328A — I love it when you call me señorita...
Today was a pretty good day. I got up around 10:00 and headed on a brunch trip with two other staff and four kids. The brunch was pretty good, and then I spent some time in a piano room with some kids playing pieces from musicals. From there, I hung out with a bunch of the kids for a while in and around W20 before buying things for the event tonight.
The event tonight went very well, and I enjoyed my part of the work as well as the kids' responses. No further detail will be provided, but it was late, and after that I had some meetings, bedcheck, dinner, and some talking and hanging out with other staff and students. It was kind of fun, although now I am sleepy and wondering when the other staff on the floor above me will actually go to sleep. Only time will tell, I suppose.
I guess it's finally time to reflect on Presidential Scholars stuff. I went into Presidential Scholars not expecting much—the best of the best from some of these states felt like it would result in some level of pretention, and the fact the whole event was about 48 hours long (which was also 48+ hours away from RSI) made me feel like the whole thing might just be a wash.
Thankfully, this was not the case, although to say that none of these expectations came true in any way would be lying. I felt much less close to my advisor group than others, being bi and Asian and going to school far, far away from home when the other kids from South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana were (to my knowledge) none of those things. It was one last reminder that I was still different, something I talked about in my college essays over and over again. I don't fit in at "home," and to be reminded of this even when I'm thousands of miles away stung a little bit.
Despite this, a lot of the trip was utterly amazing. My Chicagoan roommate had an especially inspirational life story, as did many other students, and this, combined with a willingness to share and learn, led to some very interesting and important discussions about privilege and the future of modern society. I was particularly struck by two ways LGBTQ+ issues were framed: first, the understanding that the order of the acronym is somewhat arbitrary, and could easily be resorted (say, alphabetically). Second, the understanding by an individual that although they have only dated people of the opposite gender, it is wholly possible (although perhaps not probable) that they could fall for someone different next time, and so they reject, in a strict sense, heterosexual labels if not apparent heterosexual behavior. I think a lot of this kind of discussion was enabled (if not provided) by the presence of a lot of diversity, and for me, specifically, it was nice to finally exist in an environment where it seemed like a lot of people weren't straight.
I have but one other regret about the trip, and yet I cannot fully explain it here. Suffice it to say it has something to do with the previous paragraph, albeit obliquely. Sad. I miss a lot of these people already, and many of them are not going to school in and/or near Cambridge, so I guess I'll see them whenever. This indeterminacy kind of makes me sad, but we'll see how it goes. Hopefully I'll be seeing at least some of them soon.
Tomorrow, first day of mentorship. I'm bringing some of the kids on a library trip too, which will be kind of fun! (Also, laundry.) We'll see how all of it goes. I'm excited.
The event tonight went very well, and I enjoyed my part of the work as well as the kids' responses. No further detail will be provided, but it was late, and after that I had some meetings, bedcheck, dinner, and some talking and hanging out with other staff and students. It was kind of fun, although now I am sleepy and wondering when the other staff on the floor above me will actually go to sleep. Only time will tell, I suppose.
I guess it's finally time to reflect on Presidential Scholars stuff. I went into Presidential Scholars not expecting much—the best of the best from some of these states felt like it would result in some level of pretention, and the fact the whole event was about 48 hours long (which was also 48+ hours away from RSI) made me feel like the whole thing might just be a wash.
Thankfully, this was not the case, although to say that none of these expectations came true in any way would be lying. I felt much less close to my advisor group than others, being bi and Asian and going to school far, far away from home when the other kids from South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana were (to my knowledge) none of those things. It was one last reminder that I was still different, something I talked about in my college essays over and over again. I don't fit in at "home," and to be reminded of this even when I'm thousands of miles away stung a little bit.
Despite this, a lot of the trip was utterly amazing. My Chicagoan roommate had an especially inspirational life story, as did many other students, and this, combined with a willingness to share and learn, led to some very interesting and important discussions about privilege and the future of modern society. I was particularly struck by two ways LGBTQ+ issues were framed: first, the understanding that the order of the acronym is somewhat arbitrary, and could easily be resorted (say, alphabetically). Second, the understanding by an individual that although they have only dated people of the opposite gender, it is wholly possible (although perhaps not probable) that they could fall for someone different next time, and so they reject, in a strict sense, heterosexual labels if not apparent heterosexual behavior. I think a lot of this kind of discussion was enabled (if not provided) by the presence of a lot of diversity, and for me, specifically, it was nice to finally exist in an environment where it seemed like a lot of people weren't straight.
I have but one other regret about the trip, and yet I cannot fully explain it here. Suffice it to say it has something to do with the previous paragraph, albeit obliquely. Sad. I miss a lot of these people already, and many of them are not going to school in and/or near Cambridge, so I guess I'll see them whenever. This indeterminacy kind of makes me sad, but we'll see how it goes. Hopefully I'll be seeing at least some of them soon.
Tomorrow, first day of mentorship. I'm bringing some of the kids on a library trip too, which will be kind of fun! (Also, laundry.) We'll see how all of it goes. I'm excited.
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