Tomorrow marks the beginning of a new week and also the beginning of a new experience. I will be boarding a plane to Tweed Bradley International Airport to take a course in memory retention at the University of Connecticut. Friday I bid adieu the robotics summer camp where I had been working the past six weeks in hopes of gaining a financial foothold for the year to come. Though I knew the date of this goodbye and was acutely aware of its increasing proximity as the time ticked away, I still found myself under swept by an immense conglomeration of emotions in the last few hours of the work day. The number of campers had steadily dwindled since the 4th of July, as families left town and scholars who’d split their summer between our camp and other interests switched over to pursue different endeavors. This meant I had grown quite accustomed to saying “so long”, in some cases to individuals who I perhaps would never see again. However, my own goodbye demanded an emotional fortitude beyond what I was able to give, as it was to everyone I had come to know in my time as a counselor rather than to just a single person. I found myself wanting to shed tears but was reminded of a quote from the infinitely wise Dr. Seuss: “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”
If I were to make a highlights reel of past 6 weeks, there would be no shortage of scenes to include, from hearing kids as young as eight years old confess to me their desires to build creations that would change the world to learning how to construct a functional robot myself to bonding with other counselors and students who each touched my heart in ways I had not anticipated. “Adieu” translates directly to “farewell”. This has a bit of a permanent ring to it that does not accurately align with the circumstances by which I depart. “See you” feels more precise, as when you connect with someone, you are tethered by more than just your shared experience. Your interests are now linked as well, as you care for one another. Distance, though in some cases urging feelings of fondness to nothing, is powerless when you care about someone to the extent that you are willing to make the efforts necessary to keep in touch with them. I can only hope that my time at UConn creates relationships that I value as highly as the ones I made at the Summer of Innovation and Invention, and I eagerly anticipate diving into the enigma that is the human mind, as its many secrets have always captivated me.
If I were to make a highlights reel of past 6 weeks, there would be no shortage of scenes to include, from hearing kids as young as eight years old confess to me their desires to build creations that would change the world to learning how to construct a functional robot myself to bonding with other counselors and students who each touched my heart in ways I had not anticipated. “Adieu” translates directly to “farewell”. This has a bit of a permanent ring to it that does not accurately align with the circumstances by which I depart. “See you” feels more precise, as when you connect with someone, you are tethered by more than just your shared experience. Your interests are now linked as well, as you care for one another. Distance, though in some cases urging feelings of fondness to nothing, is powerless when you care about someone to the extent that you are willing to make the efforts necessary to keep in touch with them. I can only hope that my time at UConn creates relationships that I value as highly as the ones I made at the Summer of Innovation and Invention, and I eagerly anticipate diving into the enigma that is the human mind, as its many secrets have always captivated me.
And in other news, I today was informed of my host family’s identity in Rennes, France. They are the Davids. I have a sister. She is one month my senior and is also a junior in high school. She too has signed up for an immersion experience and is currently in England. Living elsewhere, I have two older siblings, a brother and sister, who have each begun families of their own, and I now have an additional mother and father as well. When I saw the email from them in my inbox introducing themselves to me, I released a shriek of excitement. I for eight months will say “so long” to my blood family, but in the meantime I say hello to another. Loosening your grip on what you know to incorporate something new in your life can feel daunting. However, when I have been challenged to do so in the past, it always felt like the right choice. I ended up a better person because of it. I look forward to our correspondences in the month to come and hope that I can bring something to the family that in some way repays the kindness they have shown me in opening their home.
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