Fellows Weekend

Congratulations to Parkview's Science Bowl team for taking 1st at state!

~*~

I usually feel pretty nervous when I go up to UGA because it always forces me to step outside of my comfort zone. In a year, I probably average going up to Athens about 4 times for drum major camps, band festival, Janfest, and, this year, the interview weekend. (So, this is probably part of the reason why I am a Georgia fan as opposed to a Tech fan.) At drum major camp, we get to do a bunch of crazy activities like create a drill, meet so many people, and be loud. And there's also that annual drum major competition (which, ahem, I am proud to say Emilee and I made finals for it and I never made finals before this past summer, so woot woot!) Despite the excitement of meeting new people and talking to these amazing instructors, I am still nervous on the inside about finding a place in the camp. Anyways, it works out in the end, and you find people you can connect with and form friendships with the instructors.

This past weekend, UGA did not fail to challenge me once again to step up to the plate. For the interview competition, we had to participate in a discussion, write a paper, and undergo an interview all facilitated by some of the best (at times, most intimidating!--but they were really nice.) professors on campus. But-- Fellows Weekend was... awesome! It was an extremely humbling and inspiring experience.

It is really easy to get caught up in yourself and what you do (ah, the only child in me has escaped!). We all have a strong sense of pride: we are proud of our Science Olympiad teams (hee hee), our GPAs (sometimes.), and our accomplishments. It's human nature. Sometimes we get too caught up in feeling like we are good... I know, this sounds horrible, but I am not surprised if many of us agree. We adopt the idea of, "Hey she can do it. Why can't I?"... which isn't a very bad attitude, but you know what I mean. We may even think that we have everything in our lives figured out. Going to the Fellows Weekend, I was definitely amazed by all of the individual success of the applicants. People were the top (and I mean like 1st or 2nd) of their class, presidents and captains of 3 things, and varsity players or all-state musicians. And I realized that I was not unique at all in some of the things I did (my roomate turned out to be a drum major, Science Olympiad students, Scibowl captain, and all state musician). On top of which, there were soooo many people who have done way more than I ever did in high school. And yet, nobody was flaunting it around. I mean, you could tell people were proud of what they did, but nobody was rubbing it in your face. Especially not the current fellows. Everyone was just really laid-back and chill, like they just happened to have interned in President Obama's office back when he was a senator. But we all had something in common: people at that interview weekend all had a love for the things they did in life. And being surrounded by that enthusiasm and love was phenomenal.

What I mean to say from all of this is... that 1. we may think we are amazing but truly many people out there are just as good or better 2. a love for what you do and what you care about will get you far in life. There were times when I looked at the people around me and wondered what in the world a number 11 in the class with a high but not 2400 SAT score girl like me was doing there. But then, I realized that we were all chosen for a reason. I am not any less than the academic team captains or scientific researchers because I am passionate about the things that have happened in my life and I have the optimism to keep on going with that. It isn't our accomplishments that define us; it is our enthusiasm.

So after all of this rambling.. =P I've come to the conclusion that Fellows Weekend was truly inspiring and was an honor. I also realized that we do not have to go to the Ivy Leagues or Vanderbilts becomes sometimes the best decision may be right at home. I am not saying that I have decided where I am going next year (not even close). But, I am keeping my mind open to the options. But, whether I get the Fellowship or the Ramsey, I think UGA will be an amazing option.