I survived! Lessons Learned from the College Admissions Process

I survived. In fact you might actually call me victorious, because I secured a trophy. A glorious blue trophy - Duke University.

My trophy!

Kayle asked if I had any advice for her as to how to get to Duke and I decided this blog is my best medium to do so. And perhaps some other Kayle out there reads it, too. 

If you want to go to Duke, apply to Duke. Then apply to every other Duke-like school out there and then some. This is not to insult you but a testament to the extraordinarily large volume of applicants each of the top schools receive each year. Even the kids with the perfect scores and the non-profit and the billion dollar daddy aren't guaranteed a spot. And that's ridiculous.  I was rejected from two other schools, I don't want to use names so lets just call them Minceton and Male. But I wasn't really upset. Why? 

1) I had Duke. XD

2) They had close to 30,000 applicant. For roughly 1,000 spots. Many of of which where already claimed by the early action candidates.

3) Some people that I would clearly label as much smarter than me and more worthy of a spot, didn't get one. They were accepted at some other top colleges, but then not at others. Why? I don't know. With that many applicants, you can only do your best and then hope for some reason, some admissions officer thinks you have the right stuff and puts you in the admit pile.

4) I had done my best and then some. 

And to be honest I don't know why Duke accepted me and other schools didn't. I sent all of them basically the same application. I was the same person during the interviews. I just don't know. And probably won't ever know. 

Also, Kayle, realize that what might be a good score or good job for your high school. might not be a good score for your university. Make sure you are within the 25th/75th percentiles for ACT or SAT scores. But then remember all the colleges claim that "there is no cutoff score." 

Start early. The application process is more like the application expedition or trek or long voyage that lasts many months. Write your essay. Then write it again. Have your AP English teacher read. Then have your other AP English teacher read it. And then your neighbor read it. It can't be a good essay. It needs to be one of the best essays you have ever written. And then you need to do it again. For the other prompts. 

Have a good backup or 'safety' school. Your backup school needs to be a school you would actually be happy going to. And try not to degrade the backup school as you pursue other schools. 

Try not to fall in love with a school before you are accepted. That's kinda a complex topic but refer one of my previous posts for more info. 

My favorite chemistry teacher advised me to apply with a declared major. You can always change it. I'm not sure how true this is, but it worked for me (somewhat). 

DO NOT do something just because you think it will help you get in to a school. That is a waste of your time. Take hard classes and volunteer because YOU want to, not because you think the school wants you to. Because, if you were rejected you would have wasted your time. 

Do something extraordinary with your summer. Go to a science summer camp, write a book, go on a mission trip, I don't know. Get a job! That's extraordinary as well! Just do something impressive. OR do something lame but be able to make it sound impressive. 

Apply for financial aid! I don't know your family's finances but regardless apply anyway. You might find out that your dream school is less expensive than your state school. 

Next year will be hell. Some of the time. As decision day looms closer you might break out in hives, feel nauseous, go into a deep depression. And this will happen for every decision day if your schools have different days. Some days you will be, "Omg. I am soooooo getting into that school." And the next you will say, "OMG. I am a terrible failure. I am going to live under a bridge." Well, that's what I did. And I did that often.  It's going to be a terribly fantastic ride, so be prepared. 

I really don't have much more to say. I know I wished I had someone to tell me exactly how to get into college. But the specifics aren't available to the public. At least I never found them. 

One last bit. Stay off of college advice sites. You can only read so many statistics and so many expert advice columns before you spontaneously combust. So chillax. Just submit your application when you are done (and have proofread it 30 million times, jk) and then breathe. Maybe you will avoid some of the wrinkles that I have earned over the last year. 

Hopes this helps.

Nerdy Green

P.S. There will be a select few that you may be acquainted with who seem to have been accepted to every top school that ever existed. They will make you feel bad about yourself. Try not to hate them too much. You will want to, but don't. Because that's bad. 

P.S.S. The Common App is meant to be the same basic form for every school you apply to. Meaning don't mention your first choice college in the body of your Common App essay. Also, if you apply early action or early decision your application will remain the same for two months or more for when you apply regular decision. You might have earned other awards or leadership positions that you won't be able to add on you application. So be careful. 

SSTP or YSP: A Honest Review

JNTAful asked:

I came across it because I was looking for information about the UF - SSTP summer program and the FSU - Young Scholars summer program. I have been accepted to both, and now need to decide on one or the other. Plz help, which camp did you think was more enjoyable, and/or more beneficial academically???

