Where Our Nation was First Created

For Day two of our journey through PENN, we kicked it off by grabbing breakfast at Sabrina's Café. I was enthusiastic about trying out this new place. Dyana So had recommended we go there based on her her past experiences. She told us the portions were big and with the taste, is worth the money; she was nowhere near off. I had ordered an egg white turkey bacon frittata and tasted amazing. The architecture of the restaurant was unique. The style was a retro and old victorian. After we finished our meals, we headed out to the wonderful underground subway system.

Philly Subway System

Philadelphia has been out dated for quite some time and still is to this day. Paying to take their transportation requires tokens. There are machines in different parts  of town where you exchange money for coins to catch a bus, trolley, or subway. It was confusing on how their transportation system works. If you want to go to a specific place or area, you have to make sure you know which station to enter. It's not as how BART is where you down into the station and you can easily go to which train to take because they're all connected as one. If you walk underground into the wrong part, you will be led to the opposite area of where you want to go if you get on the train. You would have to walk back up to concrete level and go to a different one.

We walked under the streets down the stairs to East Coast style station. We all paused before the metal gates of entrance and received one coin each from John. One coin costs two dollars and that coin will get you as far as you want to go; the price set and doesn't change depending on the distance. Each of us passed the metal bars allowing us through to the platform where we would await for our train to arrive which wasn't long. Boarding the train was quick but cramped; it reminded me of MUNI back home in San Francisco. I've always seen these types of trains in television shows or movies but felt weird to actually be in one even though it is only an ordinary train. The I'm still uneasy about the transportation in Philly, but I'm confident that I'll get the hang of it sooner or later, it's still only day two. 

Our stop was 2nd Street. John had led us here to introduce us to downtown Philly and give us a real life history lesson of our first intended capital. There were so many venues, small shops, and deep history connected to the streets. When first seeing the area it was like colonial times filled with modernization. Most of the buildings were mainly made up of bricks and the streets were made of cobblestones, but still had modern day touches around such as the transportation, people, and culture. 

HIstory Lesson From "The" Ben Franklin

This deep rooted city still idolizes one the founders, Benjamin Franklin. Wherever you go you were bound to find or see something of Ben Franklin, whether it was in a store, on a window, a statue, etc. It's unique seeing a city still so proud and of such a historic person after centuries of when they first made their mark on the world; it's very prideful. We ended up taking a trip down to see his and his wife's graves, home, and even ran into him at Independence Hall. Ben took over the history lesson from John and shared some detail about himself and why he was favored in Philly in comparison to the first president, George Washington. He was originally from Boston and the youngest of eight. His answer to the George Washington comparison was that Philly is his town; he had founded it. Of course no one disliked George, hence being the first president, but was always trying to go back to Virginia at every chance he got instead of becoming a part of or making a connection with Philadelphia. 

Benjamin Franklin's Grave

Wrapping up our history lesson for now, we  made our ways back to the hotel to get a bit rested for our campus tour visit at PENN. I was beat already and it was barely even noon by the time we got back. All of the walking around the city put a dent into my energy levels. I was ready to take a nap but needed to change clothes and wash up a bit. By the time I had finished doing that, I didn't have enough time. We were meeting down in the lobby by 12:30 PM and the tour started at 1:00 PM. I became disappointed but just told myself to pull through as I headed out the door with Allonna and Diana.

College Hall Building

Returning to the UPENN campus helped us get a better feel for what the environment will be like. There were so many kids outside playing on the fields, people on benches, talking, everything was so interactive. When I start my process of applying to schools, I know that a hands on and interactive school is somewhere I want to go. I was too busy focusing on the people at the school that I hadn't realized we arrived to the College Hall Building to check in for the tour. The tour ended up starting an hour later than what we assumed. Instead, we listened to an info session about PENN life and what would be needed for us to know. All the information that was given to us by the dean of admissions, Dyana had already covered the previous day; it was just a recap and went by in a breeze. I was glad that we had already talked over it with Dyana first because the one on one attention is far better  for us to understand and everything that we heard today was just even deeper clarification.

The tour split us up into different groups where we were set with students that currently attend the university now whether they were a rising sophomore, junior, or senior each with a unique set of majors, minors, and interests. Our group tour guide was Wendy Zhou. She double majors in Biology and Communication and is a rising junior. The tour consisted of the entire campus and four major departments: Engineering, Nursing, Art and the Sciences, and Wharton School of Business. She touched in all areas as well as explained to us what the campus life would be like living like on campus, the in's and out's to room mates, food, sports, and how to get involved with meeting people or joining clubs. What I deeply and am so grateful about the tour is that they come from the students themselves. The information I receive from them is the main resource to where I can understand what it really feels like being on the UPENN campus.  

