As I was on my way to the blogging
tutorial at Hercules High School, I couldn’t help admiring how green the campus
was; its leafy trees and smooth-looking grass were eye-catching. I then saw Don
there, who was unloading the last of his things he brought for the tutorial.
After I introduced him to my mother, I entered the classroom, which was empty
since I was the first one there.
My mother and I had just chosen our
seats when my chaperone, Mr. Mannix, walked in. He was a tall guy with very
long hair. This surprised me a little because in that photo Don sent us, Mr.
Mannix had short hair. I was also a little jealous of his hair, since my hair doesn’t
grow very fast-or very long. Anyway, Mr. Mannix was a really interesting person
that had this very relaxed mellow vibe to him. I also really appreciated how
passionate he was about being a teacher; it’s really great seeing people do
what they love.
After our conversation with Mr. Mannix,
I sat down and got ready for the tutorial. Don talked to us about the most
important subject of the day: blogging. He showed us a lot, from formatting our
blogs, to tucking in our elbows to take a picture. He also stressed about the
importance of proofing our blogs, which is a MUST since people all over the world will be reading them. I found
this a little frightening, considering only few people (besides teachers) have
read what I’ve written, and believe me, I am not the best writer. However,
that’s why blogging like this is a good thing. One of the best ways to learn is
through trial and error, and I know blogging every day is bound to give major
improvements to my writing.
After the first session of the
tutorial, we got a break to mingle with our fellow ILCers. Unfortunately, I
tend to be a tad socially awkward so I was a little nervous about this mingling
business. To help with my awkwardness, Julia, a friend of mine, went along with
me to meet a group of girls near the water bottles. To my dismay, it didn’t
turn out so well, and we ended up only shaking hands with a girl named Emily.
Emily even had to initiate the handshake. However, my efforts for mingling
eventually went through. I got to meet a student from De Anza named Roger who
is going to Yale for the strenuous Grand Strategies course. He is a really nice
guy, and I talked to him throughout the tutorial.
The rest of the tutorial went on
smoothly with some hands-on blogging and other information including loaner
items-which is extremely helpful for me. Going to this tutorial made me realize
that I have a long way to go before I begin thinking about getting on that
plane for Nashville. Even though there are several things I must do before July
comes around, I am excited to begin this unbelievable adventure with my cohort.
Thank you ILC, for making this possible
for all of us.