Hmmm. That's a loaded question. SSTP and YSP are two very different experiences to say the least. And I'm not sure where to start. . .

Ok.
Here I go.
If you are a sophomore, I would tell you to go to both. But I doubt that you are. . . So next bit.

College Life: 
SSTP was my first college experience. It was incredible to be on a college campus, doing college things, and being all college-y. YSP was very similar in terms of it's collegeness. I think UF was more hospitable and more alive than FSU during the summer tho. But it's a close call.

Lab:
My lab experience at SSTP was much better than my lab at YSP. (But a lot of factors go into this: some people hated their labs at SSTP, some loved theirs at YSP - it just depends). But you do spend a lot more time in the lab at SSTP (five days a week versus two). And if you are the type who wants a state science fair project out of your summer, then I would think SSTP offers more of a chance at a winner.

Classes:
YSP, lacking in labs, definitely had the better classes. Us dorks would be working on the problems together i the common room and working til the wee hours of the morning on projects in the hallway. The classes at YSP were taught (generally) by real FSU professors with previous YSP experience. The SSTP class was extremely interesting as well, but there was only one. And the subject was very specific (Animal Behavior). Whereas the three classes at YSP were more broad and more applicable (Intro to Computer Programming, Biochemistry, and Calculus). BUT! The SSTP class can count as a weighted course (if you are a Floridian) and can potentially boost your GPA, if you are the type to be concerned about such matters.

People: 
The people at SSTP were extremely fun and smart. They, as a whole, were more likely to do crazy things than the people of YSP. But the people at YSP, were even smarter, if that's possible. The atmosphere was more intelligent, as a whole. Perhaps the feel was less to do with IQ points or SAT scores, but rather the ambition to achieve. Most of the people who went to SSTP, loved UF so much that they ended up going to UF for college. Most of the YSP people, are not going to FSU. But were recently admitted to Harvard, Stanford, Dartmouth, Princeton, MIT, Cornell, and Duke (me!) - as well as many other top schools. I think a lot of the people who went to SSTP could have got into, or maybe did, some of these schools but I have forgotten their Facebook posts, so I cannot be too sure.

Cost:
UF SSTP cost around $3,000. But there are some scholarships available depending on where you live or who you know (Heart of Volusia). YSP is completely free for all participants. So, yeah. That's that.

Counselors & Stuff: 
Both sets of counselors were really cool and full of info. At SSTP they are two years into college (at least), whereas at YSP they are only one year into college. But SSTP is more structured than YSP. At SSTP, you had a deadline for your paper, adults present during the field trips, etc. YSP not so much. We saw the YSP coordinators (adults) like 3 times. We were not babied as much as we were at SSTP. But not saying either is better than the other . . .

Final Overview:
The order in which I attending these programs is very significant. I felt YSP further enriched what I learned at SSTP. Can I tell you which one to go to? No. I can't. Both are fantastic programs worthy of your participation and both of which will provide you with a fantastic, unforgettable summer.

The Legend of PB&J

For the UF Honors Application I had 1 of three options to choose from.

1. Describe your most embarrassing moment in the form of a poem. 
2. Tell the story of how Peanut Butter met Jelly. 
3. Which historical figure would you want to go out with on a Friday night?

I first tried # 1. But my mom said it was a terrible poem and that is wasn't embarrassing at all. 
So just this evening I wrote this one. And I really enjoy it. So here you go . . .Prompt Numbah TWOOOOO!

In ancient mythology, in the darkest recess of memory, lies the tale of the most famous forgotten enemies. Long ago, there stood a mighty and ancient mountain, known by all as Pan. It was prophesied that Pan would soon be conquered, and her victor would be gloriously rewarded by the mountain herself. Two rival tribes, on opposite sides of Pan, each sent their mightiest warrior to secure the fabled fortune. With blessings and armor, the two men set out on their journeys simultaneously. After many hardships and long days, the two men met on the summit – each outraged and surprised at the other’s arrival. Forsaking their weariness, they at once lunged at one another. In a fearsome battle that lasted many days, the men fought without rest. Rock nor tree nor mountain could withstand the men’s anger, for they were the warriors of old. Finally, they halted their combat for they realized they were once again on low ground. In their endless brawl, the men had destroyed the mountain. Pan, the grand and colossal, was gone. But Pan was no ordinary mountain. While she could not fight back to stop the men’s destruction as it was happening, finding herself in ruins she summoned a mystic force and opened the ground beneath the men’s feet – swallowing them whole. Pan entombed her warriors together for all eternity.

