Blogging: Until the Last One Standing

The second half of the ILC gathered for a blogging tutorial session led by Don Gosney Saturday morning at the Hercules Public Library.

I made sure to wake up and leave the house in a timely manner in order to assist Don with setting up the conference room for the tutorial. As I sat in the car next to my mother, cruising along to the library, I admit I was a bit nervous-- although this was going to be one of the more relaxed events, in contrast to the upcoming dinners and School Board Meeting, I was anxious to meet the other members of the ILC from the other high schools for the first time. Despite my excitement, I reminded myself to stay composed-- this certainly was not going to be the last time I would be meeting new and important people during my participation in this program-- I must learn to become more comfortable with it.

And so, after relaxing my nerves (which, unfortunately, will undoubtedly tense again and again as more events approach), we arrived at our destined meeting place. 


I recognized Don standing with a young man in front of the library. A timid person by nature, I hesitated approaching Don and the stranger, but finally I worked up the nerve to walk up to the two to greet Don and introduce myself to Tom Miller, whom I learned will be travelling to Yale this summer for the Grand Strategies course.

We spoke about our respective programs for a bit as we awaited the opening of the library. When it finally did, the three of us made our way inside to the conference room reserved for our session. As we arranged and turned tables and chairs around to face the front of the room, more students, along with their chaperones, began piling in. Soon, we were all ready to set to work with our laptops on and our eyes fixed on Don.

As a first time blogger, I learned a lot about how to write exceptional blogs from Don; information and tips about taking and uploading pictures were covered, suggestions for blog content were offered, and so much more useful material that will aid me in this process of reflective writing.

I truly am looking forward to documenting my experience as part of the ILC with this blog. We will be blogging regularly from now until the end of our trip. Hopefully, I will be able to apply the skills I learned at the tutorial well so that I may offer greater insight into my thoughts, feelings, and things I will encounter throughout my journey to Vanderbilt and back.