Lately

Lately, I've been at an entrepreneurial camp, the reason behind my lack of activity on my blog. I’m half-way through my first of four weeks at this program. There have been some ups and downs, but overall, I’m quite content with my experience. 

Our day begins at 7 AM. We take public transportation, arriving to class at 9 AM. We finish class at 4 PM, and from then on, the day is ours. While I’m slightly disappointed in having to wake up so early for class, I find myself eager to learn. I feel different in these classes, which tackle various business aspects like customer buying behavior, consumer persona, market research, etc. I find myself participating in the interactive lectures and when I raise my hand to respond to a question, adrenaline and ideas pour through my system. I’m excited. It requires a different way of thinking from classes in school; these classes solidify knowledge of human behavior, sociality, and creativity in solving business problems. I enjoy listening to the creativity of each person's response and I particularly enjoy observing how everyone takes a slightly different take on a particular question/issue. 

It’s a beautiful thing, being able to understand people’s thinking processes. I also love my team. The program’s pre-work asked that we take personality and learning style tests, as the administration used this data to strategically formulate teams. I suppose this data worked quite well, as I’ve bonded not only with my team through the work we do in class; I’ve also been able to know them as individuals. We've worked through many ideas together, combing through the ups, downs, and confusions. During our meals, we crack jokes, talk about our experiences outside of the program, and our favorite things to do. It's amazing how much our friendship has grown since the pre-program when we only saw each other through google hangouts to begin the pre-work. 

In the evenings, the residential advisors host nightly hall meetings. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some pretty cool people in my hall and even drifted around to hang out with people in other halls. I've met some really strategic minded kids, some from other countries, some who code, others who do physics, and those who speak five languages. It’s only been a couple of days at this camp, yet the days feel long and the week short. Having hung out with various friend groups, participated in various recreational sporting events, and eaten my meals with new people every day, I believe I’ve found my spot socially. I feel as if I've formed connections with many people in this camp, surpassing my expectations for the speed at which friendships could form. I cannot wait to see what these next few weeks bring for my personal growth, for my team, and for everyone's companies.