A Really Long Day

June 21^st was very very long. It was exciting, fun and the start of my amazing life changing journey, but it was extremely long.

It all started at 1:00 AM. Yes, that is right 1:00 AM. I had to get up and leave when most people are getting to bed or sleeping. I was practically comatose. The tea I had and shower I took didn't really help me wake up completely.  When my mom and I got there we met up with my fellow cohort members. The weather was cold and windy making everyone cold and shiver, but after going over some last minute things and after Don told us what he expected of us we headed off to SFO.

We were trying to not look exhausted

Getting through SFO was nice because we were super early and no one was there. It was super quick for me and Javaria because we were TSA pre-approved and that was great because we just zoomed out of there. I loved it because security is my least favorite thing about flying so the quicker I get out of there the better.

After that nothing really happened. I had a bagel thing boarded the plane.

The plane ride itself was way shorter than I thought it would be. On the plane ride I was exhausted. I tried listening to music and looking out the window, but I was kind of bored. I tried reading, but I was too exhausted to read so I slept—or tried to at least. I would wake up then kind of wiggle around to get comfortable then I would go back to sleep. 



It turns out the plane landed early. I was relieved because sitting for hours kind of hurts. We got off the plane and zoomed by O'Hare as we picked up our bags and then ran to our ride.

The ride was pretty uneventful.  I called my mom to tell her I made it and I was heading to the hotel. We got to the hotel and it was amazing, but the problem was my room wasn't ready. Noor, Javaria and Deven went to their rooms while I found a bench outside the elevators and immediately caught some much needed shut eye. When it was ready I had about twenty minutes to get settled, dressed and to meet my cohort on the ground floor.

When we met up we took the bus to the Art Institute, but before that we had tacos (which were great by the way).

When we got to the museum we only had an hour so I was in overdrive. I mapped out where the paintings I had to see were and walked to each one. When I got to the paintings I took my time. I looked at the paintings thinking of what the artist tried to convey, why they chose the medium that they used, what did certain symbols mean? I looked at American Gothic, Night Hawks, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, The Old Guitarist. I also saw many more paintings by Salvador Dali, Georgia O'Keefe and Pablo Picasso. Each painting I saw was beautiful and struck me emotionally—especially The Old Guitarist. It shows an old, malnourished and impoverished man strumming a guitar. It was powerful as it depicted poverty, aging and depression. I was also stunned by A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte because it was a huge, detailed and colorful painting done entirely by dots or points on the canvas. It was nothing short of masterful how George Seurat managed to accomplish this. I also saw paintings from my favorite artists like Georgia O'Keeffe who painted normal everyday things we walk by everyday, but she painted them in a way that forces us to look at them in a different way and challenges us to think of everyday things like leaves or flowers in a different way.

I saw Salvador Dali's' many works. I love his outlandish paintings that create a potent atmosphere. The final painting that I saw was American Gothic. It showed, from my perspective, old working class people clinging to their old and traditional ways as they stare off in to the distance with a tired gazed. I absolutely loved the art institute and I was depressed that I had to leave so soon, but I know if I even find myself in Chicago I am spending all day in the Art Institute.

After the museum we walked through Millennium Park on our way to Navy Pier. It was beautiful. There was this weird fountain that had people’s faces on it and when water came out it looked like they were spitting. The actual thing is less gross than my description. We then saw the Cloud Gate (or the Bean as we lovingly called it). It was stunning as it reflected the skyscrapers around it, but what made it beautiful was that an orchestra was playing in front of it. The pretty sculpture with the beautiful music was breathtaking. We then walked to the pier.

Downtown was amazing. The buildings were pretty, the Chicago River was a gorgeous blue. The Navy Pier itself was nice. It was a nice walk with amazing views of the city. I also had a churro which was fantastic because I haven't eaten a churro for a long time. The pier was fun , but we were so tired we were going straight to the hotel, but decided that we should eat first. The place that we were going to eat deep dish pizza at had a 45 minute wait so we ate dinner at the hotel. It was decent, but I wasn't focused on my food—I wanted to go to my room and write my blog. So here I am doing just that. 

Today was action packed and nothing short of perfect. I had a lot of fun and I am loving Chicago. I am very excited for tomorrow because I will be visiting Northwestern University. I can't wait to learn as much as I can about this amazing university and to see more of Chicago. It is slowly dawning on me that I will be going to Cornell and I am excited. Well not exactly excited, but that is the best word because I can't think of a word that is stringer. I am more than excited and am ready to learn as much as I can. Watch out Cornell!