The local townspeople long told of the legend of Pan and her captives. The men, whose names in the olden tongue were Penut Butah and Jel Le, served as a warning against wanton destruction for generations. For reasons unknown, the lesson vanished over the millennia but contemporaries still harbor remnants of the story in their subconscious. To this day, people still imprison Penut Butah and Jel Le in pan.

Do ya get it? Get it? GET IT? Wasn't that wonderful? Well, I think so and that's all that matters (jk). Of course, I thought the word limit was 300 instead of 150. So I wrote this glorious beast and then had to massacre it. Oh well. That's life. 

Allons-y

Tor-y

It's been a while. A long while, actually. I think it is mostly because I have been thoroughly swamped and partly because I don't know what to say. This blog was started as part of a YSP assignment . . . But as a YSP alum, I'm not sure how to continue.

I guess I should inform you on my college plans. Originally, I never wanted to share with the internet world the schools I was applying to because it is very likely that I will be rejected from most of those schools on my list. Now, don't tell me I ought to be optimistic. I am not selling myself short, I am merely being honest to myself that of the schools I applied to . . . So did 30,000+ other highly qualified students. And the institutions that I may love and hope dearly to attend next fall are also the loves and hopes of those other 30,000+ students.

Without much further ado . .  .
My list: (in alphabetical order, to be fair) 

• Duke
• Princeton
• University of Chicago
• University of Florida
• Vanderbilt
• Yale

I applied early action (non-binding) to Yale and was deferred. After a fit of rage which consisted of me throwing the Yale view book as hard as I could against the wall and a string of profanities against the esteemed institution, I realized that I didn't actually hate the school. Yes, I was extremely disappointed and saddened that my first choice (at the time) did not want me. And to be deferred does not offer much hope as  Yale deferred 2,500 kids. But I fell so deeply and overwhelming in love with Yale, that I neglect to research other really great schools. For example, I missed the Georgia Tech honors college deadline because of my tunnel vision. So to find the other four schools on my list (I had already applied to UF), I searched for a school with all the things that I could possibly want in a school. *enter Pton, UChicago, Duke, & Vandy* But I didn't get hung up with exploring every little detail like I did with Yale. Because those are very selective schools and I don't want to suffer a nerdy heartbreak again. I know enough about each of the four to know that I would be extremely happy to call it home for the next four years.

So I won't find out til April-ish. And that's ok. I know I'll end up at the right school. I've done everything I possibly could. I would not change one moment of my high school career. Plus I have enough to worry about.

One important thing no one tells you, is how expensive APPLYING TO COLLEGE is. It cost me $375 just to send my documents to those schools listed above. If rejected, not only do you lose the future you might have had at that school, but $75! And that doesn't include the $50 it cost to take the SAT or ACT. Nor does it include the $10 it cost to send the "official" SAT/ACT score report to the college of your choice. So if my calculations are correct (and they should be), I've spent almost $700 on college apps. But if we (as in me) are being honest here, do you want to know the most annoying part of the process? The fact that I have to pay my high school $1 for every copy of my transcript they send out. I'm out $8 already.

Well to conclude this triumphant return to my blog I will include a list of seven things I could have done with $700:

1. One iPad with Retina display 64GB or two iPad mini 16GB. 
2. One 7 day Carnival Bahama Cruise for me or a shorter 3 day cruise for me and my mum. 
3. One Harry Potter Wizard's Collection DVD set for me and one for a friend. 
4. 200 gallons of gas for my gangsta-mobile (which would last about four months)
5. Basic Necessities Basket from Heifer International 
6. All the Doctor Who Series on DVD and Seasons 1-4 of Merlin, plus another TV show on DVD. 
7. Down payment on this Prada handbag. 

Well, laters. 

Nerdy Green

YSP Summary

Wow.

That was a long and difficult six weeks. I was sleep deprived. I was confused. I was hungry.
The beds were terrible. The rooms smelled weird. The food was inconsistently edible. The homework was hard. The tests were stressful. And I missed my friends.

But.

