UChicago professor, and living in a completely new way on a famous college campus, it happens naturally.

From the day that I first stepped on the UChicago campus, I was amazed at the idea that I would be living there for three weeks. I've been on college campuses before, I live 20 minutes away from UC Berkeley, and we had done a site visit of Northwestern just a couple days prior, but the idea of staying in the residence hall and actually eating in the cafeteria was brand new. This style of dorm life was an amazing experience that I am very glad I got to try before heading off to college for real. Small things, like eating breakfast and taking showers now require some planning. Will there be room in the showers? Do I have enough soap? Did I forget my towel? Is anyone already down in the dining hall eating or should I wait for friends? Some concerns are more serious and some are decidedly less so, but I would not have thought of these things if I didn't have the opportunity to go on this trip.

While I was learning about dorm life, I was also learning every day in the classroom about econ and out of the classroom about time management. Taking a very challenging class in a new environment was, believe it or not, difficult. I found myself studying after lectures a lot more than I do for any of my classes in El Cerrito. I also didn't dread going to class in the morning the way I do sometimes while eating cereal at 7:15 back home. Being able to take a class that I wanted to learn about, coupled with interesting lessons that moved quickly so as not to be boring was amazing, and makes me excited about college in a whole new way. While I learned a lot during lectures, I also had to learn to control myself when it came to homework and readings. Because I would often work in the lounge, full of distractions and reasons to not work, I had to learn to keep myself focused and manage my time effectively to get my work done before socializing.

And finally, this trip helped me meet amazing people. All the students there were intelligent, motivated and happy to be there. They weren't there because they had to be at school, they were there because they wanted to learn more about the subject of their class. I made a lot of friends with really awesome people, and those friendships will last a while.

This trip was an amazing experience from start to finish, and I want to thank the ILC for everything.

Time Changes Memories Don't

As soon as Flight Number 406 was on the runway to head to the Oakland International Airport from Chicago Midway Aiport, my heart beat increased. I felt really nostalgic about my memories but lightly excited because I was going to see my family. My family does not fly often but I felt the same way when we took off from Nepal to come back to the United States, early in 2014. For the past three weeks, Chicago has been my home. As a matter of fact, I made a light joke to my friends where I told them to call me, "The King of the University of Chicago", and the title stuck, for the rest of the three weeks.

The King of UChicago with his two warriors

On the flight back, I looked through all of my Snapchat stories and Instagram posts to question if I was ever going to have such a good time ever again. College is going to be completely different because it is extremely unaffordable whereas this time around all of the trip expenses were covered by the Ivy League Connection to study at UChicago. I looked back through all my memories and I recalled the story of when we were about to head out to UChicago.

At 2:15 AM my parents and I arrived at El Cerrito High School to head out to Chicago. I was pumped, thrilled, and hungry to soak in Economics knowledge, all while establishing long-lasting relationships. At the time, my parents had that very disconsolate yet excited feeling running through their veins. I was completely the opposite; I was very pumped and lightly emotional. Never had I ever been away from both my parents for more than 5 days, whereas this time it was for over 3 weeks. This is what was exciting. From the moment I left, I knew that I was going to develop new skills along the way that I can share with my community, all while having fun.

The first week we travelled around the city, enjoying the beautiful sceneries, and of course the deep-dish pizza the city offers. One of the major highlights of the week was visiting Northwestern University. We saw the pride of the Wildcats, The Rock. While I had this gut feeling that the Rock would be rather boring, it was quite the opposite. I found the history of the Rock to be very unique. Starting as a prank to troll the Freshman class, it later on became a tradition where students are able to draw on to their opinions about various topics of interests, and the art lasts for a day, or until someone else paints on it.

The Rock (not Dwayne Johnson)

Through the first few days, we traveled around the city, learning the Chicago culture. One of the many things I started to pick up was the importance of working out. When we walked only a couple of miles, my body did not support it. Though I take public transportation often, I had never really had to walk far to reach my destination. We were walking 15,000 steps per day when in Downtown Chicago. 

After coming back from this trip and checking the weight scale, I apparently lost 10 pounds in the duration of 3 weeks. I ate less and walked more. 

Besides learning about my body, the first day at the University of Chicago felt great! Gradually, I realized the importance of working with people you don't know or dislike. Regularly, my roommate asked me to step out of the room for a certain amount of hours, which felt uncomfortable. But even so, learning how to solve the issue maturely was significant. Later on, I got my room switched so it would not take away from my study time and everything worked out. It was this initial idea of how to effectively solve problems that I took away during my first week of the Summer Session.

