This Week Should Get a Speeding Ticket

My first week here at Cornell Summer College went by in the blink of an eye.

 I learned so much about International Human Rights Law. Before, I knew what my morals and obligations to the world around me were. I was opinionated (still am) but couldn’t exactly explain my thoughts to others in an articulate manner. Now, I have the evidence and legal knowledge to back up points that  I have been making for years. 

Maybe I’m jumping ahead, but I feel as though I might have figured out that this is the work that I want to do the rest of my life.  

Then again, my career's progress isn’t the only part of the future that I look forward to. What’s most important to me is being able to establish connections with people that might not share my experiences. I gravitate towards protecting my feelings and wanting to make sure these people are approachable and open to trying out new things, even if that means playing Pictionary and Twister on an incredibly hot day in my dorm room for an hour. Just to be clear, that’s exactly what J’nai, Sultana, Wendy, Robson, and I did this afternoon. 

I learned then how much of a blessing it was for me to be even staying in this room. Apparently, my dorm is a lot larger than what’s considered normal. I also have two closets instead of one, a personal sink, and a ceiling light (that’s a luxury, I've heard). The students residing in Mary Donlon Hall don’t have access to any of these resources, which makes me feel a little bit better about not being in a dormitory such as theirs that’s social and fun. 

Laundry for me isn't social nor fun. I spent a good portion of today walking back and forth to the basement library room. What that meant for me as someone living on the tallest floor (6^th) was that I had to trek up and down six flights of stairs at least 4 times. The room itself was boiling hot and humid, no wonder they had a vending machine in there to try and sell you expensive water as you suffered. The water turned out to be the least of my worries. I had problems with the dryers and had to switch my clothes several times before I found one that worked well for me. What was most annoying about it wasn't the process itself, but more so the fact that people hadn’t cleaned out their lint traps, so I had to do it for them more than once. I guess that demonstrates another improvement that I’ve made during this seven-day period. That is, being more responsible and independent,

Begging Mama to complete tasks for me isn’t an option. I need to and have had to learn how to do things myself. I believe this has prepared me for my future away from home more than anything else.

Views to picture while walking to class

 Robson and I stumbled upon a concert near the Clock Tower. It wasn’t a typical concert as in there weren't any teenagers pushing one another to get closer to the band. Instead, there were community members, elders and youngsters dancing and reacting positively to the lead vocalist singing encouraging phrases. The phrase that stuck with me was “You are a stone-cold miracle.” I’m pretty sure that was the name of the band as well. I'm still not 100% sure what they meant by that, but the encouragement and positivity the message offered were incredibly enlivening. 

Twister

As this week is coming to an end, I’m beginning to realize all of the changes it has brought about in me and not just the major ones. I can appreciate the details.

For instance, a few hours ago I saw fireflies at night for the first time in my life. That might not seem like a huge accomplishment, but it will most likely stay with me for the rest of my life.