“47, chirp, chirp” - Jennifer K

The last summer I had to myself was the one right after I graduated from eighth grade.

This might seem strange, because we all go on summer break, so I must have had one, yet I didn’t. While I was away from school, I wasn’t at the same time. Each summer following the one after my freshman year, I had the honor to be apart of this experience that would shape the rest of my future. I was one of the three people at my school to be accepted into a program at Pomona College. Seeing the little amount of acceptances from my school, I was indeed afraid of what was to come. I was going to be devoting four weeks of my summer vacation to a school I had never been to, people I had never met, and things I had never experienced. I wouldn’t see my family for six days out the week, and I had never been away from them for that long. The point of the program was to give us insight on what it would be like to be a college student, which didn’t sound too fun, but my parents forced me to do it anyways.

            I remember distinctly walking into the lounge area of the dorm . It was filled with people in red shirts running all around, families with so many bags as if their child was going to be living there forever, and a line full of desks. While I stared in awe, not knowing how to react, I was swiftly shoved to a table next to me that had a sign that read “Registration”. I was handed a name tag, a room key, and a red shirt similar to the ones I had seen previously. Each table I went to I was met with a huge smile, bright eyes, and upbeat voice. Just when I thought things were done, a sudden flash blinded my view. Someone had just taken a photo of me and before I could even say anything, the next person anxiously waited for me to move so they could get their photo taken. As I stepped away with my parents, I finally felt as though I could catch my breath. This was short-lived, as I was met with a T.A. who was eager to show me to my room. I was relieved in a sense because I knew that in my room, there wouldn’t be any chaos. As I got there, I set my belongings down, shut my door, and just laid on my bed. I stared at the ceiling, asking myself if I should really follow through with this program.

            Later that day, I had to say farewell to my parents, which was new for me, and then I met with my T.A. group. All I can say is, it was the most awkward experience being surrounded by teenagers who didn’t do anything, except stare. I scanned the group, looking for a familiar face, until I found one. Her name was Ezinne, and at that point in my life, I had only known her from school, but latched onto her as if we had been bestfriends for years. Our group played several icebreakers, until we got tired of trying to get to know everyone.  Our T.A.s led us back to the lounge, where we were greeted with pizza; lots of it. That day, our T.A. group fell into a food coma, and the night ended with watching Big Hero 6 in a theater at the school. I walked to my room, closed my door, and laid down in bed.

            Fast forward to this past summer,  I experienced everything once again, yet this time it all felt so different. Already having two years experience in the program, I was eager for summer to begin because I knew I would be heading to Pomona college. I entered the lounge, to find an empty room. This was because I was going to be helping with registration this year. The color for this summer was grey, so I put on a grey shirt and got to work, placing tables in their correct areas. As soon as registration began, I was running around trying to help as many people as possible. I greeted families who looked like they were all going to move in.  I lightly shoved new students to the table that read “Registration”, greeted everyone with a big smile, bright eyes, and upbeat voice. I stood behind the camera and yelled “CHEESE!” before blinding students with the flash. I ran down the halls in excitement, as I showed new students to their dorm. I made sure they got situated and chuckled when they would say a quick thank you and abruptly close their doors. After saying farewell to my parents, I met with my final T.A. group of this year. I scanned the group once again and my heart grew big as I was greeted with so many familiar faces. The faces of people I had grown to love in just three short summers. As soon icebreakers started, it was hard to stop. We played all the way until we made it back the lounge, greeted with the wonderful scent of pizza. Once again, my group fell into another food coma and ended the day watching Hidden Figures at the theater. Afterwards, I walked to my room with my roommates, Ezinne and Cori. We caught up with each other about everything that happened the previous school year. As I grew sleepy, I went into my room, closed my door, unpacked my belongings, and laid down on my bed. I stared at the ceiling, asking myself why these past three summers went by so quickly.

Looking back, the most I had ever cried was on July 14th. To some, that holds no particular meaning, however that day changed my life forever. I remember it being a day filled with tears; many tears. Those tears spoke of sadness, happiness, and thank you’s all put into one.The day I dreaded so much, came in a sudden motion, and I couldn’t do anything except let the tears flow, just as my peers did. This day I forever hold dear to my heart, is the day I ended my summer program at Pomona College. I learned so many things about myself during my time at Pomona College. That others had similar struggles as I did, and that there is good in this world. I gained confidence in myself and learned that I am a boss and should be treated as such. I realized that college isn’t a such scary thing after all, since I’ll have a whole program supporting me throughout the whole process. Also, I realized that I am so ready to graduate and go to college.That day I closed the door on my time at Pomona, but know that I simultaneously unlocked something even better.