With group members

Furthermore, I worked in a group with students that had an absolute advantage in Econ as compared to me because they had taken Econ courses prior to the start of the class. When working in a group at Middle College, I had always been the one leading the group. This time it felt different because it was quite the opposite. I understood very little because their Economic knowledge was way out of my league. But I slowly learned that I had to work independently before I came to group meetings - review the basic concepts, understand the question intuitively/analytically, etc. It was me having to readjust environments that was difficult. From being one of the top students in the grade to having to better adapt to the University of Chicago's teaching style was difficult. These students came here because they chose to not because they were pressured by their parents. At least for me, I learned that there is more competition that is out there in the world, and I am one of the millions of people that aims to study at Stanford. What makes me unique and different?

I previously mentioned in my last blog about how learning about my weaknesses is better than knowing my strengths. Weaknesses are what I can use to build progress. I realized that mixing intuition with math is way difficult as compared to doing math alone. I have taken Calculus before and I always did horrible in the very word problems on the test. It took me hours before I even understood the question. Because the class did not develop my intuitive side, I struggled a lot in Economics. Essentially I learned that if I was to get into finance, computer science or even economics, I must understand how to intuitively understand word problems and then convert it to a mathematical equation. But it is the "How" that is the problem for word problems. For the next few months, I am going to go through my Economics textbook and solve the word problems at the end of the chapters to make this weakness my strength. 

This is the era of connectivity. Social media applications make it as easy as ever to connect with people, regardless of their distance. In 2009, I remember using Yahoo messenger at my uncle's house to contact relatives in Nepal whereas about a decade later, everyone owns a laptop and communication is as easy as ever with social media applications. In the blink of an eye, I can send a text to one of my friends. My friends at UChicago have a group chat in Snapchat named after me (people call me Theodore over there), Theodore's Homies, where we have sent over 400 texts and 20 pictures in the past 3 days. In our group chat, we have Umer, Checo, Gulli, Julia, and Max. Julia thought of the idea of a group chat and started it from my phone, as soon as we were about to leave UChicago. It feels good to remain in touch even if the program is over. 

The night before we came back to California

From Day One, I have experienced a great change in my life mentality. From eating healthier all the way to learning how to connect with people, the Ivy League Connection has greatly impacted me. As I write this 2000 miles away from Chicago, I feel very nostalgic and saudade. This experience, indeed, has transformed me into a better person. 

At a Middle College class, I mostly sat towards the back because the subjects were easy or they did not interest me whereas here I sat in the front hungry for knowledge, simply because the course was difficult and interested me. I miss Chicago for the skills I developed, the knowledge I gained, and people I met! Hope I see you soon Chicago. :)

Days Past, but Memories Will Last

I don't really know what I expected from the trip to Chicago. I knew that it was an opportunity to show that I had done something worthwhile with my life on college applications, but I really wasn't sure what else to think. I didn't really understand why Don had stressed the importance of going to college in his presentation at El Cerrito High School. I always was sure I was going to go to college, but what I did not realize was how valuable of an experience it can be. Since then, I have realized the differences in social atmosphere, academic rigor, and student interest in learning. 

In terms of social atmosphere, the difference is obvious: you live with the students you go to school and perhaps even attend classes with. I'm a pretty distant person, so it was startling to be so close to so many other people 24/7. Despite my initial surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed this setting. It was much easier to find people to study with, which was amazing for me because I have trouble focusing on work without others to discuss points of confusion with and shame me into doing my assignments. There were also a plethora of people who wanted to go out and experience the city, which made leaving the safety of campus easier because I felt more comfortable roaming around in suspect areas in a group. Three weeks in this environment made me feel more at ease collaborating with others and finding my niche in a large mass of people.

They call the University of Chicago "where fun comes to die" for a reason. The course I took did not have a huge workload outside of class, but the difficulty of the concepts was still a few steps above anything that I had experienced before. It was not just difficulty that had been ramped up, though. The speed of the class was far faster than what I was used to. It made sense, though. We didn't exactly have time to spend a few hours on every single topic (like we usually do at my school) and still expect to extract a meaningful amount of information in fifteen days of class. The one thing that I'm not sure that I liked about the course I took was the lack of reinforcement. We spent very little time actually practicing the ideas we had learned through problem sets or other review. I do not like this method very much, as practice is how I learn best, but I can understand the idea of putting the responsibility on us to test our independence. However, it was a little bit frustrating that we were not even offered resources for review on our own time. That said, it was still a far better class than any I had taken previously. I know it was not nearly as difficult as an actual college course, but now I think I have a taste of what I might be seeing in a couple of years.

The students in the Summer Session seemed much more motivated to work than I had expected. It was amazing to work with people who were actually there to learn and not just mess around (just being the key word there; some were still heavy partiers). When everybody is focused on learning, there is much more collaboration and far fewer distracting side discussions, making for a more productive work environment.