From there on we headed back to downtown Philadelphia where we all had cheesesteaks and went into deeper sightseeing. We  had come across Penn's landing, founded by William Penn, the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, and Spruce Street Harbor Park where they were holding live out door music. Coming into this part of town was special. There were multiple food stands along the docks and park edges contributing to the diverse culture.  Seeing the bridge long the water of the Delaware River was remarkable. My eyes were fixated with the sunlight reflecting off of the large body of water as it glistened. Across was New Jersey. Everything in the East Coast is extremely near by it's strange how I could be in one state then another within the same hour. California is too big for that to happen. 

Ending our day, we walked back to the hotel. Allonna, Diana, Chris, and I decided to relax and visit the pool for a bit. We recollected everything that happened today together then branch out into our rooms. We learned many history as well as made some history all in one day. Philadelphia is one the best places I have ever been to. 

Getting to Know Philly

We woke up bright and early (though not as early as yesterday), to meet in the lobby at nine. We planned on getting that sit-down breakfast that we didn't get the opportunity to have yesterday. On the way, Mr. Hillyer explained how the subway system in Philadelphia works. There are two lines, one running north to south and one running east to west, and a single token will take you anywhere you need to go. 

Independence Hall, where our Founding Fathers created our
modern system of government

We ate at Sabrina's Cafe, which Dyana So recommended to us. After the meal, we took the subway to 2nd street in order to see some of Philly's famous tourist spots. My first subway experience went smoothly, and it didn't feel very different from just taking BART. We emerged into Old City Philadelphia, close to the Delaware River. Mr. Hillyer walked us through the historical sites there, and there were a lot. We saw Independence Hall, where the Constitution was drafted. Across the way, we also glimpsed the Liberty Bell (through a window). There was a lot of Benjamin Franklin interwoven throughout the morning, from his grave to where his house used to be to an impersonator who answered questions about him. As that impersonator told us, Philly was his city.

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In the afternoon we headed back to the UPenn campus for an official tour and info session. During the info session, which was held in the beautiful Irvine auditorium, we were shown a video about UPenn and then spoken to by an admissions counselor. She told us about why UPenn was a great school, and then broke down the application process for us, including what and what not to do. I liked the way she phrased her advice, and how she describes her and other admissions counselors's goal made applying to college seem a bit less intimidating. She said that the biggest challenge we had to overcome was being ourselves, and that ultimately admissions counselors were just trying to create a community through each class that would make UPenn a stronger institution. She also advised us to find something that we are excited about at UPenn and look for something similar at other, perhaps less selective, universities. I thought that that was very practical and useful advice, and I will definitely be using that strategy to finalize the list of schools that I want to apply to.

Our tour guide, Wendy, answering one of our questions

Our tour guide's name was Wendy, a rising junior at UPenn. The tour started off in front of College Hall, the first building that was built on UPenn's west Philly campus. In the same area were the headquarters of the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as the nation's first student union. Wendy took us around to the engineering quad, the green, Lotus Walk and Wharton School of Business. Along the way, she talked to us about a lot of different aspects of being a student at UPenn, including the different types of projects that are a part of some programs and Greek life. We lost the rest of the group for a short while, so we missed a part of it, but Wendy also talked about residential life at UPenn. She did this right outside of the dorm building where we will be staying for our summer program.

On the way back to the hotel to take a quick rest, we stopped at Wawa for a snack. Wawa is like 7/11, but nicer. Up in our room, us girls took some time to rest and work on the blogs. Then Kamillah and I went down to the bookstore to look at some more merchandise, and we found the nearest Starbucks to our hotel. By the time we got back, it was almost time to leave again, so we packed up our stuff and met everyone else in the lobby. I had requested that we have Philly Cheesesteaks for dinner, so Mr. Hillyer took us back downtown to a place that he knew. It was called Sonny's Famous Cheesesteaks, and it was great because you got to customize your own sandwich. I have to say, Philadelphia's most famous dish lived up to the hype. 

After we finished eating, we went down to the waterfront, where we saw the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. The atmosphere down by the water was really chill, and I liked it a lot. Further down Penn Landing, the area right by the water, we saw an outdoor concert being held in park with a lot of food trucks and hammocks around. There were a lot of locals just hanging out there, and Mr. Hillyer explained to us how the summertime culture on the east coast was different than in California because they learn to appreciate warm weather more, since they have to deal with snow in the winter. As a result, everyone spends a lot of time outside in the summer months.

