one month
So, I went to Penn State, came back, and have been vegetating for a little while now.
Penn State was absolutely fantabulousticly awesome. Getting to stay in a dorm isn't really that big a deal, really, but it was such a new and different experience for me it was great by default. The room probably could have been infested with little midgets that bit my toes and smelled like old people and gravy but I probably wouldn't have cared. I've never had a room of my own (I've always had to share with my sisters) so being in a room with only one other person in there with me was really cool.
Luckily, the roommate I got was someone I liked and was comfortable with, so that helped a lot.
There were 17 other students chosen for this. Most were from Pennsylvania and the surrounding area - Virginia, New Jersey, New York, DC - but there was a boy who had flown in all the way from Puerto Rico! It really put the whole thing in perspective for me. When I'd heard of the program, had applied and been accepted, it didn't occur to me that people from so far would be applying, too. I'd imagined the scope of this to be much smaller. It really made me feel that much more proud to have been one of the few to be accepted.
One thing of note is that... well, I'm not sure how to put this without it sounding bad. It's just an observation but I guess it can still be offensive if I don't word it right. I'll just say it plainly, I guess: I was the only white person. All of the other students were African American, Hispanic/Latino, or Asian. It's not that I have a problem with that. (Man, that would make me a pretty horrible person if I'd said, "I didn't like that there were so many ethnic people around me!") To be honest, I live in a pretty white-washed hick city so I don't have much exposure to other cultures, so it was a really unique experience for me.
And, again, I'll be honest and say I did go into it with a few ideas of how things would be based on stereotypes and silly images I've attributed to their cultures in my lack of exposure to said cultures. Not anything...really bad. I'm not racist - or at least no more racist than the average person is, because let's admit it, we're all just a tiny bit racist even when we try not to be (Avenue Q, anyone?) - but, like I said, lack of exposure and all that. I just had thoughts like, "Is this going to be one big lesson in ebonics for me?" or "Urgh, two weeks of irritating rap of low musical value... kill me now."
But people have a way of proving you wrong, you know? Sure, there was ebonics here and there - but no more than whatever the opposite "white-hick" talk is called that came from me. And yeah, there was rap and hip hop to be heard, sure, but it wasn't like that was all they listened to just because they were people of color. Anyway, to be fair, I'm sure they were thinking, "Oh, typical music from a white hick!" whenever I played music.
(Although I don't mean to say or imply that they were racist in any way, either. Again, I think everyone has this predistinguished idea of how other cultures and ethnicities are based on their experiences and the images formed from what they have experienced. And I think it's human nature to group things, even other humans, based on common qualities we perceive as a means of keeping our minds organized and making sense of everything and how it relates to us. So, it would be natural for them to label some of what I listened to as "white music" simply because in their experiences, many if not most of the Caucasians they've come across have listened to similar music. It's the same reason why I assumed that I'd hear a lot of rap and hip hop while at Penn State.)
All of that aside, and regardless of the ethnicity of the other students, how they talked, what music they listened to, etc., I met a lot of awesome people that I never would have had the opportunity to meet were it not for the workshop. They were all truly great people and I learned a lot from getting to work with them. It's kind of silly, since I only knew them for two weeks and I can honestly say I didn't get to know them that well because of my introverted nature, but I miss them all.
I also miss staying in the dorms and the general life I lead those two weeks. Sure, having class from 8 in the morning until around 9 at night nearly every day wasn't all that great (and is a lot harder than the average college day, according to what the resident assistants told us) but it was a really great experience. I grew accustomed to it and now that I'm back home, spending hours just vegetating and doing absolutely nothing productive, I'm feeling a little nostalgic for that slice of college life I experienced.
So, the workshop was supremely awesome. I loved it, and I guess that showed in my work because at the ending ceremony, I was given first place for my work and involvement in the program and the creation of the newspaper. It's still hard for me to believe that out of all the people that applied to attend, I was one of the few chosen and I was even further recognized out of all those students as the best in certain aspects. Is it possible to have your ego stroked if you didn't really have one in the first place? (As a side note, the first place reward was a $50 gift card to Best Buy, which I bought the complete collection of Samurai Champloo with. Win!)
Luckily, I'll be getting to live it for real in a few years. I'm even more certain that I'll be able to live it for real on the exact same campus because after the ceremony, Dean Sheldon - one of the managers of the program and recruiters for Penn State University - offered me a full four year scholarship to Penn State.
