A Look Back, and then A Look Forward

Author: Lucas G.

My time here at the NMSU campus has been possibly the best summer of my life. To quote the website “It is the summer of a lifetime”. If you don’t mind I’m going to do a little bit of reminiscing in this blog post, a little retrospective look back on SSP, as we approach the final days. 

The first day:

I was expectedly nervous for arrival day at SSP. As I walked through the airport I would play a game of “Is that a SSP person or not?” everytime I say someone my age. What I remember the most though is when I joined the main group. In my memory all those people were strangers, and it’s strange to think of them like that. I’ve gotten to know so much about most of the 35 other participants here, and it feels like we have grown into a family of sorts. There was something that Dean said about the other campuses that really stuck with me. He said “Imagine, if we had gone to those other campuses those other people would be our friends”. While I know he is true, I can’t help but also think that NMSU was the perfect campus for me. I can’t imagine my SSP experience without my teammates and peers, and I know these bonds will last for a long time.

Pecans:

Ahh the pecans, I never expected to eat so many in such a short amount of time. This all started one morning when my teammate, Alex, offered me some walnuts during breakfast. She explained that she had gotten these nuts from trees on the campus, and so naturally we had to get more. This led to us distributing walnuts around SSP. But this story does not stop there, ohh no. On our next field trip we were waiting for the bus when we realized we where standing under a pecan tree. So we collected some, and some more, and some more. Actually we collected wayyyyy too many. I ate so many pecans that following week, im so so sick of them now.

College Day:

College day was another very fun, but kind of stressful day. This time though it was a little more stressful and a little more fun than morning. It was a little more stressful than usual because I had been selected, along with Vivian, to give a short speech at the formal dinner that night. What was even more special was that the SSP board of members would be meeting that week, and so would also be at the dinner. It was safe to say I was a little nervous for the night. Now, with all the Psets it was quite hard to write a speech, but I had a solid feeling of what I wanted to say, so the night before I finished my speech. Well, that was the plan anyway. I actually got sick the day before the dinner and wasn’t able to finish my speech. So on the last day I cobbled together some resemblance of a speech just to have something prepared. But when it came time to actually go up and give it, I decided to not use what I had written, but instead go from the heart. I knew everything that was in that speech, and I didn’t need a sheet of paper to remind me of why I loved SSP so much. In the end I gave a pretty good speech, at least according to my peers. It ended up being a very fun night, and one more memory in the SSP catalog. 

The Final Week:

Those were only some of my favored memories, and trust me when I say there are many many many more. But now we approach the final week, and that is partly why I feel so sentimental. I feel like I belong here, and I’ve made so many friendships that I know will last. This is especially true when it comes to my teammates. Luis and Alex have been so wonderful, and I couldn’t ask for a better crew. We have stuck together this far, and I know we will get through this last week together. It is safe to say, we have entered the end game.

Best Teammates ever ^

About me:

Hello, my name is Lucas and I attend Montclair highschool in Montclair New Jersey.