All of these factors contributed towards my excitement for going away to college in two years, and now I am definitely going to put in my maximum effort towards making my college experience all I want it to be.

Back in the Bay

After the three amazing and unforgettable weeks spent in Chicago, yesterday came the day we finally returned to California. My day began early in the morning so I could finish packing and say goodbye to Kathy, my roommate, who had an earlier flight. Every day for the last few weeks Kathy and I have shared the ups and downs of our courses and worked through them together. Knowing I would never have that with her again made her departure sad to witness and her absence left our room feeling eerily empty. Still, I am so happy to have met her and I know we will stay in touch to continue working through our ups and downs.

After saying goodbye to Kathy and finishing my packing, I headed downstairs shortly before checkout time which was at 9 AM. Walking through Campus North for the last time reminded me of all the great memories made there. I recalled everything from the time spent with friends in the Thangaraj lounge to the late nights studying in the West Commons. Remembering these experiences brought a smile to my face as they changed this big strange building into home and me from an overwhelmed and scared student into a motivated and hardworking one. 

Everyone waiting in the lobby of Campus North

In the lobby, I met up with Adela, who would also be leaving soon, and Maria, who had one more day before her class ended but was waiting to send us off. We spent our last few moments together eating breakfast and remembering our favorite memories of the program. Sadly, the time soon came to say goodbye when Adela’s chaperone came to take her to the airport and Maria had to head to class. We gave each other goodbye hugs, told each other how much we would miss one another but promised to keep texting. 

After they had both left, I met up with Maxime, Shreejal, and Isaac to wait for John and the shuttle that would take us to the Midway airport. Once the shuttle arrived, we loaded our luggage and spent most of our time on the ride to the airport reflecting on our experiences made here in Chicago. At the airport, everything went off without a hitch. We checked our luggage, went through security, and got something to eat before finally boarding the plane home. 

Once we landed in Oakland, our trend of everything going great in airports continued. We got our luggage and boarded the shuttle that would take us back to El Cerrito High School. On the ride there, I admired the beauty of the Bay and realized just how happy I was to be back in it. 

My mom and I

Upon our arrival at El Cerrito, I was welcomed by my mom who gave me a big hug as soon as I stepped off the shuttle. My mom means the world to me and has been with me through everything. Finally getting to be with her brought me a great sense of relief and happiness because I was finally home. 

We were also welcomed home by Don who ended our trip in true ILC fashion, by taking pictures.

Our last cohort picture

Veni, Vidi, Vici

Campus North Residential Commons, where I stayed.

It was the final day at the University of Chicago, and I'm not entirely sure what I'll miss the most. There were so many things to love about being there. The people, the independence, the academics the scenery, the new things to do and explore every day were all contributing factors in making my memories of my time in Chicago something I will cherish forever. I'm usually not the most emotional of people, but the thought that I could never relive these three weeks brought a tear to my eye. My sister thought I would miss home after being away from the house for five weeks for the first time (two at a summer camp before the Chicago Immersion program), but I didn't, surprisingly. The only thing that I missed was my family. Home is not where the hearth is. You can learn to like any place you may stay, but people are what makes you love it. Home is where your family is, where your friends are, or wherever the people are that make your life unique.

One of my favorite spots on campus.

Anyway, enough with the sentimental stuff (did I mention that I'm bad at dealing with emotions?), and onto what actually happened. I woke up at 7:30 in the morning to have breakfast with and say my goodbyes to people with early flights. It's rather sad that I met few people from California, as I find it unlikely that I will be able to see the people scattered across faraway states again. Well, that is what texting is for, I suppose.

My friends took off at 9 to O'Hare, which left me a while to clean out the room, make sure I had everything, pack up, and head downstairs to check out before the Admiral came to pick us up at 10:30. I was ready at 9:40, so I took the extra time to explore campus and get my dad the Cards Against Humanity expansion pack that I had taken note of when we all went to get sweatshirts and check in with the Admiral. It is kind of stupid that I chose to explore twice in the 24 hours before I left instead of doing it early on so I had an idea of what cool places I could go to study or hang out. Better late than never, though, right?

The main plaza.

John came a little bit later than expected, as the driver had gotten lost, but we still had a huge time cushion for our flight at 1:20. The drive to the airport could not have been more than a half hour, and we shared with each other what we had thought of the Immersion program and Chicago in general. There were virtually no lines, which was kind of surprising for a Friday, but I guess people just like to fly out in the afternoon. Checking baggage and security were a breeze, and we had plenty of time to eat lunch and relax before boarding began.

The flight was around three hours, which still amazes me. We flew across two-thirds of the country, and it felt longer the last time I went there. I watched a few episodes of The Office and slept for an hour or two before we arrived.

Home sweet home.