Any future/current/former college student can probably guess how psyched I am about that. Not only is it such a great honor to be offered something like that from someone I'd come to admire and respect so much in such a short period of time, but it's definitely a whole load off my shoulders. People from almost any financial class worry about financial stuff at even the best of times these days, and thinking about money for college is an absolute nightmare. Especially since I myself an from a low class family. Knowing that I have the opportunity to be free of that worry is a big relief. It's also a huge inspiration to work even harder towards going to college and doing my best when I get there.
Cloud Nine~ Eheheh. And that's all I can say about that. (Well, not really, because rambling is my specialty, but... I'll just shut up now. ♥)
On another note concerning Best Buy, I really want to get a Best Buy card. There is the most awesome laptop, and it'll only be $32 a month minimum to get. ♥ Aaaaand~ there's a really, really great digital SLR camera (Canon, 1~14 MP, can't remember the exact model...) that I tested out/played around with in the store and fell in love with. DO WANT. And it's only $35 a month~ :D :D :D
Lol, I was just talking about how tight money is for someone in a low class family like mine, and here I am talking about making pretty hefty financial investments in expensive electronics. I sure make a lot of sense.
...BUT OMG, AWESOME LAPTOP AND CAMERA FOR ONLY ABOUT $70 A MONTH?! It would take four years to pay off if I only made the $70 payments, sure, but stiiii~ll.
Unfortunately, my [immediate] family has horrible credit and couldn't get a card. Instead, I'm waiting on my Aunt to get the card for me. If she ever gets around to renewing her ID and applying for the Best Buy card, that is... I'm in agony, waiting on her to do that. I'm hella thankful, of course, but ah~ the wait! Torture! Especially since not having a computer of my own to access the Internet (HOLY GRAIL) on is torture in and of itself. D: D: D:
Plus, my mom bought the Sims 3. THE SIMS 3. Her computer and my sister's don't meet the minimum graphics card requirements for the game, so if I were to get a new laptop that did meet the requirements... kukuku. The Sims 3~ I waaaant.
<----- Sims addict. A very selfish Sims addict.
klajdfkl;ajdf;akld I've got myself all worked up and excited now. D:
:D ♥ ♥ ♥ omg, I actually updated.
Penn State was absolutely fantabulousticly awesome. Getting to stay in a dorm isn't really that big a deal, really, but it was such a new and different experience for me it was great by default. The room probably could have been infested with little midgets that bit my toes and smelled like old people and gravy but I probably wouldn't have cared. I've never had a room of my own (I've always had to share with my sisters) so being in a room with only one other person in there with me was really cool.
Luckily, the roommate I got was someone I liked and was comfortable with, so that helped a lot.
There were 17 other students chosen for this. Most were from Pennsylvania and the surrounding area - Virginia, New Jersey, New York, DC - but there was a boy who had flown in all the way from Puerto Rico! It really put the whole thing in perspective for me. When I'd heard of the program, had applied and been accepted, it didn't occur to me that people from so far would be applying, too. I'd imagined the scope of this to be much smaller. It really made me feel that much more proud to have been one of the few to be accepted.
One thing of note is that... well, I'm not sure how to put this without it sounding bad. It's just an observation but I guess it can still be offensive if I don't word it right. I'll just say it plainly, I guess: I was the only white person. All of the other students were African American, Hispanic/Latino, or Asian. It's not that I have a problem with that. (Man, that would make me a pretty horrible person if I'd said, "I didn't like that there were so many ethnic people around me!") To be honest, I live in a pretty white-washed hick city so I don't have much exposure to other cultures, so it was a really unique experience for me.
And, again, I'll be honest and say I did go into it with a few ideas of how things would be based on stereotypes and silly images I've attributed to their cultures in my lack of exposure to said cultures. Not anything...really bad. I'm not racist - or at least no more racist than the average person is, because let's admit it, we're all just a tiny bit racist even when we try not to be (Avenue Q, anyone?) - but, like I said, lack of exposure and all that. I just had thoughts like, "Is this going to be one big lesson in ebonics for me?" or "Urgh, two weeks of irritating rap of low musical value... kill me now."
But people have a way of proving you wrong, you know? Sure, there was ebonics here and there - but no more than whatever the opposite "white-hick" talk is called that came from me. And yeah, there was rap and hip hop to be heard, sure, but it wasn't like that was all they listened to just because they were people of color. Anyway, to be fair, I'm sure they were thinking, "Oh, typical music from a white hick!" whenever I played music.