I learned more than I could ever have imagined. Beyond the nerd topics that we covered in class, I learned more about myself and more about my future. I learned that first impressions may be important, but you cannot let them keep you from ruling out new friendships. I learned that people change. I learn that you should not say, "I'm gonna cut you," early on in a new place; people might actually think you are serious. I learned that I like sushi. I learned that Gorilla Glue stains your fingers. I learned to love Batman. I learned that not all white creeper vans are filled with creepers. I learned that I was wrong to rule out biology as a future career path. I learned with differential equations you can model nearly anything. I learned that never to judge a cookie by its appearance. I learned that food was sub-par because of the band kids, and that the food servers were incredibly nice. I learned to never run around a dorm building complex at night. I learned that I am still terrible at video games. I learned that food tastes better with real plates and real silverware. I learned that I can pull all-nighters. I learned that even the smartest kids in the state have different types of intelligence, and different areas of stupidity. I learned that even nerds do crazy things. I learned to knit. And I learned about life.

Because the whole 'summer at college' thing wasn't new to me (SSTP 2011), I don't think I was as amazed as some of the other YSPers. But, I had an amazing summer and I most definitely learned . . . a lot.

Nerdy Green out.

A Masters in Prankology

So, you thought this was nerd camp? You thought I would be learning about differential equations and computer science and biochemistry? Well, that's all a lie. It's a cover up. Remember the move Agent Cody Banks? Cody goes to 'summer camp' but it's really a CIA training base. That is exactly like YSP! Except they are not training us to be spies. And I am actually learning about differential equations and computer science and biochemistry. But while I am here, I am learning about and training in the noble and ancient art of Prankology. 

prankology - the study of the art of pranking

I studied prankology while at summer camp. 

"Our best feature is our $12.95 appetizers 

local legend Andy Sandberg is a live lobster

$7,777"

What projects have I had in prankology? Let's start from the beginning. One day my accomplice, who shall remain unnamed, and I, decided that we were extremely bored. And as the proverb goes, "Boredom begets shenanigans." So in our modest box of craft items we discovered The Duct Tape. We duct taped counselor Joey's door and left him a ransom note (see picture to right). We soon ran out of duct tape, so it was a pretty lame prank. But as introductory prankology students, it was ok. 

"I am looking for a hot & spicy love nest
student living with marijuana was charged
while 17-year-old satisfying the excitement
mix $15,000 visa call 574-2200
Tennessee July 12, 2012"

Next, we found ourselves with a abundance of newspapers  and a good roll of tape. We created a wall of newspaper that we covered counselor Chelsea's door with. It was kinda cute and Chelsea still has it pushed aside like a curtain on her door. Her ransom note looks like the picture to the left. 


Then, on a wonderful a glorious night I found myself saying goodbye to Chelsea and Kara as they had to go to Chipotle. I just happened to walk back to my room and I found that Kara's door was left open. As any master prankster knows, you have to be ready at a moment's notice. So, thanks to the daily training we get at YSP, I immediately knew what I must do. I seized the nearest nerd and demanded that they hand over their toilet paper. Properly armed I went to Kara's room and wrecked havoc with the paper product. Of course they suspected me at this point, but I had mentioned how I really needed to go to Walmart for several days because we were out of toilet paper and have been using tissues.


So, I hit three out of four counselors when the scheme ended. I was working on homework out in the hallway with a few others when out of the blue a menacing looking Joey, Chelsea, and Kara appeared. They knew that I knew who had done the pranks and were desperate to seize the culprit. So we started the negotiations. They offered food. I asked what kind. They said cookies, butt sandwiches and candy. I wanted  Yogurt Mountain. They said no. I said $3.00 limit. They said ok. I asked if I would get YoMo regardless of my answer. They said yes. I told them it was me. DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW GREAT THAT WAS?! I PRANKED THEM AND THEY PAID ME WITH MOUNTAINS OF YOGURT!

Even though the ruse was up, I still had a pranks ready to go. I pranked head counselor Drew with this lovely contraption to the left. And I helped plot this wonderful scheme to the right. Fortunately, I was watching Batman at the time of its execution.

 Most recently, I repranked Joey and Drew. With the help of several different unnamed accomplices I successfully blocked the male counselors in their room with cups of water. However, some of those cups had occupants . . . FISH!  

In these few short weeks, I have earned most of the credits I need for my masters. Hopefully I will be able to complete my degree in these last few weeks!