Our shuttle was waiting for us as we arrived, and it was nice to have all of that space to ourselves. After another 30-40 minute drive, we were finally home. Or at least close to it. My house is only a few blocks away from El Cerrito High. We greeted our parents, took a few photos, and departed. I hung out with my parents for the rest of the day and talked about all everything that I had done and saw and learned. I wish my sister could have been there too, but sadly she was away, working at the camp that I had just left a few weeks prior. That's all I have for you right now, but there will be two more blogs, which you should check for on Tuesday and Thursday. Good night!

Thank You Ivy League Connection

As soon as my parents pulled up in our red Toyota Corolla, a tear rolled down my eyes. My dad was driving and my mom was in the front passenger seat. As soon as they made a U-Turn to the loading zone, my mom wiped her tears, thinking I would not notice. My dad did the same. The last time I recalled my father having teary eyes was in 2014, when we were coming back from Nepal.

My parents are my world.

Frankly speaking, the past 3 weeks have been the best 3 weeks of my life. People back in the dorm vibe a lot with my energy, and relate to many of my political opinions. I can't imagine that we were selected as ILC'ers over 5 months ago. Ever since I got selected, I felt as if I was ready to head out and explore Chicago, as a University of Chicago Maroon! And having experienced it all, I have achieved another level of confidence and hunger. This level is 10 times stronger, though. I feel as ready as ever to go out there to the real world and conquer. 

My parents, repeatedly, tell me that in a tolerant America, one's racial, or financial background should not pose a barrier to success. They are undoubtedly right. My friends back in Nepal could hope that these opportunities are the ones that they would receive. They have the same hunger, desire, and passion but are posed with political greed and financial instability that undermines their real potential. Being in America, I feel as fortunate as ever. My parents surely would not have been able to spend thousands and thousands of dollars, all while coordinating the trip but Don managed to do everything. He has mentored me from Day One to make my transition easier to UChicago. 

Don Gosney (I realized I did not have a photo with him)

Love and compassion can't translate to a monetary value, thus I can't repay Don back but I definitely can and will shower him back with the same love that I have received over the past 6 months. Compassion, as Dalai Lama mentions in his book, The Art of Happiness, is when one feels another's suffering and wishes to end it. Take a boulder of rock, as an example. If there is a boulder of rock crushing someone, an empathetic person would feel the rock, crushing his or her chest whereas a compassionate person would do all he or she can to end his or her suffering. That is what Don has done. No matter how big the problem is, he has stepped into my shoes, and done all he can to help me out. When we were going to Chicago, he lent us loaner items to borrow and gave us FREE money. And when we were at Chicago, being over 2000 miles away, when we texted him he replied instantly, to make sure everything was going well. Now that I am back in California, it is my duty to do the same. Anyone who gives me the opportunity to learn or gives me an education is one who I really idolize. My parents received minimal education, and that's what gives me the feeling that I have to push myself to achieve my parent's vision. One who eases my road to my parents and my vision is one who I can call a true friend. 

Apart from growing a few centimeters, I have noticed many changes, after I came back to California. I am starting to understand what compassion actually is. I recall plenty of memories when my sister cried because much of her coursework was difficult or some of our family problems questioned her success, but I felt that she did that to gain sympathy. Now, learning what compassion actually means, I have grown and realized that I have to put myself in her shoes. My friends at UChicago are very diverse. Some of them are as energetic as I am or even emotional as my sister is. Now, being able to explore much of the hidden parts of people's lives, I can relate even more to people on a personal basis. Though I can't call myself completely a compassionate person, I certainly can say that I have developed a lot of it, due to my experience at UChicago. 

Being happy with progress is second on the list. The school system is structured like a hierarchy - some are top and some are bottom. At Middle College, academically, I felt that I was on the very top. I compared myself relative to every person I met, thinking that life was more of a competition than a truly valuable experience. Now, I had to step out of my comfort zone. Frankly speaking, in Economics, relative to my classmates, I was on the bottom 25% of the class. I knew nothing. They spoke with large phrases - Risk Aversion, Marginal Cost Carve, Average Variable Cost,  etc. - whereas I barely spoke because I knew very little. These student's parents went to the top schools in the nation - Stanford, Harvard, Yale, etc. whereas my parents only graduated high school. This is what I was doing incorrectly - comparing myself relatively to every single person I met. A class is not about your grades but your takeaway. Whereas some students realized their strengths and were very happy, I realized my weaknesses and I am even happier. Progress is better than having an absolute advantage. If I can achieve X amount of tasks with minimal resources then that is much better than having every single resource given to you, all for free. I want to improve upon my weaknesses. Originally, I was planning to study Computer Science and Finance but for the sake of it, I think we are going to have to add Economics to that list. 

