Vancago or Vandycago?

Things hadn't been too great that day, but at least I had the dinner to look forward to...or free food in other words. My dad dropped off my mom and I to the BART Station because he had a hunch we might just get lost, which we probably would have in all honesty. 

Once we were there, I first met Cameron and started talking to her. As others started pouring in, we all introduced ourselves and then Don began his instructions. I finally got to meet our chaperone, Tori Schiacca, who I honestly almost mistook as a student. She is the most energetic person I have seen, and I can't wait to talk to her more later. Among that though, I found out that Cameron was taking Adaptive Engineering at Vandy! We immediately started talking, and of course she was the coolest because guess what class she's taking?! 

On the BART, Cecilia, Raqeeb, Cameron and I couldn't find seats so we just stood and talked along the way, bonding over your typical teenage things like prom and AP Exams. Once we got there, we had to wait a little outside the dining hall. I talked to Ryan, Alice, and Evan and we spoke about both schools and the experiences there. Ryan let me know that I would most definitely have the best time at Chicago because I'd be given all the freedom that I've been yearning for. Then, I told Evan about my experiences at Vandy, being careful not to ruin any surprises, but also telling him enough so he could be prepared. It was actually a little harder than I thought. 

Salad they served

When we finally got to sit, I found myself at a table with Cecilia, our moms, Don, Alice, and UChicago alumni Eduardo Moreno. Until Eduardo arrived, Cecilia and I just went around table to table meeting the alumna there. I was very happy to see that Eppa Rixey and Lucas Scholl still remembered me from last year. But I was even happier to see that Eppa was married to Maddie now! Their stories last year of dates in the library were honestly so cute, so congrats to both of them! 

The food arrived while speeches were made, and then we all started talking to each other at the tables. Eduardo's major was philosophy at UChicago and he is currently working as a software developer, which I thought was so admirable. It's not easy to many to be able to take up a job in a field that is vastly different than what their major was. He asked us what we did, and I think I might have given a whole shpeal about robotics, because then I found ourselves talking about coding languages briefly. 

From left to right: Alice, Eduardo, me

Alice and Eduardo talked a little about the things found nearby the UChicago campus. All throughout, I could clearly sense how ecstatic Alice was that she was going there for college, which made me feel VERY happy for her. That in turn made me feel even more excited for the trip. Alongside, Eduardo told us funny stories from his college time. Apparently his dad started freaking out while visiting a class, thinking he was hallucinating. All the other students had learned to ignore the rattling in the walls from radiators after many days of hearing it. Eduardo's poor dad, meanwhile, didn't know this and thought he was the only one who could hear these sounds. 

Pointing to Chicago

After some great conversations, it was time for pictures. We walked out and the cold air hit me. It was so cold to the point that I tried to huddle among people to share warmth. I was finally able to talk to Christopher Dewing and the entire Chicago group talked and joked about how he got his accent and the cold weather. I thought his laugh was one of the best ones I've heard yet; it was one of those extremely contagious ones. After a long photo-shoot with the Chicago cohort, it was time to head back home. My high heels were killing my feet, but it was worth it. The entire dinner was more than worth it, in fact. I was able to meet so many passionate, talented people who took out time in their busy schedules for this dinner, and I couldn't be more thankful. 

The entire Chicago squad