August 2nd, Last Day of Cosmos

I'm really sad to say that today is the last day of my COSMOS experience. I've truly enjoyed this program, learned a lot, and met a lot of amazing people. I want to say thank-you to everyone who has dedicated their time and effort to ensure the success of this program. I will definitely miss everyone in my cluster, my suite, and anyone else I've met along the way.

Seventeen

During the week, my Solar Powered Magnetic Car Engine group(Sharon, Allen, Gabby) and I worked really hard practicing and researching during our free time for our group proposal presentation, but the hard work definitely paid off. I learned a lot about solar energy and the inefficiency of traditional cars, and found the topic to be intriguing. The Friday afternoon question/answer session was helpful because the teacher fellows gave the students a better understanding of college, grad school, and just studying science and engineering in general.

Yesterday was my seventeenth birthday, and I had a really pleasant day. The San Diego Zoo was exciting, and at night, my wonderful suite mates and friends threw me a surprise party. There were balloons, thick chocolate cake, candy, decorations, and everything. I'm excited about going to the beach again this afternoon! It's crazy to realize I'm already seventeen, and also that there's less than a week left of COSMOS. Time flies.

Back to COSMOS.

I got to go home for the weekend and visit with my family. I was really tired over the weekend so I was glad that I was able to rest. Seeing my nephews and niece again was nice. I had fun playing with them. Over the weekend I went to get my eyebrows and nails done. Later that day I went to the mall to look around and shop. I could use some more sleep which I will definitely do at lights out today. When I returned to COSMOS I felt like I had been gone for more than just a day. I brought my laptop! Yay! I really needed it. Back to the daily schedule. I hope this week will be fun. I am sure it will be because the activities at night always are. Okay I have to go back to working on my final project with Esther. Later!

The Third Week

Over the weekend, I went home and spent time with my family. It felt strange coming back to this environment yesterday night, but I was excited see all of my friends again and hear what they've been up to. This morning, the professor gave an exciting lecture on the properties of stars. Then, we walked over to the computer lab to research topics like the sun, E=MC2, and "Forbidden Atomic Lines." I am looking forward to the activities planned for tonight as well as working on the Ripple Tank with Sharon.