(Although I don't mean to say or imply that they were racist in any way, either. Again, I think everyone has this predistinguished idea of how other cultures and ethnicities are based on their experiences and the images formed from what they have experienced. And I think it's human nature to group things, even other humans, based on common qualities we perceive as a means of keeping our minds organized and making sense of everything and how it relates to us. So, it would be natural for them to label some of what I listened to as "white music" simply because in their experiences, many if not most of the Caucasians they've come across have listened to similar music. It's the same reason why I assumed that I'd hear a lot of rap and hip hop while at Penn State.)
All of that aside, and regardless of the ethnicity of the other students, how they talked, what music they listened to, etc., I met a lot of awesome people that I never would have had the opportunity to meet were it not for the workshop. They were all truly great people and I learned a lot from getting to work with them. It's kind of silly, since I only knew them for two weeks and I can honestly say I didn't get to know them that well because of my introverted nature, but I miss them all.
I also miss staying in the dorms and the general life I lead those two weeks. Sure, having class from 8 in the morning until around 9 at night nearly every day wasn't all that great (and is a lot harder than the average college day, according to what the resident assistants told us) but it was a really great experience. I grew accustomed to it and now that I'm back home, spending hours just vegetating and doing absolutely nothing productive, I'm feeling a little nostalgic for that slice of college life I experienced.
So, the workshop was supremely awesome. I loved it, and I guess that showed in my work because at the ending ceremony, I was given first place for my work and involvement in the program and the creation of the newspaper. It's still hard for me to believe that out of all the people that applied to attend, I was one of the few chosen and I was even further recognized out of all those students as the best in certain aspects. Is it possible to have your ego stroked if you didn't really have one in the first place? (As a side note, the first place reward was a $50 gift card to Best Buy, which I bought the complete collection of Samurai Champloo with. Win!)
Luckily, I'll be getting to live it for real in a few years. I'm even more certain that I'll be able to live it for real on the exact same campus because after the ceremony, Dean Sheldon - one of the managers of the program and recruiters for Penn State University - offered me a full four year scholarship to Penn State.
Any future/current/former college student can probably guess how psyched I am about that. Not only is it such a great honor to be offered something like that from someone I'd come to admire and respect so much in such a short period of time, but it's definitely a whole load off my shoulders. People from almost any financial class worry about financial stuff at even the best of times these days, and thinking about money for college is an absolute nightmare. Especially since I myself an from a low class family. Knowing that I have the opportunity to be free of that worry is a big relief. It's also a huge inspiration to work even harder towards going to college and doing my best when I get there.
Cloud Nine~ Eheheh. And that's all I can say about that. (Well, not really, because rambling is my specialty, but... I'll just shut up now. ♥)
On another note concerning Best Buy, I really want to get a Best Buy card. There is the most awesome laptop, and it'll only be $32 a month minimum to get. ♥ Aaaaand~ there's a really, really great digital SLR camera (Canon, 1~14 MP, can't remember the exact model...) that I tested out/played around with in the store and fell in love with. DO WANT. And it's only $35 a month~ :D :D :D
Lol, I was just talking about how tight money is for someone in a low class family like mine, and here I am talking about making pretty hefty financial investments in expensive electronics. I sure make a lot of sense.
...BUT OMG, AWESOME LAPTOP AND CAMERA FOR ONLY ABOUT $70 A MONTH?! It would take four years to pay off if I only made the $70 payments, sure, but stiiii~ll.
Unfortunately, my [immediate] family has horrible credit and couldn't get a card. Instead, I'm waiting on my Aunt to get the card for me. If she ever gets around to renewing her ID and applying for the Best Buy card, that is... I'm in agony, waiting on her to do that. I'm hella thankful, of course, but ah~ the wait! Torture! Especially since not having a computer of my own to access the Internet (HOLY GRAIL) on is torture in and of itself. D: D: D:
Plus, my mom bought the Sims 3. THE SIMS 3. Her computer and my sister's don't meet the minimum graphics card requirements for the game, so if I were to get a new laptop that did meet the requirements... kukuku. The Sims 3~ I waaaant.
<----- Sims addict. A very selfish Sims addict.
klajdfkl;ajdf;akld I've got myself all worked up and excited now. D:
:D ♥ ♥ ♥ omg, I actually updated.