Day One of School!!!

Today was the first day of school and I very was excited for today. Since we had breakfast at 8 AM, my roommate, Karina, and I decided to wake up at 7 AM. While I was getting ready, I made sure I rushed so I wasn't late. But little did I know when I finished getting ready it was only around 7:15 AM. For the remainder of the time I just talked to my roommate and my other neighbors. 

This the class for "Special Topics in Math".
Our classroom size is 14.

After breakfast, we went outside. I saw different adults holding pink signs with course topics printed on them. I was searching for the person with the pink sign that said "Special Topic in Math", but I couldn't find anyone because all of the kids were cluttered up in the center. When people started to clear up it was then I saw this young woman holding a sign that said "Special Topics in Math" in bold letters. This young woman guided us to our class room. Walking in, the room was just like any other classroom but there were only a few desk out for student to sit in. I sat next to a girl named Abagail, who is on the same proctor group as I was, and a boy named Dustin. I got to know them a little before class and I was happy to have made new friends. 

This is my class number.

I thought my instructor , Dawson Gray, was going to be strict and mean but to my surprise he wasn't. He was intimidating but he was also funny and interesting to learn from. The class was absolutely different from what I thought it was going to be, too. It was so interesting and what I really admired about the instructor was his way of making the student understand the material. Today during the first session of class, we learned about matrices and determinants. I learned about these topics already, but what kept me engaged was the way he taught. He motivated his students in a different way. It was interesting because I've never experienced learning from a teacher that was really clear about his explanations. 

After the first session we had lunch. The dinning commons were more familiar to me. It was a special day today because on Mondays and Fridays, the dining commons holds a special for the meals. It was interesting to see what they offered us. One thing that I learned about the dining common or college life in general is that nobody tells anybody what the limit is. Students can practically take as much food as they want. I have learned that its very important to pace how much you eat because no one is there to regulate you. I also learned to try your best to eat healthy because at times it can be very tempting to go with foods that are less desirable for one's health. 

During the second session of the class, we learned something new(well it was new to me). We learned about the Fibonacci numbers, Phi and phi, as well as the Golden Ratio, and what they all were about. I wasn't taught about those concepts at all so it was nice to go from review to a new topic. It was interesting because the teacher taught how those concepts applied to real world situations. Near the end, Mr.Gray gave us a project. Although I am not to excited about the project, I will try my best.

When class was over we went back to our dorms to get ready for our arete class. I was not looking forward to my class, which was the acapella group called pitch perfect. The class sounds really fun and all, but my problem is that I can't sing! I have don't have any vocals at all, so it ended up being really awkward. During the class, I realized I should make the best of certain situations even when I don't like it. During the class I tried a little more but I still sounded pretty terrible. 

After arete class, we had a scavenger hunt. It was between all proctor groups. We received a paper with a list of riddles and objects we should take pictures with. It was really fun trying to be creative while taking picture and doing whatever we could to get all the pictures we needed. My favorite moment of the game was when we serenade a random person and had to take a video of it to get points. Everyone in the group took part of it. I thought the man was going to be uncomfortable by the fact that there was a group of girls singing "You Don't Know Your Beautiful" by One Direction  while he was taking his work break but he actually appreciated the gesture. At the end we went back to our dorms.

Today was a pretty unexpected first day. I was very surprised today. At times it may have been overwhelming but I really think Vanderbilt has done such a great job with making schedules, where students have breaks. I really like the activities that they sponsor and the great attitudes everyone has. Vanderbilt has turned regular boring days into days of adventure!