It’s hard to believe that just a few months ago I was at
Brown for the Women and Leadership Summer Program. So much has changed since
those three great weeks, but my excitement upon returning to Brown did not change.
Today I was just as excited to leave as the first time I left for Providence.
This morning, at exactly 3:11 AM, I woke up to the sound of
three different alarms. I set three the
night before, just in case two of them somehow failed. I immediately jumped out
of bed and got ready to leave. After triple checking that everything I needed
was packed away, my dad and I headed down the hill to El Cerrito High.
Unlike our last departure from El Cerrito High, Don did not
set up a table in front of the school, weigh our luggage, or take a picture of
all of us before we left. In fact, he wasn’t even there. I must admit, we all
felt a little lonely without him. Despite not having Don there to guide us, our
departure from El Cerrito High went very smoothly. At 4:00 AM the shuttle
arrived on time to take us to the Oakland Airport. From there, we headed to
terminal 28, and then onto a plane to take us to Providence, Road Island.
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| Fish eye view of Ynah, Iris and I before departing |
The plane ride was uneventful and, for the most of the
time, we were flying through clouds. The plane stopped in Chicago, which was
the destination for the majority of those on board. After the plane was
reloaded we took off again, and during this leg of the trip, I got a lot of
homework done. It seemed like just a few minutes later when the captain told us
to fasten our seatbelts for the descent into Providence.
Even though I expected cooler weather, I was still shocked
when the cold air greeted us outside of the airport. I had the exact opposite
feeling last time we arrived in Providence. Today, the air was cold and dry
whereas just a few months ago it was very hot and humid. This change excited me
and I could not wait to see what else was different about the area.
Similarly to the summer, we left the airport in a giant
white van. By the time the plane landed, it was already getting dark, so it was
difficult to see the landscape on our ride to Hotel Providence. Tomorrow, I
can’t wait to see how fall has changed the Rhode Island landscape!
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| My fortune! |
After arriving at the hotel, we quickly settled in our rooms
and then went out for a walk around the block to scout out where to eat. After
circling around once, we chose to eat at a small Chinese restaurant just a few
feet away from the hotel. During dinner, Maddie and I had a wonderful
conversation with Mrs. Kronenberg about both politics and our Action Plans. We
discussed the importance of decisive decision-making and how to effectively and
efficiently achieve a goal. After dinner, the fortune inside my fortune cookie
stated: “Your present plans are going to succeed.” I really hope this fortune
comes true!
I’m so excited for the next few days. Tomorrow, we will head
off bright and early to tour Amherst and then come back to check in for the
Leadership Symposium. During just a short dinner conversation today, Mrs.
Kronenberg provided me with so many helpful tactics to achieve my action plan. I
cannot wait to see what the Symposium has in store for me!
Your fortune cookie says it all, Emily.
ReplyDeleteYou make me feel so guilty for not seeing you all off. :-(
I feel that I’ve had at least a minor impact on you, though, if you used three alarms to make sure you weren’t late. I do the same thing and even then I sometimes end up back in bed.