We got pretty close to the Ben Franklin bridge, which reminds me a bit of the Golden Gate back home

Next we strolled through an area where Philadelphia's elite used to live in the early nineteenth century. The street was lined with the beautiful brick buildings that used to be their homes, and a few even had plaques about the people who used to live there. If it wasn't clear before, this showed how rich Philadelphia's history truly is. We also walked through Washington Square Park, which is essentially a burial ground for Revolutionary War soldiers who died in battle, and a place to honor their memory.

By the time we stood waiting for a train to take us back to the hotel, we were all drained. Needing some time to relax and unwind, the ILCers all went up to the rooftop pool for a few minutes. That pretty much tied up the day's activities. Now, we have all made our way back upstairs. We have a jam packed schedule ahead of us for the next few days, but today it was nice to just explore together and get acquainted with the city where we'll be spending the next three weeks.

First Time For Everything

Today was the day we have all been waiting for to arrive. The suspense, nerves, and stress would finally be uplifted from us and our excitement and urge to explore would soon be fulfilled. The meeting time was 3:30 AM at El Cerrito High School. I fooled myself into believing that arriving and dragging myself out of bed would be as hard as it is when I get up for school the next day; I was completely wrong. Being so prepared to begin this adventure ahead of me, my mentality this morning was "I'll sleep when I'm dead."  

My mom and I soon arrived to EC after we made a minor detour along the way but still before 3:00 AM. Everyone in my cohort was already standing there talking to Don except for John who appeared when the time came around closer to 3:30 AM. Don gave us the usual run down of what is about to happen, what to expect to happen, what he expects out of us, along with the itinerary of our first three days there, and good sized variety of snacks for us to bring on the plane in case we were hungry or needed something to hold us down until we were able to eat an actual meal. Hearing the words of wisdom from Don was familiar but hit me harder than all of the others because this is the real deal. Of course everything Don had told us before in the past was, too, but the reality of this trip actually happening hit me harder than it ever had before. This is the breaking point and climax of the entire ILC and it still is hard to believe I had made it this far along with the rest of my cohort. 

Before it was time for our departure, we took pictures and said our goodbye's to our parent(s) before it was time for us to depart. I hugged and said my farewells to my mom. As we held each other I could sense the emotion in her; she was tearing up and sad no matter how hard she tried not to show it. I made it quick to spare her from releasing these emotions in front of the rest of the crowd. I stepped into the shuttle, along with our luggage, and were soon shipped off with a courteous driver to transport us to the SFO Airport where the beginning of our adventure would just begin. 

SFO Airport

It took us about thirty minutes to an hour to pull into the drop off zone at the airport. We gathered our luggage from out of the back and scurried along into the airport to check in with our flight and Check our luggage. 

Being my first time ever in an airport, everything went by so fast it was hard keeping up with what was going on. There was a large number of people for such an early flight, in my opinion; it was so fast paced the way the workers ran their stations. Thankfully I did not get lost from the group while we were moving from one part of the airport to another, only because of John's wonderful guidance and Chris always waiting behind for me. Before I knew it I was making my way to the back of the plane and because of our assigned seating, I was able to get a window seat. 

Taking off gave me thrills. As soon as the plane began speeding up and lifting off of the ground, it felt as if I was on a roller coaster. The familiarity of gravity pushes against you and the rush of speed resisting the strong force could not stop  a grin from sneakily appearing across my face. The higher the plane drifted into the air the bigger my eyes lit up seeing the sight of what was below us. The clouds looked like a sea of white cotton balls grazing the tan sand of the dead, dry hills. It reminded me of the severity of the drought we were living in California. 

Plane View 

The rest of the plane ride I began talking more with Diana and Chris since they were sitting right next me and pretty much the remaining strangers behind us were knocked out most of the time. We discussed the type of music we listen to, controversial topics that are happening within the world,  our summer assignments, our thoughts to things that occur within our schools, the excitement of being in Philly, while munching on the remainder of the snacks given by Don. Five hours later, we were in Pennsylvania. The time went by faster than I had anticipated. I was so caught up in enjoying the view, speaking with my cohort and getting to know them better. The more we talked the closer we got , making the experience of being out there even more enjoyable. 

As we were waiting to get off of the plane, the people who had finally woken up behind us, asked what our group was doing in Philly. We told her and her two daughters about the program at Penn we’re taking as well as the high schools we were from. It turns out that her uncle used to teach at Pinole Valley as an AP US History back in the day and is now retired. She and her family are moving to Philadelphia from the Bay Area which was her reason for coming out here. It's surprising how big yet how small this world really is. We wished each other luck in the future then separated ways.

