A Relaxing Day in Chicago!

A miracle happened today—I had a good 10 hours’ worth of sleep.

Since I woke up too late to go to a church service today, I went on Amazing Facts and watched a sermon by Doug Bachelor. It’s nice to know that I can still worship on my own, but it definitely doesn’t feel the same as going to church. A college with a Seventh-Day Adventist church nearby is definitely what I’ll look for when applying to colleges.

Thank goodness I have snacks in my room, because I missed breakfast (and later on lunch) today. Though there were three different activities held by the RAs, I chose to hang out with the rest of the cohort instead. Later on in the day, once everyone was ready and felt like leaving campus, we took a bus to downtown Chicago. It was fun walking through downtown Chicago and seeing the sights.

After walking for a bit, we went to a movie theater and watched a movie, which was nice. We walked around after the movie looking for places to eat, and finally settled on Burrito Beach. There, we met Mr. McGee, the assistant principal at Richmond High School in WCCUSD (he was here for a district conference). He asked us about our travelling and class experiences so far, and gave us advice about college. After he heard how we haven’t had time to go downtown all this week due to homework, he assured us that once we’re in college we’ll have time to go out and have fun during the school day.

Mr. McGee is definitely one of the nicest and friendliest vice principals I’ve met. I see why people at Richmond High like him so much.

We walked to the Omni after dinner, which was about a five-minute walk, to visit Alie. After talking to her, we took a van back to our dorm, South Campus. I was finally, finally able to wash the heap of dirty clothes in my closet! It was due time.

Some differences I've noticed while living in a college setting than in a high school setting:

1. The feeling of independence is amazing!

1. Making decisions by myself is both liberating and difficult (for example, it's hard to decide to do laundry without being nagged).

1. Managing time is everything.

I'll have to manage my time tomorrow as well. I'll need to finish my essay and study for my first Biotech exam tomorrow. All the confidence I felt yesterday after the exam review with Danny and Ciara seems to have faded away; it seems like nothing but apprehension fills me now.

All these nerves remind me of the time in lab when Dr. Bhasin told us that though being cautious is good, being too nervous could hamper your work. Though I'll try my best on the essay and exam, I'll make it a point to try to enjoy this trip and not let the stress get to me as much.