I redid all of my Problem Set for the exam

Adaptability is the third core take-way through the Ivy League Connection. At home, I did things a certain way. Over at Chicago, I had to adapt. My parents have always done chores at home, folded my clothes, and did my laundry so it would not take time away from my education. At UChicago it was different because I had to find the right balance; I had to adapt quickly to the given situation, something that I was not completely used to. Both my parents were not there. As difficult as it felt, I had to essentially manage my own time to do my laundry, fold clothes, do small chores, socialize and more importantly learn. The practice of adaptability, indeed, has made me a better person. 

Professor Min

There are many valuable experiences I took away from Chicago. I have realized that my parents mean everything to me. As soon as I hopped in the car heading home, we discussed life. They are getting older, and I am finally growing up. As much as I want to stay as a kid forever, the truth is I CAN'T! It is time to use the opportunities given and change the world for the better. 

When there is gender inequality that threatens many of the people in my home country, it is time for me to step in. When there is price discrimination that adds to capitalism and takes away from the poor, it is time for me to step in. When there is a big education achievement gap (due to minimal financial resources for a family), it is time for me to step in. This Econ intuition that Professor Min repetitively talks about does not limit itself to the classroom, but rather expands to the world. One person can change the world. 

Thank you Ivy League Connection for this experience. I am truly grateful. 

[MSJ] - Day 23: The End of a Journey

My and others' luggage in front of the elevator
(the guy checking his bags is Jeffrey)

Yesterday was the last day of an awesome trip. I started the day by finishing packing up. It was strange to see my room bare again, reminding me of the way it was when I first arrived. With all my stuff packed up, I brought my luggage to the lounge and said goodbye to people as they left. Checkout was before 9, and we were leaving at 11, so I was chilling in the lounge for a little while, seeing people off. A little before 9 I brought my luggage down with some friends who were also going to wait before leaving. I said my final goodbyes to my friends and my RAs, then Shreejal, Kayla, Isaac and I popped into the uber that John had arrived in.

Rylee and I wearing our UChicago hoodies

There wasn't any bad traffic on the way to the airport, and we arrived relatively quickly. We checked our bags in and went through security without any problems. Coincidentally, our flight left 20 minutes after Rylee, and so I ran into her at her gate while we were looking for food.

The Bay Area from the air

I then had a delicious (like possibly the best I'd ever had) pulled pork sandwich, which I ate while waiting for boarding at the gate. The flight itself was longer than I thought, but I slept for most of it which made time go faster, and for the rest of the flight I took advantage of the in-flight entertainment offers to watch "Shaq does Shark Week". Not the most intellectually stimulating show, but definitely interesting enough for the last hour of the flight.

After landing safely, we picked up our luggage and hopped on the shuttle that would take us back to El Cerrito High. The brief amount of time between the airport doors and the shuttle was enough to remind me of the difference between a Chicago summer and a Bay Area "summer", and I was glad for my UChicago hoodie. I was designated the "official texter" for the journey back, which meant that I was responsible for sending Don texts as we approached El Cerrito, albeit slowly due to the heavy Bay Area traffic.

Getting back in front of El Cerrito High and taking pictures meant that we had come full circle from the cold foggy Thursday morning when this all started. Tired, hungry, but extremely satisfied from the trip I had just taken, I was on my way home for the first time in three weeks.

The Final Countdown

I had to wake up rather early today, as I wanted to arrive at breakfast right as it opened at 7:45. The plan was to eat breakfast until 8 and then head up to the observatory with my two other project partners to rehearse our presentation. In reality, it took another half an hour for the two of them to finish breakfast, which still left us a good half an hour to practice before class started. We had to start at nine, an hour earlier than usual, so we would have time to listen to all of the presentations before we left.

My project partners.

Our presentation went rather well. I think we divided up the speaking well into distinct sections while also being clear and concise. The latter was important, as questions at the end of each presentation often cause people to go over the time limit. Collectively, we went over an hour past the time we were meant to be done by. It would be impossible to cover each and every topic in this blog, especially because I don't understand most of them. Some examples of what people did projects on are: coronal mass ejection, calculating the Hubble Constant, taking and developing pictures of the moon using the 40-inch refracting telescope, and creating HR diagrams of different star clusters. These are all very interesting subjects, and I highly recommend looking them up and perhaps even doing some research of your own.

The library.

Once the presentations were all finished, we went down to the dorm to pack up, put our bags on the bus, and return our room keys. We were given just a few minutes to wolf down lunch, and then we were off. I feel like it might have been better to start presentations earlier, as we knew from previous presentations that we tended to go overtime. However, this bit of feedback might not matter anyways, as the Yerkes Observatory is likely to close down by this time next year. I'm very sad about this, as it is a magical place with an amazing atmosphere. On the other hand, I can see why the University of Chicago would want to do so. It must be expensive to upkeep, and all of their telescopes have been obsolete in terms of resolution for decades now. The program might be missing an important piece next year, but I am confident that the teachers will find an appropriate replacement.

