Sunday, June 21, 2015

Sunday is Always Fun Day!

Sundays at Cornell are filled with relaxation and fun activities. The the organizers of the summer program try their best to make the summer college a great experience for the students. This morning I woke up a little later than usual which was at 8:30 AM. I got ready and went downstairs with Helen, to get breakfast. On our way, we saw Stephen and joined groups. Together, while making our way to the dining commons, we talked how all of us were getting more comfortable with the Cornell surrounding.

During breakfast, I got an email from one of my professor, Reneta McCarthy, stating what was the reading assignment that had to be finished with by Monday. Mrs.McCarthy assigned us to read two sections of the handbook. Knowing that I had a lot of work ahead of me for the day, I quickly went back to my dorm to start the work. I was determined. I sat on my bed, got my post-its and pens, and began to read through the assignment. Reading the material was quiet interesting. For the most part of what I read was about creating a brand with a hotel and resort company. It went in depth how to be a successful brand hotel and resort, they are not to be a commodity but a luxury. This is something that Isadore Sharp's book called The Four Season: A Business Philosophy went over. This philosophy that brand hotels are suppose to be more than a one night visit, but an experience that all guests should feel.

After reading for sometime, I got an email regarding the scavenger hunt that the program is holding for the students, We were originally told that the hunt was going to be at 1:00 PM, but it was actually scheduled for 12:00 PM. Since for most of the afternoon I was reading, I didn't get to have lunch. I was originally planning to get lunch at 12:00 PM. Instead of getting lunch, I had to go to the scavenger hunt. Overall I wasn't too hungry. I knew that I could definitely survive until after the hunt. When the girls on my floor and I all met, I found out I wasn't the only one who didn't get lunch! I was relieved because I wasn't alone. Some of the girls and I bonded over the fact we didn't have lunch! While we were walking to our destination, I started to talk to some of the girls on my floor. I got to know Elizabeth(a.k.a Betsy), Naaz, Maddie, and so many other amazing girls. I got to know where they came from and what they were interested. Most importantly I learned about their schools. For example, for one of my new friends, I found out that her school is trying to take out the AP testing/class system. This was so interesting because my school encourages students to take as many AP classes they can handle. It was such a shocking thing to hear. She told me that her school recently discontinued their AP classes that dealt with English. This was definitely something different from the school in my school district.

When we got to our destination, which was the Engineering Quad, there were already a few groups that had already started an activity. During the scavenger hunt I realized that the scavenger hunt wasn't much of a scavenger hunt. It was more of  a learning experience to get used to the routes to get around the college. Although we really only went to the engineering quad, it was useful to see a different route to get there. At the quad, we joined in the activity. From the activity I met a new set of people. It was amazing because some of them were from different sections of the dorm building. I loved how easy it was to make friends from just one activity.

After that location, we headed back to our dorms. Near the dorms there is a quad and we started to do another activity, which unfortunately be our last activity. In this activity we had a square grid with 30 boxes place in a 6 by 5 arrangement. The objective of the game was to find the correct passage way from the start side to the end. As each person went the proctor told us how many that person got wrong from going once. From there we had to figure out the correct passage. It was so interesting, brain teasing, and fun as well!  After the activity, which was around 2:00 PM, we got to go back to the dining halls to each lunch! After the hunt, I was pretty hungry and ready to make up for the lunch I missed!
"Oooo, it looks a bit gloomy..."
The group after figuring out the puzzle! Aren't we so productive!

After lunch, I still had to read for my class and to be prepared for tomorrow. I went back to my dorm and had the intention to read, but Julie, Helen, and Thao stopped by. They wanted to do laundry and I needed to go with them to do laundry, desperately. At that point my priorities were to finish laundry really quickly and go back to the read, but at the end we all decided to go tomorrow. While we were discussing everything I realized the importance of having a schedule, prioritizing, and timing. College life includes a constant nonstop series of responsibilities. Scheduling is important. Prioritizing responsibilities is everything. Timing is everything.

After lunch I went back to my room to blog. After sometime blogging I was time for the Activity Fair. At the Activity Fair, RCA's stood by colorful tri-fold posters advertising their club. As I went through clubs, I saw a tremendous amount club. Clubs that included soccer, basketball, yearbook, and much more. Some of the ones I signed up for was dance club, running club, and I even joined the League of Legends club. Although I signed up to get the club information, I knew that I couldn't pursue all of them. It was just a matter of being more dedicated to my class. When I signed up, I told the RCA's about the rigorous schedule I have and they understood. They said I could just try it out and get the information. If I couldn't make it they would understand. But I definitely will try to balance my schedule and try to make it to some of the meeting. This brings me back to the importance of timing and priorities. My priorities is my class and I will not sacrifice it for anything.

My Handbook
Later Julie and I went to dinner. We wanted to quickly eat dinner to get back to our blogging and reading. I had brought my Hotel Management handbook so I could read as much as I could but then again, there were so many people to talk to and make connections with! Later I went to the dorm room the read some more.

Today was an interesting day. I hope for the next three weeks it will be filled with fun activities and more! As for now I will get my sleep so I can be focus tomorrow for my class. 

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