Making the Sun Shine a Little Brighter

I woke up bright and early, which was unusual for me on Sunday morning, and arrived outside the San Pablo Library about a quarter to twelve. Since it didn’t open until 1 PM, I was standing there all by my lonesome until I jerked my head up from my phone to the sound of Don’s horn; Javaria and Robson greeted me as they all arrived together.  Today was the first day the Cornell cohort would be spending together since we had our interviews.

We drove down to Contra Costa College to have some nice backdrops for our headshots and group photos. Today was actually my first time there, and we spent quite some time turning to the left and right, doing various poses in different places throughout the campus.

It was such a beautiful day; the sun was shining so bright it felt impossible to keep our eyes open long enough for Don to snap some pictures. We posed by the CCC sign, on the grass which felt wet but was actually cold, in front of bushes and trees, and of course, together. In my mind, this was like a photo shoot, so I was all smiles and really enjoyed posing with Robson and Javaria.

We were sitting together as if we were at home on our couch. 

      The reflection of the screen on my glasses shows we were hard at work, which I feel adds to the whole ambiance. 

We were hanging out for a bit while Don was telling us about what to expect when we get to the library before we headed over there and began working on our computers. The library was not as quiet as I thought it would be, it was decorated with artwork made by children and provided the background noise of people inserting money to use the printer; it was a colorful and collected work environment.

Don walked us through how to use Blogger to make us more accustomed to the layout, as well as how to personalize it to our liking. Javaria, Robson, and I looked through the pictures to pick the ones we found most aesthetically pleasing. While this was going on at one end of the table, we were also working together to customize the look for our blog; taking some inspiration from previous blogs, we finally agreed on a neutral warm background, which went perfectly with the banner photo we were planning on using!

Javaria and I became a lot closer, while talking about being from the same country and how our moms both work with kids, all while teasing Robson about his smile in all his headshots. Although we didn’t have much time to work on our profiles, it was a productive day and we ended up with some lovely photos. We talked for a while with Don about his visit to Salt Lake City, Utah and the people he encountered there, and just more about future Ivy League Connection milestones.

Overall, I really got to know my cohort members better today, as well as Don and saw more of their personalities and interests. It was a pleasant and relaxed Sunday, I said goodbye for now as I walked out to the warm parking lot where my mom was waiting before the library had the chance to kick us out. I felt accomplished and excited to work with this great team over the course of the next few months.