A Potluck with Brownies

After a long day of CST testing at school, I rushed to the bakery to buy some pastries for the Brown Cohort II Potluck. Our lovely chaperones organized the potluck at El Cerrito High School to give all the Brown II cohorts and their parents a chance to meet each other in a more informal, relaxed environment. It was set for 6:30PM, but my parents and I ran a little late to the potluck because we got lost trying to find the school.

Coincidentally, Romina and her mom arrived at the exact same time as we did. I felt relieved that I wasn’t going to be the only one walking in the room tardy. We found signs leading to the classroom, C203. By the time we found the room, everyone was already eating. I took a glance at the food table as my dad place our box of sweet bread next to the salad bowl and felt so excited to devour some delicious food. One of our chaperones, Jackie, welcomed us and helped us get settled. Immediately, I felt my face flushed with embarrassment because I felt a little shy to introduce myself.  I met Abigail and Destiney during the interview, and I knew Romina since we are fairly close at school, but I still haven’t met the rest of the girls.  Luckily, they were very friendly. Emily, Molly, and Maddie all greeted me with sincere smiles on their faces. 

Meeting Maddie for the first time!

About 15-20 minutes later, Ms. Kaplan called us over to the desks. This was the informative part of the potluck. I accompanied my parents by pulling a chair next to the desk they were sitting on. Right off the bat, I knew that Ms. Kaplan was very enthusiastic about our trip.  She had gone to Brown before and she was clearly more than excited for us to experience a whole new world across the country. She shared the same information Don had shared with us during his tutorial, but we went over them in more extensive details. She touched bases with us about luggage, dinners, East Coast weather, pocket money, our class at Brown, and even some “hot spots” that former Brown cohorts shared with her.

I would say that the potluck was successful. I loved looking around the room to see how proud each parent was that their child will be attending Brown this summer. The humble way each of my cohorts carried themselves made me realize that we are all ready to spend a summer together. 

As spring days roll by, the closer we are to stepping foot on Providence, Rhode Island as proud Brownies. I am definitely thrilled, ecstatic, and even a bit nervous!