I’d first like to congratulate you for entering this blog. Not many people would have read the title and be attracted to it. I mean, who likes studying in summer, right?
I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I expected.
I attended John’s Hopkins Center for Talented Youth Summer Programs at the Seattle University campus. Because it indeed is a mouthful, students and professors alike have shorted it down to CTY. And before I describe the logistics, allow me to appeal to you.
Students from around the world gather on different university campuses for three weeks to study subjects they’re passionate or curious about. Professors are super intelligent and fun, activities offered are also extremely fun, and room and floor mates are kind and FUN! Yep, take note of the number of times positive words like “fun” and “enjoy” appear in a blog about learning during summer.
I wanted to explore subjects outside of my usual sciences and maths. I took up philosophy, and it is now my favourite subject within the humanities. Philosophy can really be useful; I surprise and sometimes stump all of my teachers when I allude to philosophical analogies.
Just because it’s an academic course, this does not mean you study for the entire duration of three weeks. There are planned events every weekend and activities through out each week. At Seattle University, there were events like Casino Night and Talent Show. Also, every Friday, a themed dance was held. Yes, the dances included slow dances for all you romance seekers.
At the end of each dance, an anthem-like American tradition, American Pie, was played and apparently, there’s a dance that goes with the song. Don’t worry, though. There are a lot of international students, so it would be outrageous to demand that every single student would know about this.
Dorm life was super fun. There was not a single instance that we were bored. My roommate and I went anywhere between “let’s-all-stick-to-the-window-in-awkward-positions-because-there-is-free-wifi-in-the-hotel-in-front-of-our-building” to “let’s-sing-our-hearts-out-and-everyone-else-on-the-floor-will-join-in.” Yep, I definitely had a lot of fun with my roommate.
Food was yummy. I got enough sleep every night. I also got a chance to socialize with people from other floors. Every night, there was designated “social time” where people from different floors were able to mingle. A lot of girls went to see the “hot” guy from the fourth floor, or to see their boyfriends. There were also people who came out just to be friendly with others. And we can never forget about the “fangirling group” or the “antisocial group.” I was associated with the two latter groups. I found many Kpop fans at CTY and we got along extremely well, for obvious reasons. My “antisocial” group mostly hung out together singing Disney songs, playing games, or just talking about Internet related things. We weren’t actually antisocial, but it’s generally agreed that spending a lot of time on the Internet makes you “antisocial.” Psh.
One blog post is not enough to describe the amazingness that I experienced at CTY. It was definitely a worthwhile experience for me. I really would recommend the program to anyone.