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FINALIST WEEK JOURNALS
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2006
Team Grey
The thing is over.
EVERYBODY IN OUR TEAM WON SOMETHING!
Anthony won the Aviation Award.
Shilipi won the Special Guest Host along with Amy.
Nick got the Lowell Observatory Award.
Amy got the 3rd place award.
Nolan GOT THE GRAND PRIZE.
WE ALL GOT THE TEAMWORK AWARD.
WE'LL SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN WHEN WE DO A CAMP TOGETHER AND SEE THE PANDAS!
This is the last entry.
For those who read this root on the next gray team!
I just have one thing to say. wow. That was the most awesome week ever. Its over. Even though black team didn't get the team award, we still rock! Yaa! Black Attack! Did I mention how awesome that week was? We all met lots of new friends and we all hope we can see each other again. I wanna give a shout out to team 5, linsey, manpreet, radhika, and theo. You guys were awesome. Andddddddd. Ya you guys out there know it. THE AKON CORPORATION!!!! Oh yah!! That was awesome!!! Anyway, were all winners in the end and this was a really awesome week. I think thats maybe the sixth time ive said awesome in this blog. Ya, I know I love this word. Its awesome. So, thats all I have to say. Until next time................................. biiiiii fo sho!
Wow... I'm still in shock after getting second place. Of course, it didn't help that I had to go to school the next day. Such is the price for living near DC.
Life has been quite busy since YSC. When I came back to school, after missing three days, I had only four left until the quarter ended. Yet, it was definitely worth it missing school to go to the YSC. It was the absolute best week of my life!
I got to relax for a whole week (albeit with a little less sleep than I'd prefer) and meet 39 other (37, since I already knew Scott and David) bright young scientists from across the country!
It was really interesting to hear the different perspectives of people from states ranging from California to Montana to Florida, and I made friendships that I know will last forever! The forty finalists may be far away, but our passion for science (and the Internet) surely connects us all!
On a final note, science is cool. Think about it—in what other school subject can you make "elephant snot," fly around on a Nimbus 2000 (or it might have been a Firebird, who knows), and enjoy ice-cold (almost) root beer? If you can open it, that is.
All jokes aside, YSC really was a truly awesome experience. I have to write an essay in English about how one event really changed me, and I would have chosen YSC, expect our first draft was due Oct 16 and I don't have time to completely change it before tomorrow's final draft deadline. But you get the point.
I miss waking up and having breakfast ready, but I also miss the friends, and the lack of schoolwork. And for everything else, too, I will always remember YSC... go purple!
The YSC experience as a whole has been both enlightening and inspirational. I never thought that I would ever get to meet 39 kids who are so adept at thinking and communicating. Reflecting back on the whole competition, I can say that without a doubt, meeting the other finalists was the best part. Knowing that we'll keep e-mailing each other, and might see each other at future academic events, makes school seem a bit less dreary.
As for my win—I wasn't expecting it at all. I came to this competition hoping that I would at least bring something to my team and the group as a whole. Of course we all had hopes of doing well, but I personally would have been satisfied going home with 39 new friends.
I know that this experience alone will be the driving factor behind my future science projects and activities. The motivation comes mostly from the knowledge that I might be able to meet many more students who share my intrests and dreams.
*What a week! They sure weren't lien' when they said this would be one of the best weeks of our lives! Well, Wednesday night I was named the third place winner, and I was totally thrilled! It was a pretty big honor to even be in Washington D.C. with the smartest people I've ever met (5-8th grade, wow!)
The 1st night, all 40 finalist met our teams (TEAM GRAY ALL THE WAY) and we had a talking science workshop. Then the week started with a big bang when the presenting began on Sunday. (drum roll) The judges walked into the room, and I ended up being more excited than nervous! Each group had a root beer session with Judge Jake. It was fun to relax and talk with him about our first science experiences. During the 'behind the scenes' tour, I was able to see a preserved ostrich that they had to fold for it to fit into the drawer.
Then the Challenges began! Monday & Tuesday my team worked through the challenges. These ranged from obesity, chemistry and mold to avian flu. We did struggle a bit in the lab tech. relay, but we pulled it together for our next section. My team had awesome teamwork and in the end we actually won the teamwork award. We learned that "Together we can" and "Together we did"
Monday evening I was able to go to the Children's Inn with three other kids. We did some science experiments and tricks with the children. Their faces would light up and they all had smiles from ear to ear! This experience has inspired me to look into medical care of children. Another morning all 40 scientists went to an elementary sc hool. I loved being able to mentor the kids while they worked on finding a science fair topic. I gave them the scientific process after teaching them a bit about some of the science tricks we did. Judge Jake has inspired me so much in the way he is able to communicate with young people and help them think like scientists.
Dinner Cruise*!* By this time I mostly knew every face and could match names. As we cruised down the Potomac River, the kids hit the dance floor. This group made history; every single person at our party was up and dancing, and that means kids, parents, chaperones and even the waiters! I finished the night with a chocolate pyramid dessert.
*The last night we said goodbye to our friends after we danced the night away. I met some life time friends. Hey they might even come out to Wyoming to ski! It'll be some people's first snow experience.
I'm very exited to be a Discovery show host, and travel back to D.C. and research at the zoo with Team Grey! Lastly, Judge Jake will be doing a show at my school!
I'd like to tell everyone that no matter what your age is, no matter how many science classes you've taken, you can be a scientist. Scientists aren't just the people working in labs in a white coat, but any one who finds something their curious about then asks a question. You can then try some experiments, find an answer, and then tell your friends about it. For example if your pl aying basketball, golf, volleyball (the force and the angles of the ball are dealing with physics) or if your in the kitchen baking cookies (that's chemistry). The cool thing about it is that science is every where, and you can do it!