Now officially landed in Philadelphia, it was our mission to get our luggage, catch a shuttle to the hotel, and quickly grab a bite to eat before we all starved to death. We handled things so effortlessly until we were checking in at the hotel. There was an Organ Historic Convention going on at the same time we were checking in so the lobby began filling up with waves of people, mainly old ones. A massive line to go onto the elevators became overwhelming just looking at it. As soon as the lobby cleared out another wave of old people began swarming in, and the cycle repeated. It took us about ten minutes waiting in line to finally get onto the elevators. Allonna, Diana, and I shared a room on the twentieth floor while John and Chris both got rooms to themselves. Finally reaching our room after the journey felt so relaxing and over 35 lbs off of our shoulders. 

UPENN Bookstore

We met back up downstairs in the lobby at 5:00 PM where we would go across the street to get some pizza. I ordered a slice of buffalo chicken pizza which turned out to be amazing. My hunger for the day was finally satisfied with a thin and spicy version of an Italian classic. Our stomachs overwhelming us as we scarfed the foods down as soon as we got them and finished the evening with a small tour of the UPENN bookstore and CVS around the area. Seeing the bookstore left me in awe. There was a complete upper level dedicated to only books while the bottom was filled with merchandise representing the school spirit. Having to leave bummed me out but we ended up going back to the hotel to relax until our next outing with a former ILC alum for gelato around seven. 

Knowing we wouldn't be long in the hotel, Allonna, Diana, and I decided to do some exploring. The floor we were staying on had a club level where there was free snacks and drinks for us to come in and take or if we wanted to hang out and lounge around. The view from outside the windows was stunning; we could see the buildings and the whole other part of town. I thought to myself, "this is so pretty being able to see so much of one city through one glass in a room." The more we explored the more surprises filled our eyes. 

We made our way to the bottom level where the gym and pool was. We stepped outside to view the beautiful sight of the pool. The pool was outdoors surrounded by a tall sized wall with beach chairs surrounding it and a deck with an overhang. I was relieved seeing that I would be able to enjoy it without worrying that I would soon drown since I do not know how to swim. The pool water was the perfect temperature for a dip but we had to resist the temptation given that we were meeting up within an hour. All agreeing to come back later, we walked back inside where to scope out their gym where we came in as a joke but came out sweating from doing an actual work out. I was surprised in myself that I actually had worked out, even if it wasn't serious. It felt surprisingly good and relaxing afterward. The time had passed so fast that we had to hurry up back to our rooms so we could have enough time to freshen up and change clothes before heading back out.

Outdoor Pool

By the time we made it downstairs, it just turned to 7:00 PM and John, Chris, and our special guest, Dyana So, were already there. Diana is/was a part of the ILC when she was attended high school at Pinole Valley; she went to Yale and Cornell while with the ILC. She recently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in May and is a current admissions counselor for the school. She is a first generation meaning she is the first in her family to go to and graduate high school. Dyana and her family  originated from Hong Kong, back when her parents were growing up, they didn't really need a college education because the country they were in was going through a Golden Age. We introduced ourselves and she soon reminded me of the Bay Area from the way she talks and her comforting, happy, and funny personality. walked to a local gelato spot called Capogiro where we discussed her background, financial aide, college apps, personal essays, and why we should consider going to PENN. 

She describes Penn similar to Hogwarts. There are four major branches or schools to choose from: School of Nursing (top in the entire world), Wharton School of Business, College of Arts and Sciences, and PENN Engineering. From these four schools you could branch off into more specific graduate schools. There is no out of state tuition needed since it is a private school and they do not depend on the government for funding. Given your entire family's income, if it reaches lower than $40,000 annually, you are eligible to attend the university for free if accepted. Depending on the tuition or financial aide you're given, you may be able to live on the dorms for free. As we finished our gelato, we headed out and toured more parts of the city and UPENN campus and continued our conversations while walking.

