The Sister I Never Had

The last day of class...was impacting. I was feeling a bit sad for our last moment together. I woke up around 7 AM because I needed to pack the last few items in my suitcases. It was a bit hectic because my roommate, Yasmin, was also packing. It was quiet at first, since she was also working on some last minute details for her Action Plan. 

I'm really going to miss everyone, not the dorms though. Haha. Getting to meet everyone and having awesome memories with each and every person will be forever with me. I was so emotional today that I can't explain every detail with words. 

Today in class, Isabella actually had an activity in store for us. She had a roll of yarn and we all passed it to each other, in a circle. Every person was able to say a phrase or so about their experience at the W&L family. It was heartwarming, and touching. Once I was able to get the string, I began to cry. I was touched by everyone's words, and I didn't know how to say something as impactful as they expressed. Crying was a way for me to communicate in a nonverbal way, and I used that to my advantage. 

One Last Group Photo

After going around in a circle, Isabella passed a pair of scissors around. It was for us to cut a piece off from our connected circle. It is to symbolize as a remembrance for us. I connected my string onto my GameBoy Color, one of the important things to me. 

After the activity, Dean Almandrez had us get up and say thank you to one another. At this time, Stacey began to cry because she was about to leave. Seeing her cry gave me the feels and I began to, as well. I was crying and according to Maria, I began to make her cry as well. I believe the thing that stabbed my heart was when Isabella called me her little sister. And the feels kept multiplying when Dean Almandrez allowed us to tell Isabella our feelings. Maria and I decided to go together and tell her some comments. Isabella is an inspiration to me and to others as well. I will definitely miss her. When I began to tell her my feelings, I cried during the last half of my love to her. It was too much for me, and the tears kept falling, and falling. Dean Almandrez had us close our eyes, for a little flashback. She had us go back in time when we began packing for Brown University. She then kept talking, and soon gave each of us a goody bag. It contained Hershey Kisses, Play Doh, and Kleenex all in a Ziploc bag. All of the presents she gave us resembled something. I will let you decide on what each item represents. At the end, we all took pictures together. It was a great conclusion to everything. I am truly going to miss these amazing women. 

Last Moment with Claire, Our R.D.

Dean Almandrez looking Fab

Sharon J. Weber

After gathering our belongings, we all headed to the train station. I was looking forward to ride the train because I never experienced a long train journey. Our train departed at 1:40 PM and was packed because it just came from Boston. All ten of us were scattered all over the place, but I was able to find a seat near YeonSoo. I sat next to Sharon Weber, a Market and Regulatory Policy Manager for PPL EnergyPlus, LLC. She just came back from a meeting in Boston, and we were talking about our lives. I talked to her about the Ivy League Connection, and how all ten of us got to the train. She was very interesting to talk to, and I'm glad that I was able to meet someone new today. I did show her our blogs, and gave her the details of this amazing program. 

On the train ride there, I did take a good hour and a half to sleep. It was a bit uncomfortable, but it's okay because I felt a bit refreshed afterwards. The funniest moment on the train ride was when YeonSoo and I went to the bathroom. We were not able to close the sliding door to the bathroom. We spent a good five minutes trying to close it, and I suddenly moved it when we were about to give up. I felt really cool for that moment, and my reward was to go to the bathroom. YeonSoo went afterwards, but as much as I tried to show her how to do it, I was unable to show her the technique. It was so funny, and I felt happy inside. 

Maria Talking yo

Once it was our stop, we got out and were greeted with a gust of warm air. The gust of air was not as welcoming, but I was excited for Hotel Beacon. When all ten of us got together, we all went outside to find a taxi cab. Apparently, in NY, there is a line in which people have to wait in order to get a cab. Jenny wanted us to be separated into three groups. I was with Jessie and Cynthia, and even though we were the second ones to board the cab, we arrived at Hotel Beacon first. The second group to arrive was Maria, YeonSoo, Magaly, and Izabel. We all rested in the lobby, feeling excited for our rooms. Jenny, Sierra, and Muang were the last group and we soon got our keys to our rooms. It took a long time for us to get our keys, but Jenny decided to move the dinner for 6:45 PM, not 6:30 PM. I decided to room with Maria, and as we were joking around in the lobby about staying on the second floor we found something funny. Our room was located on the sixth floor. That's not bad, but everyone else got double digit floor rooms. I was thinking how funny it was because we called for it. 

Going to dinner at Isabella's was fun. It was a good four blocks, in accordance to Jenny, so it was a good five minutes. Dinner with the Columbia students was very fun. There were two tables, and I was able to talk to Heather and Bill, for the majority of the time. Sharon and I were able to talk at the end of the dinner, so it was good. I loved the food, and I felt nice and stuffed afterwards. There are a couple of pictures of our three-course meal, and my favorite course was the appetizer. After today's dinner, I'm looking forward for the other dinners and lunches that are coming up later on. 

Appetizer: Maryland Crab Cake 

Entree: Grilled Filet Migno

Dessert: Dark Chocolate Bag