Nerdy Green
Master Prankster

Superweek

Wow! So much happened this week, I don't even know where to begin.Actually, I do. Let's start with PSSSHU! PSSSHU! SPIDERMAN! I went to see the Amazing Spider-Man last Sunday! It was a lovely and fun movie that made me feel like I could save NYC. It was very good and if you disagree, well, good for you.

My roof design

On Tuesday, I actually got to do some science!!!!!! Gustavo, the graduated graduate student, helped Sarah and I test our wonderful boxes/houses. The balsa wood did not show the proper results because it absorbed too much of the pressure sensitive paint. So when then had to bend a sheet of aluminium to fit our roofs.

Wind tunnel

We then resprayed them, and stuck them in the wind tunnel. BUT! Something was wrong with the camera in the wind tunnel so we did not get the results we wanted. . . :( BUT! Gustavo said he would try again on Friday and hopefully it worked!


Now let's discuss the classes. They are actually quite challenging. And by challenging I mean, I have to study a lot, think a lot, and be bumfuzzled a lot. Math is extremely difficult. And by difficult I mean impossible. Dr. Oberlin is a great teacher and a very punny person, but the subject of differential equations is just a bit over my head right now. But because of this experience when I do have to face the demon of D.E.s, I will have a much higher chance of winning that battle. The best part of the class is that Dr.Oberlin automatically gives everyone A's because he does not approve of the 'competitive nature' that the evaluations cause.

Comp sci. Hmmm. Still a challenge, but at least better than math. To be honest, I did below the average on the test we had the other day. And to be even more honest, I am actually proud. C++ is a completely new language to me and, as I demonstrated with Spanish, my linguistic abilities are lacking. So I was proud of the tricky questions that I answered correctly, and I learned from the ones I missed. I probably won't get an 'A' on my evaluation, but I gave it my best and just like D.E.s, when the time comes to face computer science again I will have a foundation of understanding that few others will have.

With this here photo I prove myself human.
#yesthesearemychromosomes

Biochem. Well, I really enjoy the labs, except for the flies. I hate the flies. I have learned so much about genes , chromosomes, DNA, flies, and genetics (and I have proved that I am human). However, (there seems to be a lot of buts to this post)(heehee, butts!) I haven't done that wonderful on the quizzes. It takes a while to understand what a teacher expects out of you. At first I wasn't sure what to study, how much to study, etc. But now I know. And with every quiz we have taken, I have improved. So while the grades are slightly depressing, again I am proud of what I have accomplish so far. I told Dr. Epstein how much I enjoyed his class and apologized for my less than great performance quiz-wise and that I would get the elusive 100 on his test ( a lofty goal, I know).


Whew. Glad to express my feelings to the world. It is a different experience to learn with students that are all as intelligent or more so than you. I have noticed the different sorts of intelligence. While so-and-so might have the vocabulary and reasoning skills of an aged professor, he/she might lack basic navigation skills. Everyone is truly gifted in their own way, instead of making me feel inferior like I once thought YSP would, I feel . . . empowered?  . . . just good.

Last and most important to this week was . . . BATMAN! Most of the nerds went to the midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises, even though had class bright and early the next morning. All I can say is definitely worth my lack of sleep. For the first half of the movie I was thinking to myself, "This isn't that great." and "This might just be the most depressing movie ever." Yet there was a point and I'm not sure when this happened, that I was so enthralled by the movie that I forgot to think. I When my brain was finally allowed to speak again, it was at a loss for words. If you don't like the Dark Knight Rises, you're wrong. And The Batman will find you.

<3 Nerdy Green
P.S. "A hero can be anyone." -The Batman

Crash Tests and Cookies

The annual semi-secret Miss YSP contest was Sunday, and what a joy it was. My guy *Larry, with my help, was transformed into a beautiful honorable-mention-earning woman. I wish I could show you the photo where Larry looks prettier than I do; but we had to swear that the photos would never see the light of the internet. Sorry. 

*name changed 

On Tuesday, Sarah and I went to see a crash safety test. The Paratransit Bus Side Impact Crash Test encountered several problems so it did not start at 9:00 am . . . More like 4:00 pm. But it was pretty cool and rather quick. Here is my video of the test. Dr. Jung will be sending me the slow-motion edited version later and when he does, I'll post it here. 

The other day in my Biochemistry of the Gene class, we were gel electrophoresis-ing. Basically, an electric current is sent through a mixture and DNA fragments separate according to size. And then the actual sizes of the fragments are compared to known size standards. Anyway, we were doing that. And you have to put a small amount of your DNA samples in the small wells with initially hold the sample. So, I was a doing this and Dr. Epstein said, "That was the cleanest loading into the well I have ever seen." (Note: not verbatim). I might have a promising future at the loading wells! Here's a picture of half of the class.