Capogrio

To get accepted into not only PENN but other top schools as well, your GPA, AP classes, and SAT/ACT scores should not only be your main focus, but what you're doing to make yourself stand out. Instead of trying to juggle too much onto your plate and dabble in every different club at your school, dedicate yourself to certain clubs that actually mean something to you. Become an officer of that club and build a relationship with the teachers supporting that club so recommendation letters will help increase your chances. PENN gives a key focus to what your letter of recommendation says because it shows a view of yourself that you may not see that another person does. It's easy for an admission officers to tell when someone is just faking their way. It's about what you can do to not only lift yourself up, but your school and community as well. When writing your personal essays and filling out your college admissions, you need to focus on a part of you that you want each school to see; a story that shows the key parts of yourself. Give the school a real reason to want you attending their school more than anyone else; show motivation, passion, integrity, and dedication. Giving interest into the school such as participating in summer or other programs there, making an early decision (If accepted into the school, it's already decided that you will be attending that school. If a financial aide packet is unavailable to you, you will not be in debt while attending PENN), or choosing early action (If you are accepted into PENN, you do not have to accept right away, but you have a time limit where you make your decision) can bring you closer into gaining an acceptance from PENN. Closing our walk back at the hotel lobby, Dyana gave us one thing to think and consider about: Why choose PENN?

The University of Pennsylvania has an outstanding environment. The community is diverse and rich in culture, you gain stronger public transportation and street knowledge, it's a suburban-urban area meaning that one part of the town can easily lead to a more city life blocks away, and has great resources for students. There are buses designed for PENN students to commute home and to school for free that runs from 6:00 AM - 3:00 AM that reaches all the way to West Philly and North Philly. There are many extracurricular activities you can discover or start digging in detail about. Ask counselors or people in admissions can help guide you where to start based on what you're seeking for, such as Photography. There are buildings designed for students where they can just lounge, talk to one another, and eat and dedicated counseling centers. 91% of the graduates of UPENN find another path to move on to whether it's a job, graduate school, etc., and is number one for campus security. 

From there we thanked her for the evening she had dedicated her time for. She gave us her phone contact and email in case we ever want to meet up again while we're here. Every piece of advice that came out of her mouth was vital and helpful information. Taking all of this into consideration, I had a lot to think about, even if I still have two more years of high school left to go. I realize now that it's always good to start early, learn, and research as much as I can. 

Set...

Departure day was finally upon us, the UPenn cohort. I got up and double checked that I had all the things that I need and headed to El Cerrito High School. My father dropped my mother and I off then headed to work. Don weighed the luggage and once again went over what was expected of us as students. In no time we were all ready to go to the airport and start our journey. But before we left, we took a group picture in front of the school. As it turns out, we didn’t make it in time to have a sit down breakfast so we just got on the plane and ate our snacks. This time we actually got to sit next to each other so we couldn’t talk to a stranger on the plane ride. The ride was pretty uneventful until the part where it became very shaky and unstable. It made me very sick and I ended up having to use the bag labeled “flight discomfort bag” which was the worst.

At some point we finally landed. I’ve never been so happy to be on flat ground before.We proceeded to go and get a cab to our nice hotel room. Chris was lucky and got a room by himself while us girls have to double up on a bed but it’s no big deal. We give each other company.

Co-founder Benjamin Franklin

Once we left our luggage in the room we went across the street to Axis, a very good and affordable pizza place for some quick early dinner. I got a buffalo chicken and Hawaiian slice that were both delicious. Once we finished, we headed out to town where we got to see where the local CVS was and some of the other shops like the Wawa and Mexican restaurant. We didn’t stay for too long since we were going to meet Dyana.

When Dyana came to meet us, we left as a group to get gelato. I had never had gelato and was surprised by how delicious it was. When we were on the way there, Dyana talked about how excited she was about getting a job as an admissions officer at UPenn. She was very kind and brought us a brochure with an overview of the university. We specifically talked about the colleges within UPenn. Something that I thought was very interesting is that 50% of undergraduates end up in the college of arts and sciences compared to 10% in the nursing college I believe. We also talked about things like rolling admissions which is pretty much a university that has no deadlines for applications. This gives students that for a variety of reasons couldn't make the deadline an opportunity to still be admitted. Penn doesn’t  do this but it was still very cool to know.

Dyana also gave us a small tour of the campus. She told us about the 15 libraries that are on campus as well as the LGBTQ center that makes up 1 of the 6 major student resources on campus. Dyana also shared that there area variety of coffee shops around the city. Some that are centered in Philly and other that are big chains like Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts. On it was around 7 PM, we started to head back to the hotel room to rest for tomorrow's tour of UPenn.

Today was a day filled with excitement and some uncomfortable situations like the landing of the plane but it was all worth it. The weather is nice, UPenn has a beautiful campus filled with amazing architecture and culture. Dyana was the first person to officially open the campus to us in a way that made us feel like UPenn students. I will surely take advantage of her expertise and willingness to help us, the ILCers, out.