A Tutorial to Remember: Evil Don and ILC Expectations

Practicing with a camera! (featuring Ryan and Don)

Left the house this morning for an exciting drive in my grandmother's brand new car (it unlocks with the touch of a finger and starts with the push of a button, who knew!) and arrived just on time for my make-up Ivy League Connection tutorial. I had to miss the original one for the speech and debate National Individual Events Tournament of Champions (NIETOC) in Denver, Colorado. I am sorry to have missed out on meeting all of the people from other ILC cohorts, but am excited to get caught up on all the new material in preparation for my trip! Let's make it happen!

So far, the tutorial has featured cautionary tales of appearances of the infamous Evil Don -- along with advice on how to avoid meeting him -- as well as instructions on basic behavior, communication, and blogging skills. We even took some time to experiment with photography! This blog will be my first of many attempts to share my amazing experience with all of you.

Even though the school year is coming to an end and summer is fast approaching, my ILC trip still seems far away. This tutorial (as well as the Chicago cohort meet and greet dinner that we had several days ago) has helped make my summer trip seem like more of a fast approaching reality! I can't wait to see what my experience with ILC has in store!

Follow Instructions

Over and over we hear that instructions are important to follow.  The Ivy League Connection is no exception.  The ILC is actually a prime example of the importance of instructions.  Obviously, Don will love you so much more if all his instructions are followed.

Don will be as tranquil as this picture when you follow his instructions

The ILC is an opportunity that is unparalleled by all measures. Not only in the amount of exposure the participants get to elite schools but also in the effort it takes.  A select group of people are being given a scholarship and there are expectations that go along with this.

A nice little view to the left of me during the tutorial

Don is giving us a tutorial with all the instructions we will need.  This is essential to our success in the ILC.  For the next three months, there will be blogs, meetings, classes, trips, and pictures that all need to happen under specific criteria. So get ready and follow instructions.

Snapping Pictures

Lynda looking very confused with Bailey
on this lovely but cold morning.

We all went outside and had some fun taking pictures, some really cute and some a little less. Nevertheless, I think we're all officially photography experts. 

Can't wait to continue taking more pictures throughout the experience.

Bailey All Smiles

Diana is Wonderful

Diana is my best speech and debate partner and is always winning. aaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwww         alkfjljdlkfa;lkdshla; fkjlkji

She is the best of the best. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

hjiuiee and I love her so  much lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

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When Diana is Angry

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Drafting Lazy Blogs

At 6:30 AM on May 14, I was already up and running. All of the ILCers were required to meet up at 8 AM sharp at De Anza high school for our mandatory tutorial where we are learning to type up blogs, snap pictures, and go over our every important detail needed for this trip. Luckily enough we all made it on time.

I arrived 30 minutes before the expected time thanks to my paranoia. I had the opportunity  to meet a few other students that will also be attending the Women & Leadership program this summer at Brown University which made me feel more comfortable.

We have gone over how to keep Don happy and how to type blogs so far.

At the moment I feel drained out of energy and coffee is very much needed at this very moment, but I will manage to survive off of chips, cookies, and water.

The girls putting in effort on their blogs.

I Hate Smoothies

Hopefully this works...how great it feels to fail before something has even started. Whenever I type in a link on the computer, it looks to revert to it's natural state of "smoothie-da".

What a pain. Now I'm standing against a lovely light blue wall trying to write a blog post in the cold. Oh wait, I'm also holding everybody else up. Wonderful. : ^)

Also, I know the margins aren't set equal--the free mobile site doesn't allow for it.

Look! There's a picture (!!!)

Doesn't it catch your eye? If not, it should. Woop.

Sleep Deprivation on a Saturday Morning

White viola.
April 5th, 2016

Yesterday was the official end of AP testing season. After two weeks of studying and a total of at least 12 hours spent taking the official exams, I was utterly exhausted.

That didn't stop me from rewarding myself, though.

After school had ended at 3:45 PM, I went home and prepared to meet my friends for a much-needed sleepover. Needless to say, the talking eventually stopped at around 2:00 AM, and if we're being honest I wasn't really asleep for the next four and a half hours.