The view from the steps of the Yerkes Observatory.

We arrived at Campus North by 4 o'clock, and I brought my stuff in and rested in my room for a short while. I was starving from our short lunch, so I went down to dinner in the Baker Dining Commons as it began. This has to be one of the significant downsides of being here. I get hungry at odd times, and sometimes the meal schedule does not line up with my needs. 

After dinner, I began on the blog while my friends napped, and we went out at 8 to explore more of the campus. We made our way into a surprising number of buildings for the time of the evening, and I found some amazing spots that looked like they were barely used. I especially like the buildings that combined an old structural style with modern windows, doors, and furniture.

That was about it for the day. The trip to the Yerkes Observatory was far more intense and useful than I had expected, and despite my initial misgivings about leaving the friends I had made for the last week, I am really happy that I was able to go. It is really sad to leave everything here behind, but seeing my family and home again I'm sure will make up for it. Good night!

The Sadness of Goodbyes

Today marked the last day of class and of our time here in Chicago. As I sit next to my friends and look out at the views of the city it is bittersweet to think tomorrow at this time I will be back home. Although I have missed California, the friendships I have made over the last three weeks have made this place feel like home and, as always, it is hard to leave home.

Since today was our final day of class, it was spent presenting our final projects. The presentations worked kind of like a science fair. Half of the students would be at their poster presenting while the rest got to walk around and listen to each other’s presentations. My group was in the first round of presentations so I spent the first hour of class giving my presentation a minimum of 10 times. Although I was nervous about the presentations last night, it actually felt good to get to share with our classmates everything we learned through our hard work and research.

Dr. Fineschi, Dawn, and I

In the few hours after class, my time was spent saying goodbye to lots of the new friends I made during my time here. Many of my classmates planned to leave shortly after class so I spent time with them and our professors taking pictures and exchanging contact information. Also planning to leave today, was Cecilia. Maria and I spent the last couple hours with her before it came time for her to leave.

Once we had said our goodbyes to Cecilia, I spent the night packing my things for tomorrow's flight and watching movies with Adela and Maria to celebrate the last night we would spend together.

The ones I will miss the most 

Most of today was spent saying goodbye to the people and things that have been a significant part of my life for the past few weeks. Although this was difficult, I am incredibly thankful I got to experience those things in the first place. Getting to take a course on a subject I am truly passionate about has been one of the greatest gifts I have ever received. It was incredible not only to learn so much but to get to do it alongside people who are incredibly passionate about their education. The drive in these students has made me want to work harder, study longer, and overall just be better.

The memories and friends I have made in Chicago are something I will cherish for the rest of my life. As sad as it is to be leaving, I know it will not be forever as the weeks spent here will undoubtedly bring me back to this incredible city. But until then, the time has finally come to say, goodbye Chicago.

Painstaking Pane Prints (6/25)

Yesterday morning I was more justifiably tired, as our teacher had condoned the late night. I still managed to get out of bed by 8:20 and arrive at breakfast by 8:55, which still left me plenty of time to eat before class started at 10.

The first part of class was a lecture by our co-instructor, Mr. Kron, on the astrophysicists who worked at Yerkes, but are not known for their discoveries here. I found it surprising how many famous scientists had worked at Yerkes at some point in their career throughout the years. On the other hand, it was especially saddening to hear that many of the male scientists at Yerkes had been credited for the work of their female assistants.

We were given a couple of hours to work on our projects, during which my team had to decide on how best to recover from the complications the night before. We were told that we would be able to use the 40-inch telescope to find star diameters, but when we actually had come to do so, nobody knew how we would go about taking quantitative observations. This was more than a bit disappointing, but we still had another section of our project that we could dedicate more time to: taking images of stars through different filters and analyzing differences between the resulting photographs. We had requested and received these images the evening before, so we set about using DS9, our go-to FITS file examiner, to take measurements of the flux from each image. We ran into some complications with our conversion of the pixel values to meaningful units, so we just decided to show the percentage of the total flux coming through each filter.

We broke for lunch at the college dining hall, and while the food was good, the variety of the food at Baker Hall back on campus still makes it a bit better in my opinion. My group walked back up to Yerkes and resumed work on our project until everyone had returned from lunch. This did not take long, and soon we began another activity.

Mr. Kron took us to the archives a large room surrounded by massive cabinets filled to the brim with glass plates. These plates are essentially photographs, solely black images that were used for empirically measuring different properties of celestial objects at Yerkes until just a few decades ago. According to Mr. Kron, Yerkes has over 100,000 of these, some dating back to the turn of the 19th century! He took out a few images of well-known objects to demonstrate to us what they look like. They were grainy, but that may have just been due to the now obsolete quality/resolution of the telescope and not the viewing medium.

