New New New

Today I woke up blissfully, not to any alarm or loud notification, but au natural at a relaxed 9 AM. We had agreed that last night we would give ourselves an easy morning so as to be well rested for our first day at Vanderbilt.

The first task of the morning was to wake up the brain with a shower so that I could stop operating on autopilot and start packing my bags. Alas, it was time to say goodbye to the comfortable tan hotel room with its large queen beds and personal bathroom that we had called home for the last few days. 

We all packed up, something which as much as we had promised ourselves would happen last night, was left until the morning. Suitcases seemed to have magically shrunk, as our possessions had grown, and I really had to show my suitcase who was boss... aka I sat on it to zip it up and then it fell over as soon as I tried to stand it up, proceeding to fight with me all the way until it was Tetris stacked into the back of the car by Ms. Sciacca. 

Ana on our way out of the room

From there it was time to head to breakfast where we were able to exercise some flexibility when we found that the place we had originally intended to go sported a line around the block, and that kind of standing and waiting is complicated greatly by the Nashville heat. Instead, we found our way to a comparable breakfast eatery which was still quite popular but allowed us to be immediately immersed in the welcomed airconditioning. 

The beautifully decorated breakfast spot

Because of our late start to the day, breakfast was able to serve as more of a brunch, seeing as we finished at about 12 and still had three hours of time to kill before check-in when our time at Vanderbilt began. We resolved to make a quick Target trip to pick up some of the remaining necessities, including cards for me, as well as some tea and throat medicine because it unfortunately seems that all of us are becoming sick, with Hawi, Ana, and I losing our voices. 

We spent the time left at the nearby Barnes & Noble, but quite honestly it all passed in a blur of nerves, excitement, and anticipation for the day ahead. Before I knew it we had pulled up into the VSA (Vanderbilt Summer Academy, I will be using this abbreviation a lot) parking lot and were grabbing our bags to start registration, ushered in with a warm welcome from some of the staff. While we waited in line we befriended a few of our fellow VSA members, all toiling under the sun together. There was Abbey from Florida, Bernese from Eastern Tennessee, and others from around the country. I was surprised to learn that the majority of VSAers are not from nearby to Nashville, but spent time traveling to get here just like us, all learning to live far away from home. 

I said goodbye to Ms. Sciacca for now, and with a parting hug, and over text, she reminded us that we can contact her for whatever we need. We are truly so lucky to have such a caring, attentive, and downright wonderful chaperone to serve as our surrogate mom and very real friend. 

It was time to see our dorm rooms and begin to unpack, arriving on the early side of registration meant that I got to my room well before my roommate Caroline, and was able to begin to unpack. 

Our room fully unpacked

From meeting Caroline onward our day seemed to speed up rapidly as the hours ticked away. We attended meeting after meeting, first with our Proctor Groups (small groups that serve as your home-base while here), and then had dinner, met with all of VSA for a welcome ceremony, attended a House meeting, (I am in V- house, designated by where my dorm room is located) followed by a floor meeting, and a second Proctor Group meeting, all in the span of 7 hours. 

Now as I sit in bed writing this blog, with my Caroline just a few feet away on hers, I am attempting to process all that happened today. It felt like a whirlwind of new information, new faces names, and friends, new living quarters, and new daily routine. These blogs serve as a good time for reflection and I realize that the experience I am having right now is one that will likely never be paralleled in my life again, I have resolved to make like a sponge and absorb every moment.