Miraculously, I woke up at exactly 6:29 AM, beating my alarm. I got ready as quickly and as quietly as I could, both stressed out about and looking forward to the rest of my day. My mother picked me up and I made it to the Ivy League Connection tutorial on time.

Time to get down to business.

Testing Out Blogging

On May 14, 2016, I had to attend the Ivy League Tutorial to learn how to blog, take pictures, and learn more about the trip.

I woke up very early, 6:00 AM to be exact. I wanted to make sure I wasn't late because I didn't want to miss out on this great opportunity. I rushed to get ready and left the house. Knowing I would arrive early because I left my house with a lot of time to arrive on time.

I arrived at DeAnza High School around 7:10 AM. I had a nice chat with Don,and heard many great stories. After about 20 minutes the janitor finally came and opened the gate. My father and I helped Don bring all the materials into the classroom and eventually more of the ILCers showed up. I immediately met one of the girls that is in my Brown Cohort.

Now I'm in the classroom, listening to the tutorial, writing my first blog ever. It took my about 30 minutes to be able to add extra sentences because the WIFI was horrible and it didn't want to load anything.

Bailey's first off guard with the Ivy League Program

Another Crack at the Guacamole

I still remember the sound of my phone alarm sound on the floor near my bed. It was 5 AM. 

Today I got up extra early to make sure that I got to today’s mandatory ILC tutorial on time and made sure that happy Don wouldn’t turn into Guantanamo Don. I laid on my bed for approximately 5 minutes until I had the motivation to finally get up and get ready.

One hour later, now at 6 AM, I was ready and had plenty of extra time to do whatever I wanted to do. I went back to sleep.

My alarm woke me up once more at 7 AM. I got up one last time and finally left home to head off to the event at De Anza High School. I arrived on time.

Now I don't have to worry about Guantanamo Don.

ILC Tutorial

I'm currently learning how to write a blog, but I don't know what to write about. This morning, I had to wake up at 6:45 AM, so I'm still half-asleep right now. I'm just going to copy and paste "I don't know what to write about."

I don't know what to write about. I don't know what to write about. I don't know what to write about. I don't know what to write about. I don't know what to write about. I don't know what to write about. I don't know what to write about. I don't know what to write about. I don't know what to write about. I don't know what to write about. I don't know what to write about. I don't know what to write about. I don't know what to write about. I don't know what to write about. I don't know what to write about. I don't know what to write about. I don't know what to write about. I don't know what to write about. I don't know what to write about. I don't know what to write about. I don't know what to write about.

Okay, I'm done.

I just took some photos outside with my phone, so here are some of the results:

The front of the school

A plant

Another plant

Right next to the tutorial room

My watch

Testing, Testing, 123

Lynda's great photography skills

Testing out blogging. Woke up early this morning and hit snooze three times after getting three hours of sleep. I couldn't blame anybody but myself for I was watching Netflix all night. Although tired, I was ready to kick off the start to my Ivy League Connection experience.

Finally I got to the tutorial 15 minutes early and grabbed a seat at a computer and soon began listening to Don's presentation. I think I'm really going to enjoy blogging and sharing my experiences with everybody back home.

I'm really enjoying these Doritos and cookies, all I had time to grab this morning was a banana. Blah blah blah blah blah blah.. Alright I guess I'm done.

Lynda's great camera again

The Struggle of Technology

Edward posing for the camera. 

The computers seem to not like us in the back to much. Kamila is struggling with logging into a computer that will let her access the internet. The computers are being drama queens and not cooperating.

On the bright side we have cookies and water to keep us alive. I have ran out of things to say. jsjksl;dfWater cookies water cookies water cocookiesvlldfjbalbalbalbalbalbalbalbalbalbalb alfdlfdfdfdfdfdfdfdfdfdfdldf sgvaogljalsdsla lsdfalasssssssssss  ssssssgjjlsgn,lanjkdffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffvnvn.

The wall telling Mauricio a great joke.

