I'm Coming Home...

I woke up this morning, worried about various things. I worried about my luggage and how the day was going to be like. Most importantly I was worried about saying good-bye to a family that I was welcomed and adopted into in the past three weeks.

My VSA Family
Top: Meg(Proctor), Shanti(me), Karina, Chelsea, Emily, Reesa, Abigail
Bottom: Stephanie, Chiamaka, Kaitlin, Jill, Jasmine, Ashley

As I sat down for breakfast, I observed the commons room. What I saw was the same thing I saw for the last three weeks and that was intelligent young minds carrying out their day. Like me they all have gotten used to this regular schedule at VSA that we will all miss when we return home. Looking at my surrounding I was fully aware of the fact that, I wasn't going to be in this kind of high thriving intelligent environment like this for a while. 

After breakfast, we had some time to say our goodbyes to our friends before everyone departed. Saying goodbye is never easy for me and I absolutely dread saying goodbyes, but I had to. With some of the amazing people I've met, there is a high chance that I wont see them again, but that did not stop me from friending them on social media sites and collecting their numbers to keep in contact. 

We all came back to the dorm rooms at 9 AM. During the left over time we had time to finish packing and wait till our guardians checked us out of VSA. Since I already finished packing earlier, I wanted to spend my remainder of my time with my dearest friends. I went to each and every room and said goodbye even though we weren't leaving yet.

I came back into my dorm room and saw all the emptiness that had taken place of what I called home for the past few weeks. All I could think of was deja vu. I distinctly remember walking into the same empty room on the first day of VSA and being overwhelmed. Now when I look at it, all I see were the memories spent in that same room, which was room 314 in Hank Ingram.

After some time more people started to leave. It became harder and harder to bare the fact that VSA was over as more people began to leave.Since I was able to go on other floors, my friends and I decided to see who was there still. At about 10:00 AM, most of the student had already left and what once used to be the hallways full of eager students, was now empty hallways of memories. We saw some of our other proctor members and decided to stay with them until they had to leave.

Cohorts and Our Loved Proctors!

Our chaperone, Mr.Mannix, came by around 10:30 AM. I was so eager to see our great and amazing chaperone once again. After saying our last good byes to our VSA family, we left. It was very emotional leaving people who I've called family for my time here. I remember as I walking down the hallway and said my last goodbye to my proctor, Meg Touville, I started to cry because I felt like a piece of my heart was being left at VSA and I couldn't stay any longer. 

After a long morning, we went out and had some lunch. Since our flight wasn't until 5 PM, we had some extra time to do some final shopping. When it was around 3:30 PM, we went to the airport. The airport was again a long but exciting experience. Before we headed back to the West Coast, we had a quick stop at Chicago. Then from Chicago, we left for California. On the plane ride to California, I met this nice young woman I sat next to on the plane. Her name was Sara and she returning to California, as well. Although our conversation only lasted a bit, I learned that she played waterpolo like I do and she went to high school a few districts away from my school district. I told her about the Ivy League Connections and she was satisfied to find out that those opportunities existed for student like me these days.

We arrived at the Oakland Airport around 11 PM. I saw my sister there waiting for me and I ran to her. Although I was very sad to have left Vanderbilt I was so happy to see my sister's face. We grabbed my luggage and left. Before we left I said goodbye and thanks to my chaperone and cohort, for being there with me when I experienced this great opportunity. 

It is so hard to believe that I have been at Vanderbilt for three weeks. Its feels too short to be true. I will always had a special place in my heart for the Vanderbilt Summer Academy. I will not forget what I have learned and what I have experienced because those are the reasons why I have changed for the the better. 

At our final destination : Home