Getting into the Vandy lifestyle

Although it is only my second day here at the Vanderbilt Summer Academy, I am already starting to get the hang of the daily routines. My roommate and I usually wake up around the same time, but we manage to stay out of the other's way as we get ready for the day. For example, she'll be in the shower while I'll be in our dorm room doing my make up, or vice versa.

About an hour after I have finished getting ready, I will open my door to find a small group of girls standing around in a circle, chattering excitedly about everything. They greet me with cheerful hellos and friendly smiles and we all go down to the dining area for breakfast together. We sit together and chat as we eat, hang out a little after, and then go to our classes at ten to nine. 

I absolutely adore my class. My teacher, Dr. Jan, is a very fun and amiable person, and she knows a lot about the Mystery genre. We started off the class today by writing "morning papers", which is basically like writing in a diary or journal for twenty minutes. By doing this, we are relieving our minds of any distractions or burdens that impede our creativity and writing. I was skeptical about it at first, but after I got the things that were floating in my mind on paper, I suddenly felt lighter.

After writing our "morning papers" we traveled to the commons to read  The Adventure of The Speckled Band and The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, two Sherlock Holmes stories. I really enjoyed reading both stories; I was on the edge of my seat the entire time my eyes scanned the pages. The silent reading time seemed childish at first, but it really helped to relax me. I was able to concentrate in class with a clear head for the rest of the evening.

We ended our class with study hall, which basically consisted of us working on our own short mystery story. Every time I would write something, I would stop and reassess it and then write it again. I kept erasing things because everything I wrote seemed like utter rubbish to me. Hopefully, I can come up with a decent idea in the next few days. 

The best part of the day, however, was when Mr. Mannix and Ms. Kronenberg joined Hannah, Yessenia, Chris and I for dinner. It was the first time we had dinner together as a cohort in a while, and it was nice to see Mr. Mannix again. I also enjoyed the chance to sit down and talk with Ms. Kronenberg because we never had the chance to speak with just her. We talked about our classes and experience so far at Vanderbilt and ended the evening with a quick photo before saying goodbye and parting.

My healthy breakfast on Day 1 of VSA 

Lunch Time!

The lovely girls on my floor.

Reunited, and it feels so good.