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Grease Fanatics Need Sleep

The clock hits 11:54 PM as I finish wiping the last of my tears from finishing Grease for the 500th time. However I could have sworn that it was just 10 PM. As I am looking through Netflix searching for Grease 2, I realize a feeling in my stomach that only comes around when I have an important priority I should be thinking about. But what could be more important than watching Grease? And that's when I realized I had an Ivy League Connection Tutorial in a few hours.

I realized that I would have to put Netflix away because even though the tutorial started at eight, since I live far away I would find myself having to wake up at six to be on time. So I would have six hours of Greas-I MEAN SLEEP. It was going to be hard to wake up at six on a Saturday than my usual time of at least ten. But I was going to make it work.

In order to make it work, I needed to put away my vita (method of tv). But it was impossible, I just wanted to at least start Grease 2. So what I had to do was drastic...I had to delete Netflix for the night. It was a hard decision, but at least I was able to go to sleep right after. 

Had to remember that Don would be expecting ALL of us to be there.

Blogging Cats

This morning as I was heading to school, I saw some cats sitting by the park. They were licking themselves and purring. Their purrs seemed to harmonize with the morning wind. Because I was so early and had plenty of time before school would start, I sat down next to them. They were scared for a few seconds and just stared at me, but after a while they continued to lick themselves and purr. 

I sat there in silence awkwardly for about five minutes until I decided to take my laptop out. I placed it on the grass in front of me. Don wanted me to blog something. As it was turning on, one of the cats walked towards my laptop and sat on the keyboard. It was so adorable and I just had to take a picture. Slowly, I took out my camera and snapped some photos.

The rest of the cats surrounded my laptop to investigate it. They sniffed it and scratched it. I took pictures of that too. I tried opening up my blog but the cat sitting on the keyboard typed a bunch of random characters. Accidentally, this blog of random cat typos was posted on my blog and before anyone could see it, I deleted it. 

From left to right: Mauricio Morfin, Aimee Cortez, Jacqueline Rojas, Diana Ramirez, Edward Hernandez

The New Mash-up Single...Kinda

When ur bff got camera

His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgetting' What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud He opens his mouth, but the words won't come out He's choking', how, everybody's joking' now The clocks run out, times up, over, blaow! Snap back to reality, oh there goes gravity Oh, there goes Rabbit, he choked He's so mad, but he won't give up that easy? No He won't have it, he knows his whole back city's ropes It don't matter, he's dope, he knows that, but he's broke.

I used to be the type of kid that would always think the sky is falling. Why am I so differently wired? Am I a Martian? What kind of twisted experiment am I involved in Because I don't belong in this world That's why I'm scoffing at authority, defying often Flying off at the handle with my mom, no dad So I'm non complying at home, at school I'm just shy and awkward And no I don't need no goddamn psychologist Trynna diagnose why I have all these underlying problems Thinking he can try and solve them I'm outside chalking up drawings on the sidewalk And in the front drive talking to myself.

Caught Off Guard...Kinda

!!!!!!!!!Having Fun!!!!!!!!

I wanted the fame, but not the cover of Newsweek Oh, well, guess beggars can't be choosey Wanted to receive attention for my music Wanted to be left alone in public. Excuse me For wanting my cake and eat it too, and wanting it both ways Fame made me a balloon 'cause my ego inflated When I blew; see, but it was confusing 'Cause all I wanted to do is be the Bruce Lee of loose leaf Abused ink, used it as a tool when I blew steam (wooh!) Hit the lottery, oh wee But with what I gave up to get it was bittersweet It was like winning a used mink.

Latin Text

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NO AMBULANCE! A Not Very Good Looking Person.

Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. 

Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? 

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A Sorrowful, Dreadful Night

Hello world, my name is Komal. How is your life? My life is quite nice, actually not really, at least it wasn't last night. I must lament to you about my troubles. Last night a dreadful event happened...I...and...my friend Jahnvi...weren't...able...to...go...to...prom. 

I watched my friends on Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat post pretty pictures in their pretty dresses and suits while I sat in my bed in pajamas. It was sort of sad. I tried to listen to music to elevate out of my sorrow, but it didn't help much. Then, I darkened my room and went to sleep. 

