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.