 I am including it for two three reasons: 
1) I look rather good in this photo.
2) Pictures are worth a thousand words.
3) Photos make this blog more interesting.


Last, Southgate has these amazing cookies. They are wonderful. If you are considering a Southgate meal plan, do it if only for the cookies. Every less-than-decent meal I have had here has been redeemed by these cookies. I sure hope you can buy them at Publix.

It's been a long week and it's only Wednesday. I sure hope this week gets better because right now . . . it kind of sucks. But whatever.


Later gators,
Nerdy Green
p.s. Can I mention gators at FSU? Hmmmm . . .

Viewing History in Git

This tutorial will cover:

·  Introduction

·  Viewing Modes

·  Interpretation

·  What those changes mean to the users

·  Commands

About:

Git allows for programmers to share their code with other programmers to view and to edit.  Git tracks changes and allows the user to be able to view the individual stages of the changes that were made to the program. Different versions of a program correspond to different changes that were made. For more information about Git basics click here.

Viewing:

            ‘git log’

The command ‘git log’ will show you the commit history of the program in reverse chronological order.  It will include the following of each commit: checksum (unique file name), author’s email & name, date, and any comments. For example:

‘-graph’

This restructures the viewing history to show how the program has developed.

$ git log --pretty=format:"%h %s" --graph

* 2d3acf9 ignore errors from SIGCHLD on trap

*  5e3ee11 Merge branch 'master' of git://github.com/dustin/grit

|\

| * 420eac9 Added a method for getting the current branch.

* | 30e367c timeout code and tests

* | 5a09431 add timeout protection to grit

* | e1193f8 support for heads with slashes in them

|/

* d6016bc require time for xmlschema

*  11d191e Merge branch 'defunkt' into local

            ‘gitk’

The gitk is another type of history viewer but allows you to see the information in a more visually pleasing manner.  

                        

Interpretation

            Briefly mentioned above, the output from the viewing history will tell you several things. 

1)   The SHA-1 hash – a generated file name comprised of 40 characters using only the hexadecimal characters (0-9 & a-f). See also checksum.

2)   Human info – Name and email address of the committer

3)   Date – Date and time modified.

4)   Comments – Statements summarizing the changes made to the program during that modification.

What this means:

            This section is still in development.

Commands:

            ‘git log’ – brings up the commit history of your program

            ‘-p’ – shows the patches with each commit

            ‘-stat’ – statistics of the changes made (ex. number of lines added, etc. )

            ‘git log’ – allows you to narrow down the commits

                        ‘-<n>’ – shows last n commits only, where n is an integer

                        ‘--since’ - shows only commits since date specified

                        ‘--author” – narrows down by author

For more information visit these lovely websites:

http://git-scm.com/book/en/Git-Basics-Viewing-the-Commit-History

http://learn.github.com/p/log.html

http://git-scm.com/book/en/Getting-Started-Git-Basics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git_(software)#History

The scAvengers

Today we had a scavenger hunt of sorts. At 9:30 AM, I, the team captain, got the instructions for the hunt. It was kinda like a photo contest. We had twenty-six phrases that we had to capture in our photographs. At least one team member (out of five) had to be in the photo and points were awarded for creativity. They had to be turned in by 4 PM sharp or the team would be disqualified. The 26 phrases were rather racy; plus, we had our own special spin on them. The actual photo taking wasn't as much fun as it could of been because some of us were feeling a little bit crabby in the hot Florida sun. . . But I do enjoy the end result.

Here are the photos we took with the phrase that corresponds to it. Enjoy! 

Relativity

Minorities Writes

Monkeys in a Tree

One Time at Nerd Camp

Survival Cooking for Nerds

Sportsmanship

Tallahassee Natives

The Other Half of Knowledge . . .

Lax bros and tennis hoes

What Happens After Curfew

YSP Essentials

Phallic Symbol

Ping Pong Double Team

I DO PARKOUR!

How Not to Treat the Head Counselor

The Indian Connection

When Kara Drives . . .

Call me maybe . . ?

YOLO

Olympics

Breaking the Plane

College Stereotype

Favorite Position

King Me

Leap Frog

Losing Your Religion

We didn't win. But the other groups had more fun and had funnier photos so it's ok. :)

Nerdy Green out.

