We Found The Best Selfie Lighting

The sky was still dark when I arrived at El Cerrito HS early this morning. Cecilia was already there and Don greeted me, asked for my ID and med card, and weighed my luggage. When everyone else arrived we took some group photos.

Following the group photos and luggage being weighed, our cohort wandered over to the bags to discuss school, SAT and AP tests, and our trip. We were waiting for our already late shuttle when Raqeeb screamed, as running down the street were a mother and her fawn which made for an eventful beginning. Soon after this Raqeeb realized that he left his contacts at home and legitimately ran home to get his contacts and come back. By the time he made it back our shuttle had still not magically appeared and it was nearing 6 AM. 

A black SUV showed up to take us to the airport after the issues with our shuttle and we were luckily able to fit ourselves and our luggage in the car, even though Raqeeb ended up squeezing into the 3rd row. We checked our bags proceeded to security and managed to awkwardly hold up the line. It was really a group effort as we kept needing more trays and tried figuring out where things should go. It would probably have been faster if we all fumbled on our own and didn’t try to share bins, but hey we got through security to meet Ms. Sciacca who was waiting patiently on the other side. 

The plane ride was uneventful, but there were a few cute babies who waved. Of course the clouds out the window were beautiful.

After we landed we waited for Raqeeb’s trombone to arrive,  we stepped outside to be greeted by hot, dense, muggy air. My immediate thought was ‘It feels like the rainforest section of the California Academy of Sciences,’ but soon it just felt hot and not quite so humid. We had a quiet car ride to the hotel and most of the time I spent looking outside at the perfect clouds. They actually looked how clouds look when artist paint them instead of thin sad looking shapes we have at home.

We we stepped onto the curb outside of the hotel I was shocked. Omni hotel is not just a nice hotel, it’s pretty fancy, and I wasn’t really expecting that. The lobby is large and grand, and the room Cecilia, Jahnvi, and I are staying in and presumably all other rooms have a big bedroom and sitting area, along with a bathroom with a border lit mirror and great selfie lighting.

Raqeeb caught us mid selfie

Our room

On the wheel!

Once we got over our shock about how nice the rooms, the view, and the hotel in general was, we settled in, which of course means throwing our stuff all over the floor and trying to find the right outfits to wear to Navy Pier. I’ve never really thought of myself as someone who takes too long to pick out an outfit, but today we all ended up being that person.

Navy Pier was nice to walk down, but there isn’t a whole lot to do there. The climbing wall that Jahnvi was excited for ended up being small, but the Centennial Wheel was worth it. From it we were able to see a beautiful view of the city and could get great views the rest of the pier. As the wheel neared the end of our first time around, we were all hoping we wouldn’t have to get off. Without missing a beat we were moved into our second and third time around, giving us more time to see the sights.

We then went to 360 Chicago where we saw 360 views of Chicago(hence the name.)  It was a really nice experience to see the city from so high up, and we saw a bunch of rooftop pools and gardens. Each side was labelled with the cardinal directions, which was pretty helpful as I thought East was North for the entire day. My favorite side was the West; the sun was going down so it had a golden glow which made it hard to take pictures, but it was beautiful. We also did the Tilt where they lean you out over the side of the building, which sounds scarier than it actually ended up being, and way more of an arm workout than you expect. 

I’m enjoying my time in Chicago so far and I can’t wait for my class to start.