Later in the night I woke up, well Jahnvi's text messages woke me up. And when I realized it was past midnight, I wasn't sad anymore. An evil grin formed on my face as I now could be happy that the dreadful prom was over. 

I know, I know first world problems. Actually, why am I crying about this to you? Well, it wasn't that bad. I am just being dramatic.

We couldn't pose any better. From left to right: Jahnvi, me, and Ernestina. 

Hey Guys!

HEY Y'ALL!! How's life. Life's great, right?

Komal and I were going to go to prom yesterday. But then we couldn't. It's ok. Life is still cool. We'll just.... wear pretty dresses next year, and....go to homecoming this year.

We were watching all this Snapchat stories and looking at pictures on Instagram and Facebook last night, and silently crying. Teardrops rolled down our cheeks one by one, and we reached the tissue papers to wipe them off. Just kidding though! The tear drops didn't fall one by one. It was like a tsunami on my face. 

Mean mugging all day. 

Also, Bollywood music is cool. And the movies. I suggest you to listen and watch them. Your life will be better.  sdfdsnfdsfhbdskj fhsdkjfhlkjsdf hksdn cjsdhfjs dncjsdhfl ksadjncm sxslkjfh sldjkfhldsjkh fsdjkhfslkdjhfk sjdhflksjdhflksdjhfl ksdjhflskdjhflk sdjfhlksdjfh

There once was one random blog

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A Random Picture

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Getting Only Five Hours of Sleep

I was laying in bed almost ready to go sleep, the only thing visible in my dark room was my bright little phone screen. I was looking for Don's email about the Tutorial Details, and when I finally found it I realized I hadn't set up my blog like like I was instructed to. The time was sometime past 1:00 A.M. and I was really annoyed with myself. I had to get up out of bed, get to my laptop, and setup the blog.

De Anza High School Morning of May 14, 2015 

Now I'm sitting in a computer lab at De Anza High School, running on coffee and 5 hours of sleep. It doesn't seem like very little, but it's Saturday and typically I can sleep in. Despite that, I'm actually not that tired, to my surprise. I'm never able to wake up, get ready, and eat breakfast this quickly for school. I was also very surprised that I was on time, if not a little early. So despite my bedtime, I feel like it's a good start to my day.

I'm honestly excited for the rest of the tutorial, because I personally enjoy blogging. Writing in general is very relaxing for me. It makes me feel like I have my life together. Right this instant I feel pretty together.

Where I spent my Saturday Morning

Banner Without Ambulance (Sort of)

I woke up at 6:30 AM to go to a mandatory Ivy League Connection tutorial on how to blog, pack, etc. I am still in the middle of it now. I am writing this now and not paying attention to Don’s every move and action because he told us to write a practice blog and post it so he can evaluate it.

So far, blogging seems to be pretty simple. I’m just writing all my random thoughts out. Though, while I’m actually blogging I’ll probably have to actually think about the entire day and summarize it into several paragraphs instead of the short three hours I’ve been awake.

So, while I was half paying attention to Don’s every move and action (as half of my attention was on typing my practice blog), Don told us that we need to write three paragraphs within our practice blog. This is my third. 

This is a Practice Blog

Just checking to make sure that everything is in order. I'm posting this practice blog from the 2016 ILC tutorial at DAHS. Learning a lot so far.

Had to switch computers because the first one wasn't working out. Hopefully this is formatted correctly so that Guantanamo Don doesn't show up at my house. I'm scared of him, so I'm trying to make even this blog as good as possible.

This is the third paragraph. I have nothing else to say but we were told to write three. I'm fairly tired as I'm way ahead of my usual Saturday schedule. Would usually only be waking up an hour from now...

Where Guantanamo Don will send you

Me trying to be artsy

Happy, Happy, HAPPY

If someone lit this on fire, would it have been a firewall?

Once upon a time, there was a magical kingdom called America. Everyone loved living in America because of the excessive freedom they were allowed. But one day, a man called Donald Trump tried to take over. 

And on that day, Americans received a grim reminder that we lived in fear of the politicians, that we were merely sheep within these walls.

What will the outcome be? Tune in next time to find out.

Mr. Cuddles

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