July 6th!

We had a wonderful Fourth here at nerd camp. For starters, we got to sleep in! Which that alone is cause for celebration! Also, we took a very peculiar trip to the local Tallahassee Goodwill. Why were we there, you ask. Well on Sunday, the annual cross-dressing Miss YSP contest will take place. And we had to venture to this place of cheap used clothing to transform our nerdy guys to beautiful women! Unfortunately, photos are not allowed so I cannot show you the hilarious sight that is twenty drag nerds, but I bet you can imagine it.

A Tom Brown July 4th

Afterward, the nerds piled in the vans and drove to Tom Brown Park. It was a picturesquely American Fourth of July! There were several food trucks and food tents selling lemonade, hot dogs, pizza, and of course, ice cream. Thousands of people sat on this hilly lawn listening to the sounds of local bands and children laughing. It was very very cute.

We had a pizza eating contest yesterday at Cici's Pizza. Why? Well it is tradition, of course. The record is 61, a feat accomplished by head counselor Drew back in his day! My roommate nearly won the title for the females but in a surprising turn of events an underdog ate an astonishing 31 pieces to claim the prize. How many did I eat? Like four, plus breadsticks! It was delicious and I didn't feel the need to puke afterward like some.

Classes are still very difficult. Friday just wasn't a good day to be a nerd. In comp sci we nearly broke the internet, but no worries. It fixed-ed itself. We downloaded a free version of Minecraft, which at first I was really excited because I thought he was talking about Minesweeper which I just recently learned how to play. But sadly Minecraft is not the same as Minesweeper. Guess I'll have to learn. In my Some Interesting Differential Equations class, I had an interesting time trying to understand/stake awake. I was just too tired to derive! You ought to pull over sometimes and rest! (Heehee, you see what I did there?). And I am not looking forward to the homework, which is always a challenge. To make nerd Friday even more taxing, we had a quiz in Biochemistry of the Gene which I definitely failed. And then after the quiz, my dang fruit flies started flying everywhere! They were not properly sedated, so numerous flies darted out of the tube and attacking me! It was terrifying. 

Nerd life is sometimes the hard life.
Stay classy, Planet Earth.
Nerdy Green

Fun Day Sunday!

In case you were wondering, I am still sick. It has officially been a week of this sickness which means I have been ill for half of my time here. Which means today marks two weeks at YSP.

I don't really have much to update you on regarding nerd life here at YSP. . . Oh, my computer science gave us really fun homework for the weekend! It is a video game! No, really. We have to play this computer game which teaches us about Vim. I still have no idea what a Vim is, but the game VIM-Adventures is kinda fun.

Now on to the much more interesting part of YSP, the non-nerdy stuff! Saturday we went canoeing on the Wakulla River! It was quite fun, although tiring. Especially since I had to steer/paddle the entire time! The river was beautiful and we saw an alligator (but sadly no manatee)! I captained a three-person canoe, and we kept going until the current was so strong that we were barely moving. We then enjoyed a very peaceful float back with minimal paddling. 

Following the canoeing adventure, I wasn't feeling too great. So what do you think I did? I napped! I fell asleep and so did my roommate, Jamila. And when we finally did wake up three hours later, we had slept through the Tango class taught by Sir Nathan that we were planning on going to. Hopefully, there will be another opportunity to Tango. After we woke up from our nap, we were bored (this happens a lot)! So what did we do? We went to the Sweet Shop, of course! I enjoyed some frappe, falafel, and some of Priyanka's cheesecake. I'm not sure what I would do without that wonderful place.

Hmmm . . . What else? Oh, I've taken up knitting! So far I have knitted a very lovely rectangle. But I am doing something wrong because I started out with 24 stitches and I now have 43 . . . Oh, and I enjoyed  Lord of the Rings late last night. We shall watch the next two soon!

Under the guise of stargazing, all 40 of us nerds piled into the vans and drove to the FSU stadium. We then gathered around this fountain at midnight. According to FSU tradition, students must be thrown into the Westcott Fountain on their birthday. Well, Gerardo was the lucky birthday boy! However, the Westcott Fountain was drained so that's why we went to the stadium instead. It was quite a sight and actually pretty cool. 

Well that's all I got. Later,
Nerdy Green

P.S. I did well on all my AP tests (just ok on some though)