Day 1 | The Beginning of My Adventure

Today, July 10, I began my WJMC experience. The drive up had my nerves on end. What was I going to face at George Mason University (GMU)? How many people are actually going to be there? Will I make new friends quickly? The answers to those questions were given to me within the first ten minutes of my arrival. Every single person I spoke to was beyond friendly and inviting. I quickly made friends with my roommates, once we all met at 11 pm to be exact, and fell in love with my color group once we got through the first few awkward moments.

*Above is a group photo taken by Kera, our junior faculty advisor, and everyone in our red color group. This was right after the slightly weird game "blub," and right before the great dinner and speach.

But hold on, how about I face this chronologically. After my parents drove me to GMU and acted as familial comfort while I wandered the campus in search for check in and this interesting "hub," I surprisingly became comfortable. I met a great group of friends while socializing in the hub, and stepped outside of my comfort zone to be part of a video interview (which is big for me considering how I am NOT photogenic). After the amazing campus tour I met my color group and quickly knew that I belonged. Kera and Irene, our advisors, were so nice that honestly it felt like we were already friends. The brief color group meeting led us to dinner and to the fascinating speech by Tina Rosenberg. First of all, the food was delicious, second of all, Rosenberg was interesting. Speeches don't initially sound fun, yet Rosenberg instantly caught my attention with her gritty, real life approach to journalism. She was direct and honest with us which is rare attention us teenagers get from adults. I gained a great respect for her and her business, and will be looking further into it. All in all, day one officially goes down as a success. I am no longer nervous, only excited for the days to come. But sadly I am sleep deprived and would rather be in bed right now. Good night WJMC, see you tomorrow.