Monday, July 9th:
In the saga of my wakeups, today stands out, It wasn't texts or music or sunshine that woke me up, instead, it was the blaring car alarm style wake-up call that my roommate and I had decided on the night before. Still, it managed to take me by surprise. I sat up in bed groggy and a little out of it, trying to process what vehicle was being stolen and how the noise could be stopped.
In the saga of my wakeups, today stands out, It wasn't texts or music or sunshine that woke me up, instead, it was the blaring car alarm style wake-up call that my roommate and I had decided on the night before. Still, it managed to take me by surprise. I sat up in bed groggy and a little out of it, trying to process what vehicle was being stolen and how the noise could be stopped.
Once I had come out of my usual morning fog, I set about getting ready for the day, which would include our first day of class along with a multitude of other activities. We began with breakfast, and I was delighted to find that the cafeteria stalks Honey Nut Cheerios (I promise I won't eat them everyday mom) and grabbed a bowl. This was also a strategical choice on my part seeing the lines in the cafeteria get crazy long, and the less popular cereal bar is a good way to avoid them, starting the actual eating sooner.
During breakfast, we sat with our classes in order to meet both our classmates and TA's before class, and have a little bit of time to get the awkward introductions out of the way. My class, New Problems in Rhetoric, (or as my professor calls it Problems in Rhetoric), was also tasked with coming up with a mascot and class cheer to distinguish ourselves from all the other mediums of study. Within seconds, through a series of events that I did not fully understand, our mascot became Stephen the Spinx, and shortly after our cheer also came to fruition. We kept it short and simple, "why?", fitting for the nature of our class.
Once that was all sorted, and we had finished our meals it was time for class, even though meeting new people and staring new things can be daunting, I have been looking forward to this class since I read the description sitting in my living room in California, so my excitement outweighed the nerves. Having the chance to learn from such an accomplished professor (Dr. Koch is the associate director of debate at Vanderbilt), in a small and low pressure, but still rigorous environments is an amazing opportunity that I feel so lucky to have.
The first day of class was mainly centered around the creation and delivery of a formulaic introductory speech, taking place before and after lunch, which is quite the icebreaker. The theme of our speech was to talk about something we have learned and the story behind it. We discussed elements of a persuasive speech, and how widely recognized orators employ those devices to be as effective as possible. Ironically, I decided to make mine about icebreakers, more specifically how I learned the value of being the person to break the ice for someone who is in a position where they can't, through working with young kids. It turned out to be a really nice way to learn interesting and beautiful things about my classmates and how events in their lives shaped them.
After our speeches, our professor gave us a tour of the communications department where he works (a short walk from our assigned classroom), complete with a brief visit to their built-in first amendment exhibit, showing how its implications for our nation evolved from its founding.
After class, it was time for VSA's version of an extracurricular, which they call an "ACE" (After Class Experience). You get to rank the choices for which experience you want to be involved in, but after hearing that a kid in my class got his last ranked choice, I was a bit concerned. Luckily I ended up in one of my higher ranked options, horror makeup. I have never been interested in traditional makeup, and I would not consider myself to be a very artistic person in general, so this was totally uncharted territory for me, but luckily it turned out to be a lot of fun. Day one included creating bruises using layers of specialized powder, and although mine ended up looking more like a galaxy, the prosses was interesting to learn.
Our day was far from over after ACEs, we moved on to the daily hour of free time, during which Ana and I were able to meet up after not seeing each other in what felt like forever (in reality less than 24 hours) and get a bit of blogging done, we agreed to eat dinner with each other and our fellow ILCers along with some new friends. Hawi soon joined us, and blogging morphed into a lively game of cards.
Before we knew it dinner had arrived and it was time to load up on more of classic but not bad cafeteria food that is provided for us. Over dinner, we talked and laugh with both new friends and old, reminiscing about our days and talking about the shocking differences between Nashville and where we are from, a very popular topic here.
Once dinner had come to an end, due to our abrupt realization that we were suddenly some of they only people left in the cafeteria, it was time for the evening activity. On the metaphorical menu for tonight (we were all quite full from dinner) was the Procter Group scavenger hunt.