The fun did not stop there, however. Mr. Kron went on to give us a tour of the darkroom, and then let us use the plates that he had shown us before to create prints! This was really cool, as I had been in a darkroom before, but the equipment they have at Yerkes is far superior to what I have seen in the past. He had us use a few more steps of chemical washes to make sure the photo did not continue to develop over time, and they had an amazing exposure machine that projected a perfectly even light onto the photo paper and was connected to a timer. This whole process took about an hour and a half for the five or six of us that were using the darkroom, so by the time we were done we did not have a huge amount of time left to work on our project. My group was still able to complete our presentation, though, and we felt reasonably prepared despite the challenges we had encountered.

Dinner came and went, and the RAs who joined us for the trip (Erika and Brian) kindly built a fire for us (get it, like kindling? Okay, I'll leave.) to roast marshmallows over. I was planning on swimming, but the RAs intelligently shut us down, as there was no lifeguard on duty. As it grew closer to nightfall, we once again walked up to the observatory to do more project work. My group discussed our results with Gourav and fixed any errors that we had made, then began practicing the actual speaking part. 

Almost everybody had completed their projects by then, so we all gathered in the library and watched Interstellar. The movie far exceeded my expectations for two good reasons. One, it was not a cheesy and cliché representation of the non-observable parts of our universe, and two, it had a legitimate scientific application. For some of the shots of black holes, they ran supercomputer simulations that researchers did not have the finances to perform on their own, giving us a valuable insight into how matter and space behave in extreme gravitational conditions. The one downside was that it was three hours long, so I went to bed rather late. It was another fun day at the Yerkes Observatory, and I'm sad that this had to be our last full one. Good night!

[MSJ] - Day 22: Goodbye Chicago...

Me and my professor

Today was the last day of the summer program. During class, all our groups presented their final projects which we had been working on for a week. It was amazing to see the different directions people took their projects. People did research on everything from prices of Starbucks coffee around the world to the effects of China's one-child policy. I think our project on height discrimination was generally well received, especially since our professor is shorter than me, and I'm pretty short. It's crazy to me to realize that we all gained the brunt of our economic knowledge in only the past three weeks and to be able to understand the presentations that called on some economic principles that would have had me very confused a month earlier was really cool.

Me and the TA, Ted

This course was great for me as a student not only because of the content that I was able to absorb but also by acclimating me to the pace and rigor of a college course. Our professor explained at the beginning of the program that he teaches this class almost identically to the undergrad Intro to Econ course that he teaches. The style of teaching, with lectures by the professor and experiments led by the TAs, was also completely new to me, and I am glad to have had the opportunity to experience different teaching styles to develop myself as a student and prepare myself for college. I am very grateful to my professor and TAs for making this class an extremely educational and fun learning environment.

Emma and I

In addition to the last day of class, today also marked the last day of being able to hang out with all the intelligent, interesting and amazingly kind friends I've made during my stay in Chicago. To celebrate the end of the class, and as a kind of farewell party, six of us headed down to the beach. More people were supposed to join us, but many got caught up in packing and saying their goodbyes to the people who left this afternoon.

Swimming at the beach was a throwback for me to my first Friday in the program, when we all went swimming after the sunset. This time it was some different friends (some were the same!), and we swam and played frisbee in the beautiful setting sun. After a lot of pictures (thinking of you Don!), we started walking back towards the dorms. To truly replicate the Friday from what seems like forever ago but in actuality was only 2 weeks, we ended up eating at the same Thai restaurant for my last meal in Chicago.

The past three weeks have had a lot of learning and even more fun, and I will be sad to say goodbye to all the good friends I've made here. But it is time to say: Goodbye Chicago, at least for now.

Goodbye Chicago beaches...

Chicago is a Blast!

As the landing gear of the plane runway of Chicago Midway Airport, I knew this was going to be just like home. For the past three weeks, I have connected with so many people personally, and challenged myself a lot academically. The three weeks have gone by in the blink of an eye. It feels only yesterday that we had our interviews for the Ivy League Connection. 

Back home, I had never had this much fun. Besides academics, I don't feel stressed out here. It is as if everything is given for free, where my life is not like this. As much as I miss my parents, I don't want to go back as I have formed the connections of a lifetime - people that are passionate about CS, finance, and more importantly hungry. People at the UChicago Summer Session are here by choice, looking to further expand and add on to their knowledge. It is this core difference in value that wants me to stay here. 

