Monday, June 22nd, 2015 3:07pm
Dear reader,
Well, something amazing happened to me six months ago.
Six months ago, I got an email informing me that I had been accepted into Stanford’s High School Summer College Program. And since then, I have not stopped smiling.
HSSC is a program that admits about 700 overachieving, incredible, witty, friendly, and all around awesome 16-19 year olds from all over the world. They stay for eight weeks as residents in a dorm (or commute to campus, if circumstance allows) and enroll in undergraduate classes for the Summer Quarter here at Stanford University.
I must say, I’ve been here for about two and a half days, and I am in love, not only with this program, but everyone here as well.
What thrilled me the most this Saturday, upon walking through that alley of Stanford undergraduates cheering as my name was announced, was not solely the idea of being at Stanford
(Mind you, this is the school of my dreams, my flame, my muse, the apple of my eye, my one and only, etc.).
It was the idea of living among these people, for almost two months, getting to see into their lives and getting to know them. A world of first-impressions and new relationships. An environment where people didn’t know my name or what AP classes I was taking or what my GPA was. I am simply allowed to be here. To be me here. To make connections unscathed by prejudgements or reputations, good or bad.
It’s a beautiful thing! So many incredible people, and I am constantly impressed by them. Whether it be their sense of humour or their academic prowess (which I haven’t really witnessed in its true form, since it is only the first day of classes today), something about them always makes me smile and tell myself, “Wow, I have the privilege of getting to know you for the next 56 days.”
Though these kids are amazing, I must say… This whole thing… like, of being a student at Stanford… with an ID and everything… living here… and taking classes… is probably the best things that have ever happened to me in my entire life.
For instance, I attended my Creative Nonfiction Writing course this morning, and I can 100% guarantee that I will be posting about it in the future. The freedom allowed, the creative space provided, and the respectful atmosphere guaranteed, all cater to a world of possibilities regarding my writing and, really, my perspective on the world and humanity.
From visiting the Meditation Center yesterday, to playing twister in a lounge with some friends last night, to sitting here, blogging on a lawn in front of Huang Engineering Center before a lecture; Stanford University and everyone in it has treated me so well for the past 3 days, and I am beyond thankful for his experience.
These next 2 months are going to be incredible.
Happy Summer 🙂
Love, Izzy
16til26* 