I am a pretty big fan of anything that involves clues combined with a fun competitive element, so the scavenger hunt was right up my alley. Payton, our proctor, revealed that the scavenger hunt was one of her favorite activities at VSA and all of us must have fed off her energy because, despite the grueling heat and humidity, we completed our traverse across campus in what Payton tells us was record time. Although we will not learn the results of our effort until closing ceremonies in three weeks time, we all are feeling pretty good about our chances of taking home gold.
After a quick Proctor Group Meeting, and a shower for me, I spent a little time catching up with family and blogging, and before I knew it I was counting sheep.
Tuesday, July 10th:
My wakeup this morning was much like yesterday, with the notable difference that for some reason the minute I opened my eyes, my entire body staged a full-scale revolt on the notion of leaving my warm comfortable bed. None the less, I was soon able to quash the rebellion and drag myself out of bed, and from there, my packed day raced by.
With more autonomy allowed for breakfast today, I elected to sit once again at the table we had scoped out yesterday, tucked neatly into the corner of the dining hall. We seem to have found our core group of mealtime buds, Including girls from all over the country, and in the case of Alondra who is from Purto Rico, the world. The group is far from sedentary, however, and is constantly expanding to include more and more wonderful people.
The end of breakfast brought the beginning of class, which was moved today to be located in the Communication Department which we toured yesterday, due to the smaller classroom being a better fit for our 15 student class. It feels pretty novel to be sitting in a room with actual college students attending summer courses just on the other side of the wall.
Today class began with a lecture from our professor, covering the basics of what rhetoric is, including a working definition, an explanation of the basic principles lying within it, the job of rhetorical scholars, and much more. It became immediately clear that as Dr. Kotch put it, almost everything in rhetoric is debatable. This makes the subject extremely nuanced and complex, but also deeply fascinating, especially since as a high school student you are rarely given the room to just asked questions with no hard and fast right or wrong answer.
After lunch which included the typical mealtime antics, we moved on to conducting our own rhetorical criticism of a speech given by Richard Nixon during the Vietnam War. This basically consists of evaluating the speech in its effectiveness and the implications that it has for society, through examining its rhetorical elements. After having our own class discussion on the mater, we read two differing takes on the function of rhetorical criticism written about the piece, that illustrate how rhetoric has changed from being more objective to recognizing its own subjective limits. Although the material is unquestionably challenging, I find that I am learning a lot and enjoying the mental gymnastics being conducted by my brain to wrap itself around the content we cover.
Class soon came to an end and gave way to ACE time. Tody's horrifying work of art consisted of creating raised open wounds on our arms. This was a long process that included a lot of what Bob Ross would call, "happy accidents," along the way, but was entertaining none the less. My finished product didn't look quite real but it was definitely disturbing enough at first glance.
Todays free time, much like yesterday, involved Ana and Hawi and I camping out in the lobby and attempting to get some blogging done, but enjoying each other's company a bit too much to be entirely productive.
Much to my relief, we have fallen into a steady routine for mealtimes, as evidenced by the rest of my blog, I find this to be comforting for a reason that I think Anna said best, "Meals are where family meets." It's definitely special to have our own VSA family, even as young and continually growing as it is.
The after-dinner activity for today proved to be another home run in my book. With the title of, "Cupcake Wars", its appeal was easy to see and crafting cupcakes with both new friends, and those established proved to be the perfect way to wind down our evening, enjoying each others' company and the show that serves as the activities namesake
Another Procter Group Meeting concluded our day, full of sweet affirmations for one another and discussions of the days and weeks to come.
Once that was all sorted, and we had finished our meals it was time for class, even though meeting new people and staring new things can be daunting, I have been looking forward to this class since I read the description sitting in my living room in California, so my excitement outweighed the nerves. Having the chance to learn from such an accomplished professor (Dr. Koch is the associate director of debate at Vanderbilt), in a small and low pressure, but still rigorous environments is an amazing opportunity that I feel so lucky to have.
 |
| Our Classroom |
After our speeches, our professor gave us a tour of the communications department where he works (a short walk from our assigned classroom), complete with a brief visit to their built-in first amendment exhibit, showing how its implications for our nation evolved from its founding.