Dr. John A. List

My limited financial resources would never allow me to travel to such a prestigious university and study a topic of choice - Economics. Also, courses at my traditional high school have never really challenged me as my one Econ course here. It is surrounding myself with competitive and academically successful people that signals me to stay here. The resources at this University are vast. Never would I have imagined meeting Dr. John List, the economic advisor of Lyft, and personally speaking to him about Macroeconomics for half an hour. Furthermore, the students seek to utilize the many opportunities that they are given rather than just letting it be as is and waiting for luck to kick in.

Mis Amigos!

Some of my friends have already left. One is going back to India and the other two are heading to California. 2 of their flights already landed probably. As difficult as it is to say goodbye, it is a part of life. 

One of the other people I will definitely miss is Ted, my Teachers Assistant. While I was struggling with the class, he made his time slots available and stayed until 8, during office hours. It would have been very difficult to pass this class without Ted. I made sure I gave him a small gift before I took off for California, thanking him for everything he has done. 

I have not done much during the day but pack for tomorrow's flight and hang out with my friends. We are planning to watch Mission Impossible, tonight, as part of the last day memories.

When I apply to college, UChicago tops that list with Stanford.

Goodbye UChicago!

CONTAGION: The Hollywood Version

Yesterday in class we finally got to discuss one of the topics I was most looking forward to: the Human Immune Virus (HIV). I was really interested in this topic because it is such a prevalent disease in our society yet I did not know much about it. During lecture, we learned about the transmission of HIV, why it stays in the body forever, and the process of identifying Patient Zero. Patient Zero is the first person who contracts the disease and begins the spread of it. This person is important to find since learning more about them can lead to more understanding of the disease transmission. 

To go along with this lecture we also did a disease transmission simulation in lab. For the simulation, we were once again joined by the Biotech class making our class of 20 a class of 40. We did this in order to have a bigger sample size for our experiment. To do the simulation, we all had gloves covered with a solution that was possibly an infection. We shook hands with different people and later found out who came in contact with the infected. From those who were infected, we were able to trace down the infection to two different people. Turns out, we could not differentiate between the patient zero and the second case since for all we knew either person could have given it to the other.

Later in the class, we also got to attempt making our own Influenza vaccine. We did this by looking at data from the previous year and making educated guesses on what strains would be most prevalent this year. Apparently, this is also how scientists make flu vaccines. They have to start the manufacturing of the vaccines early on in the year so they have to make guesses as to what vaccine will work as best prevention. Sadly, my group’s flu vaccine did not work very well. We were meant to tailor it to a community who were skeptic about vaccines so we did not add a couple of ingredients so they would have less to be afraid of. Although we thought this would help this community, what we left out led to the vaccine becoming less effective.

After class, Shreejal, Maxime, and I met up with John to attend an architecture boat tour. I was not expecting much from the boat tour but it was actually really interesting to learn where Chicago’s great architecture stems from. The views were also incredible but I will let the picture do the talking for that.

After the tour and dinner with the cohort, we got back to campus where I continued to work on my final project.

When class ended yesterday, little did I know that that would be our last traditional lecture and lab day. Today, I realized, was dedicated to working on our projects and tomorrow we will spend the day presenting them. 

Linnea and Anna lay out our information

Before the beginning of class, my group and I had finished the writing part of our assignment. This meant we spent the first half of class simply cutting and pasting our information on to our poster board. It felt great to get to relax a little on one of our last days. 

Dr. Fineschi and Dawn introducing the movie

We finished our board shortly after coming back from lunch and so we headed back to the lecture room for the next part of class. In the lecture room, Dr. Fineschi and Dawn had set up snacks and a movie for us to watch. The movie’s name was “Contagion” just like our course. The movie followed the story of the spread of an extremely contagious and deadly disease which caused a global pandemic. Dr. Fineschi had chosen this movie for her Contagion courses to watch because it covers a lot about what we learned in class. It was cool to watch the movie and see some of the labs we did in class actually used to create a treatment for the disease. I was also able to understand most of the science behind how the disease was transmitted to humans and how it spread globally, which felt really good. Although it may seem silly to hear that a movie was part of my reflection process, it really was. I realized just how much stuff I can pick up on now that I would have been so confused about just a couple of weeks ago. 

After the movie and a brief class discussion, we were allowed to leave if we had already finished our poster. Thankfully we had finished so Linnea, Anna, and I got to leave a little earlier than the others. 

Our finished project

The rest of my day was spent with Maria, Adela, and Cecilia since we will soon be parting ways. We decided to go down to the lake since we have really been wanting to go. We didn’t spend much time at the lake since the water was really cold and we wanted to make it back in time for dinner. 

Once we made it back to the dorms, we all headed to our rooms to work on our projects. Although my group and I had finished our poster we still had to go over what our presentation was going to be like tomorrow. I am really excited about our presentation and I hope it will go well. Either way, I will report more on that tomorrow.