Tough Goodbye

These last few days have been a rollercoaster, I will do my best to sum up all the ups, downs, and loop-dee-loops over the course of this post. 

We pick up our adventure on Wednesday, with the second to last day of class and our class's last day of presentations. I was able to sit back and relax, having already given mine as my classmates shared issues close to their hearts. It was fascinating, if a bit uncomfortable, to hear opinions that are not typically voiced in the Bay Area. 

The day seemed to speed by, speeches intertwined with lecturing from Dr. Kotch about complex rhetorical theory covering how we understand the world around us, and what that means for our current political climate. 

When class had finished we had some free time until dinner which I spent with Julie soaking up the last few days that we would have together. 

Dinner was followed by SOFT time during which Julie, Nyra, Mia and I ordered in chicken from Natty B's (well they did, I had fries and Commons food earlier) and watched Mama Mia in the open area on our floor, half watching the film and half engaging in, at times, silly and, at times, deep conversations. 

Nyra trying to figure out the delivery system

I am someone who does not handle endings well, I feel a looming sadness when I finish a good book, I have cried at the end of most school years, and I have never finished a TV show. So, needless to say, the ending of the magical experience we had at VSA approaching threw me for a loop. That nights PGM already had my eyes stinging and throat choked up. 

The next morning meant the last full day of VSA. I remained fully in denial that some of the best weeks of my life would soon come to a close. 

Caroline's alarm jerked me awake as usual, and I began my now very familiar morning routine in the dorm. 

We headed off to breakfast, this time embellished by the option of donuts, and while I did not choose to partake, they were certainly tempting. 

My class had agreed that our last day would be spent watching movies (rhetoric related ones) and eating as much sugar as possible. 

The morning passed quickly as we watched. "The Great Debaters", and the afternoon followed suit, occupied by a documentary on King George VI  of England, and an episode of, "The West Wing", the exemplified post 9/11 rhetoric. 

Some final words from Dr. Koch

Our last class was followed immediately by VSA closing ceremonies, consisting of speeches from various leaders, and a slideshow showcasing some of the highlights of VSA, but most importantly, the winner of the House Cup, our three-week long competition, and of the scavenger hunt way back on the second day. Julie and I ended up next to each other at the auditorium and we held out a breath as each result was announced, erupting into applause when the words "V-House" and "Payton's Group" echoed in succession through the room. We had won, twice! 

We practically skipped back to the dorms for free time during which Julie, Sydney, and I all enjoyed each others company goofing off while Sydney's hair was transformed for the upcoming final dance. 

Before I knew it dinner had come and gone and we had a little time to get into dance appropriate attire and make our way down to the disco light-filled auditorium. 

We danced the next few hours away to hits spanning the last few decades, and we headed back to the dorms for a final night. 

We spent our last Proctor Group Meeting taking part in a special closing activity that brought me and many others to tears. Our typical lights out deadline had been extended so we soaked up the remaining hours we had with each other in preparation for the next morning when we would all bid goodbye to VSA. 

I woke up early on our final morning to see Julie off as she left for the airport before breakfast, squeezing in one last tearful hug. 

Once I had returned to my room, I forced myself to start packing, one of the things that all that denial had compelled me to put off. 

When I was almost fully packed I sat down on my bed for the last time to write a letter to Payton. She made my experience at VSA so incredibly wonderful, and being as full of abundant emotion as I am, I knew that I wouldn't be able to tell her with my voice just how much she meant to me. The tears had started with saying goodbye to Julie and they did not stop for the rest of the morning.

Next, it was our last meal in Commons and I said goodbye to all my friends who I did not share a floor with before we headed back to the dorms. 

Besides Anna and Cyndi, I did not share a floor with these girls.

Slowly more and more people were picked up, each punctuated with hugs and parting words of appreciation.

Just as I had predicted, when it was my time to leave I was too overcome with emotion to say much to anyone, I hugged, Caroline, Nyra, and Sydney tightly and stepped into the elevator with Ms. Sciacca and the rest of the ILC girls. 

I was able to say one final goodbye to Payton in the parking lot right before we left, and by "say", I mean cry and hug some more but soon it was all over and were off to the airport. 

The day's adventures were just beginning, and I will try my best to recount the next 14 hours but the physically and emotionally taxing nature of the day means that the memories are a bit of a blur. 

Ms. Sciacca had found out that morning that our flight from Chicago to Philidelphia had been canceled and so our travel plans were in the air. Luckily, she was able to work some quick magic and we ended up with a flight to New York and train tickets from there to Philadelphia, it sounded pretty simple in theory. 

In reality, the time was full of excitement to see New York, a lot of reading and watching TV and was mostly colored by sheer exhaustion.

We arrived at our hotel at 1:30 in the morning still standing on mysterious energy and headed quickly up to our rooms for much-needed sleep. 

That brings us to this morning. We were able to sleep until eight and then met Ms. Sciacca in the lobby and walked to a quick breakfast before heading to our tour of the University of Pensylvania.

With our time at Vanderbilt for context, I came into this tour with a very different perspective than the last one, knowing that I lean towards a smaller school with a strong emphasis on community (like Vanderbilt). Penn, as they all called it, is not small by any means but it peaked my interest in other ways with its unique focus on blending studies across many fields, modeled off the far-spanning accomplishments of its founder Benjamin Fraklin. Penn also offers an international studies major, which is what I think I want to go into and numerous complimentary courses.

The gorgeous ceiling of the information auditorium 

After the information center,  the walking portion began with our tour guide Briana and we got to see the beauty that is the Penn Campus as well as learns more about the supportive but still intense environment of the school.

Briana broke down the school to its smaller sub-schools and we visited each once, learning about classes available there as well as more about life at Penn and Briana's experiences there. By the end of the tour, most of us were seriously considering applying to Penn.

We then headed to the bookstore to pick up some UPenn merch, generously sponsored by ILC and then posed at a smaller recreation of the famous "LOVE", a sign to get some pictures. Ms. Sciacca snapped away, and once complete we were satisfied we headed to lunch.

Lunch consisted of an East Coast specialty, Shake Shack, which packed a pretty great veggie burger that well enjoyed, and the shakes weren't bad either.

From lunch, we shifted gears to head to Eastern State Penitentiary, a prison erected back in 1800's that is now open to tours. I had not expected to be able to use the skills I learned in my class so soon, but when we walked through the large opening gate I immediately put on my metaphorical biological criticism glasses to examine the underlying messages of how the prison was presented.

I found that like many museums on controversial topics (Eastern State practices would be considered torture by many today), the tour focused mostly on how the Prison was viewed at the time and tried to avoid the making any connections to how it would be viewed today. The tour guide even explained that they tried to present just the facts and let visitors make up their own minds, but I noted the dulled language when describing the horrendous ways that prisoners were treated, and emphasis on the intentions of those who created it told a story of there own. 

From there we headed to see the famous Liberty bell briefly with its even more famous crack before heading back to the hotel just long enough to catch our breath and go back out for dinner.

We had Mexican food for the first time since leaving California, and although we all agreed there was some room for improvement, the restaurant itself was very cool and the food was nourishing.

Our last activity of the day also took place the farthest from the ground, 57 stories of the ground to be precise. We went to the One Liberty Observation deck and were watched the sunset over the vast expanses of the city.

Just one of the many views