Week 16 - Yeah, and they were all yellow

Monday:
Today we had our first of our final exams. I had my math and Spanish exams, both of which went very well. It was our last Monday, which means my last dish duty of the semester. Aaron, Nitika, and I rocked it out of course. I'm going to miss doing dishes actually, but this doesn't mean that I will start doing them at home or something. Don't get your hopes up. I must continue studying. I have my US history final tomorrow.

Tuesday:
Today I had my last final of junior year! Woohoo! I studied all morning for my US history final and then I took the test in the afternoon. It went really well. After exams we had a group meeting to talk about some issues that we are having in the community.  Don't worry all will be resolved before we go home on Saturday. We also did some group bonding because we aren't yet a family.  We are close, but not quite there.  My goal for the group is to be a family; I've always had that goal.  I want us to get there. Tonight will be dedicated to working on my social venture project. They are due tomorrow and we will present them in front of a panel of social entrepreneurs. I'm excited. I love my project!

Wednesday:
Today we presented our social venture projects to a panel of social entrepreneurs.  Unfortunately, three cancelled on us last minute, so we had to pull some strings.  Fortunately, Dan Morrison of Citizen Effect and one of Noah's friends, was able to meet with us for an hour. He critiqued my ideas and was really  helpful. I'm really glad that he was able to speak with us. We need all the feedback that we can get. Also Steve Boyd (?) made it later in the day and was able to speak with us for a little bit. I'm glad that he ended up being able to make it. I'm excited to move forward with my project and apply for the grant. In the afternoon, we chilled at the academic and worked on our credos. Those are due tomorrow. The ethical credos are our final capstone project.  It is a paper about what we believe and how we will live our lives and about the ethical issues that we are currently pondering. I'm excited for that as well. I love the capstone projects here. They are innovative and amazing. After working on our projects, we did a heavy clean up of the academic building. We even cut the grass out front... with scissors. We rock at life. P.S. We are definitely acting like more of a family now. I'm really proud of us.

Thursday:
Today was actually the most amazing day ever. I was so happy. I am solidifying friendships and trying to fix any outstanding disagreements.  I want to leave DC with no regrets and no animosity.  I'm trying my best to fix everything or at least ameliorate it a little bit.  Writing my credo really helped me to think about all of this.  Our credos were due this morning.  We also had to present them as well. It was really great and everyone's credo was amazing. Every person here is brilliant. I am so sad that the semester has come to a close.  We have come so far and everyone has changed so much. I love everyone here. After presenting our credos and officially ending junior year, we headed to the tidal basin to go paddle boating. Isabel, Audrey and I were in a boat together and we had a very nice chat. It's great talking to people that you don't normally talk to. After boating for an hour, we walked to a shady spot and chilled for the rest of the day. We sat by the water, talked, played ultimate, and had dinner. It was an amazing day. I am going to miss this so much. Later in the evening, we were forced to pack. I don't want to pack. I don't want to leave. I'm horrible at good byes.

Friday:
Today was an amazing day. We spent the morning packing up and getting ready for our departure on Saturday. After everyone was packed and the house was clean, we headed to the academic for the final ceremony and other festivities. We arrived and were introduced to the activities of the evening which including filling out the ethical questionnaire that we filled out on the first day and writing in each other's bus books, like year books minus the pictures. We had dinner and then chatted with everyone for a bit. Henry came around and complimented everyone, just like he promised. My compliment was: Even though you are OCD, you are one of the most caring people that I have ever met. Aww Hen-Hen. After dinner we circled up and got ready for our final activities. Gray read us our college predictions and life stories. I'm going to WashU and owning a dairy farm in Wisconsin. We played the train wreck game like on the very first day.  After all these fun activities, we turned the lights off and lit a candle for our final circle. We did the quaker thing that we did earlier in the semester - so everyone said their final good bye or thank you to the group when they felt moved to do so. It was really emotional. I love my DC family so much. After an emotional 2 hours, we watched Caity's slide show of the year. That was emotional as well. This was honestly the best semester of my life. We came back to the dorm late that evening and we hung out in the common room for a bit, just spending these final hours together. The first floor girls were finally allowed to have a sleep over with the third floor girls, so we stayed up all night chatting and laughing. I miss it already.

Saturday:
The very last day. We all woke up early to finish packing and saying good bye. Graduation started at 11 at the academic. Everyone's family and friends were there and it was so cute. The teachers said some final remarks as did all of us. After the ceremony, we all walked around and met peoples parents, took lots of pictures and enjoyed the final moments together. This was truly the most amazing semester of my life. I have a new family and 16 best friends. I learned  more than I ever could in any other setting. I grew as a person and am now ready to change the world. We all are. We are going to. It's going to be amazing, just like these past four months.

P.S. I might keep updating this periodically with stuff about my social venture and other SEGL related things. I'll be back. Don't you worry.