A Beautiful Day for Blogging

The sun was shining brightly when I pulled into the Hercules High School parking lot this morning.  I found my way to room 106, and was surprised to find many El Cerrito High School students already there.  Sitting next to someone I didn't know was going to be harder than I anticipated.  

I sat towards the back, and thankfully my chair was connected to my desk, for I was soon hit with an amazing amount of information, including blogging, photo editing, and laundry.  I am a novice at all these things,  though I have done my laundry before. However, I don't think my past strategy of throwing everything in the same load and hoping for the best will cut it at Penn.  

During our short break, I got the chance to mingle with a few of the students I hadn't met before.  Almost automatically, all the girls gathered together and we got to chat for a bit while the guys all sat on the other side of the room.  I was again reminded what an accomplishment it is to be an ILCer, and I was very impressed with all the new people I met.  I also got the chance to meet my chaperone again, this time in a much more casual setting.  Chatting in a computer lab is definitely more relaxing than being interviewed. 

All in all, the tutorial was incredibly informative and fun.  I learned a ton, and every second just brought me more excitement about my summer at Penn.  I really just can't wait any longer!

Twin Lakes

Today was my first time hiking to Twin Lakes and I was incredibly excited to see how the trail would stand up to praise it had received from my family and friends. As I trudged down the path, the birds chirped cheerfully and the flowers seemed to welcome us into their beautiful lair. I was amazed at the diversity of plants I saw and could not help but stop and take pictures of them.  Not only did I snap shots of the plant life, but of the incredible mountains, lakes, and meadows that I had a chance to see.

Wild Tiger Lily

My favorite part of the hike was capturing the scenery of the Sierra Mountains.  Although I do not have a camera of my own, my brother generously allowed me to borrow his digital camera for the day.  We traveled up and down hills, through meadows and valleys, and swam to the miniature island within the lake.  I must have stopped every five minutes or so to pull out the camera that was hanging around my neck and crouch down to try out my artistic skills on the nearest flower to catch my eye.  For long distance shots, I practiced changing around the lighting on the camera since the sunlight was bouncing off of everything it touched.



Twin Lakes



Besides the flowers, I was able to capture a great number of shots of the lakes.  Twin Lakes in itself explains that the hike leads to identical lakes that are overwhelmingly beautiful.  On this sunny day, the water sparkled in the light and the sun warmed my body after I swam to the island within the lake.  The space was gentle, and I appreciated the calamity and grace of the nature around me.  Most of all, I loved the moment when I felt myself completely relaxing.