Rising 8th Grader

It was February. My first summer applications were complete, recommendations submitted and essays written. I patiently awaited the news of what my summer would be like; was I going away or pouring that famous concrete my mom keeps talking about? I was accepted to three and offered to dance in New York City with Artistic Adventures. What to do??? I accepted Vanderbilt and Explo.

Spiders, Ticks and Bugs....Ohhh my!

Vanderbilt was a one week program on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. It was beautiful and a great experience. I took an ecology class that was taught by a Vanderbilt University science professor and a TA. We performed the same experiment as the freshmen do in one week! Class was from 9:00 - 11:00 in the classroom and then 1:00 - 3:00 we were usually in the field collecting data and exploring Nashville. One night, the admission staff spoke with us about different things we can be doing NOW besides focusing on grades and test scores. Now I ask you where can you have the opportunity to speak with the admissions department from a top university at 13? At VSA, that's where. On our last night everyone gathered at the conservatory for a dance and a night of fun! What did I learn? That I liked ecology but, it wasn't something I wanted to do as a career. Our experiment was fun and we quickly learned to work together. And that it isn't pop, it's soda.


Explo was three weeks of fun and learning. At first I was I really nervous; we couldn't have our cell phones or call home for a week. But, within 30 minutes I was unpacked and meeting new friends from India and Russia. By the end of my first night I met kids from France, Venezuela, New York, California and many other places I have only heard of. My classes were amazing. I took Model UN and Leaders in Training and my workshop was the SSAT prep class. Our classes were in the morning and then our workshop was in the afternoon. After our workshop we either had free time to do laundry, campus meetings or floor time. Every night was a main event. My favorite was the paint war and cruise night. Yes, we took a cruise around the Boston harbor. On the weekend we had at least 10 things to choose from. My favorite was whale watching. We took a boat out to the cape and were able to see whales; I have only ever seen them in books and movies before. What did I learn at Explo? That my style of leadership is delegative and being a lea-

My morning view!

der is more than being right; getting your team to work together to achieve our goals - everyone doing their part including the team leader. The SSAT workshop taught me new test taking tips and that we really need to add more words to our vocabulary. I also was thankful that my 7th grade English teacher challenged us; I might have been lost otherwise. The biggest thing was that I didn't miss my cell phone, facebook, twitter, instagram or email. I was so busy and not home sick. My mom even had to call the school and have them tell me to call home; it had been two weeks. The most valuable part of my experience, learning without books - the answers can't always be found in a book. We had to think, not just look it up!


I began my summer as a friendly, but reserved seventh grader. I returned a more confident and out spoken eighth grader ready to share my summer experience with my family, peers and educators. I did my own laundry and even taught a few how to. I woke up on my own and kept my room clean. I explored different career options and visited college campuses. I learned about the world around me and made many new friends; there is a world beyond us. It was fun from the time I arrived until the day I left. No, I wasn't ready to come back and I can't wait to see what next summer will be like!


But most of all I am grateful. Grateful that there are so many programs out there for kids to learn other than a classroom. Grateful that my mom drove between 16 - 32 hours to pick me up and drop me off. Grateful that we live in a country where our educators don't just encourages us to find our passion but to live it too!


And that concrete that I keep mentioning? While, my great-grandmother was a building inspector and she once told a concrete man, "I am going to taste those footing and I am gonna know if it's the right consistence." Needless to say, the footing for a hotel were torn out and poured again. Now, did she really know by tasting it? We'll never know, she never told. All you ever really knew was you didn't cross Winnie; guess you could say concrete is on our blood, or at least our taste buds!  Always good to have a back-up plan...