After class, it was time for VSA's version of an extracurricular, which they call an "ACE" (After Class Experience). You get to rank the choices for which experience you want to be involved in, but after hearing that a kid in my class got his last ranked choice, I was a bit concerned. Luckily I ended up in one of my higher ranked options, horror makeup. I have never been interested in traditional makeup, and I would not consider myself to be a very artistic person in general, so this was totally uncharted territory for me, but luckily it turned out to be a lot of fun. Day one included creating bruises using layers of specialized powder, and although mine ended up looking more like a galaxy, the prosses was interesting to learn.
Our day was far from over after ACEs, we moved on to the daily hour of free time, during which Ana and I were able to meet up after not seeing each other in what felt like forever (in reality less than 24 hours) and get a bit of blogging done, we agreed to eat dinner with each other and our fellow ILCers along with some new friends. Hawi soon joined us, and blogging morphed into a lively game of cards.
Before we knew it dinner had arrived and it was time to load up on more of classic but not bad cafeteria food that is provided for us. Over dinner, we talked and laugh with both new friends and old, reminiscing about our days and talking about the shocking differences between Nashville and where we are from, a very popular topic here.
Once dinner had come to an end, due to our abrupt realization that we were suddenly some of they only people left in the cafeteria, it was time for the evening activity. On the metaphorical menu for tonight (we were all quite full from dinner) was the Procter Group scavenger hunt.
I am a pretty big fan of anything that involves clues combined with a fun competitive element, so the scavenger hunt was right up my alley. Payton, our proctor, revealed that the scavenger hunt was one of her favorite activities at VSA and all of us must have fed off her energy because, despite the grueling heat and humidity, we completed our traverse across campus in what Payton tells us was record time. Although we will not learn the results of our effort until closing ceremonies in three weeks time, we all are feeling pretty good about our chances of taking home gold.
 |
| Our PG racing to check off a clue. |
 |
| A beautiful view of the Vanderbilt at night. |
My wakeup this morning was much like yesterday, with the notable difference that for some reason the minute I opened my eyes, my entire body staged a full-scale revolt on the notion of leaving my warm comfortable bed. None the less, I was soon able to quash the rebellion and drag myself out of bed, and from there, my packed day raced by.
With more autonomy allowed for breakfast today, I elected to sit once again at the table we had scoped out yesterday, tucked neatly into the corner of the dining hall. We seem to have found our core group of mealtime buds, Including girls from all over the country, and in the case of Alondra who is from Purto Rico, the world. The group is far from sedentary, however, and is constantly expanding to include more and more wonderful people.
The end of breakfast brought the beginning of class, which was moved today to be located in the Communication Department which we toured yesterday, due to the smaller classroom being a better fit for our 15 student class. It feels pretty novel to be sitting in a room with actual college students attending summer courses just on the other side of the wall.
Today class began with a lecture from our professor, covering the basics of what rhetoric is, including a working definition, an explanation of the basic principles lying within it, the job of rhetorical scholars, and much more. It became immediately clear that as Dr. Kotch put it, almost everything in rhetoric is debatable. This makes the subject extremely nuanced and complex, but also deeply fascinating, especially since as a high school student you are rarely given the room to just asked questions with no hard and fast right or wrong answer.
 |
| Lunchtime today. |
Class soon came to an end and gave way to ACE time. Tody's horrifying work of art consisted of creating raised open wounds on our arms. This was a long process that included a lot of what Bob Ross would call, "happy accidents," along the way, but was entertaining none the less. My finished product didn't look quite real but it was definitely disturbing enough at first glance.
 |
| My open wound. (Its fake dont worry) |
Much to my relief, we have fallen into a steady routine for mealtimes, as evidenced by the rest of my blog, I find this to be comforting for a reason that I think Anna said best, "Meals are where family meets." It's definitely special to have our own VSA family, even as young and continually growing as it is.
The after-dinner activity for today proved to be another home run in my book. With the title of, "Cupcake Wars", its appeal was easy to see and crafting cupcakes with both new friends, and those established proved to be the perfect way to wind down our evening, enjoying each others' company and the show that serves as the activities namesake
 |
| Anna and Syndi in the cupcake making process. |
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