Since this is the last blog, I wanted to have some reflection before starting the blog:
Ms. Bana said something along these lines the first week of the program, “Can you think of 5 nobel prize winners? The 5 richest people in the world? What about 5 Golden Glove winners? 5 Academy Award winners? It isn’t easy. Now, can you think of 5 friends? 5 teachers that have helped you? 5 people you enjoy being around? See, awards, achievements, and accomplishments are forgetten, buried with your grave. The people that make an impact on your life are not those with the greatest rewards or merits, it is those who care the most.”
I bring up this anecdote because its truth has been displayed all throughout my time at SSP. Regardless of your background, whether you are the #1 student in Turkey, someone who images blackholes, or a SoundCloud rapper from Chicago, each and every one of you guys has provided me memories I will always cherish and remember. The time I have spent with you guys has forever changed my life, and I look forward to the spectacular things that your future brings. Thank you for everything SSP.
I also made you guys a video (Please watch it):
Anyways, I hope the video I made makes up for the poor blog 🙂
Hi everyone! Today, we all woke up and slithered to SBO to write donor cards and fill out the exit surveys. Afterwards, all the teams finalized their stickers and cleaned up Kitt and SBO. Despite it being the last day, everyone still had a smile on their face.
After procrastinating my packing, we all decided to go eat our last lunch at C4C (the photo below was taken by a stranger because Kara could not figure out the angle to take a selfie).
After eating lunch, we went on a Zoom call with the NMSU campus and saw Laurissa and Laura 2.0. We asked some questions and then played a game where we tried to find a look-a-like from the other campus.
The Zoom call ended and we went to change and prepare for the group photos. Everybody was looking straight beautiful for the photos. Despite the cloudy sky and the turbulent winds, everyone still had a fantastic time taking pictures with each other.
We had our 2nd to last count off before going to our last dinner at C4C. At dinner, Uluc got everybody to eat a final lemon. After dinner, we went to listen to our guest speaker, Dr. Karen Morrison, talk about life advice as well as her career. Although a short presentation, her advice and words were very impactful.
After the guest speaker, we had our paper plate awards. There was some disagreement about my awarding of the “Most Rizz” Paper Plate, but they are haters. Below I have pictures of some of my favorite awards (Honorable Mentions: Best Adlibs, Most Photogenic, Most Likely to Be a Successful Rapper). We then transitioned to our talent show, where we learned about receding hairlines and embraced slam poetry.
Following the talent show, we went to iHOP and stayed up late since it was the last day. Since there was no curfew, most of us decided to stay up late singing and dancing to early 2016 songs and Bruno Mars. Everyone was having a great last night talking and spending time with each other, except Joshua. Joshua spent his night as a barista and serving free coffee.
The next morning, it was very sad since everyone was leaving. Everyone was also incredibly exhausted since most people pulled all nighters. There were a lot of tears shed during graduation, and we had the opportunity to meet some of the parents. We said our final goodbyes to the people that had their parents pick them up while the rest of us took a bus to the airport. After bag check-in and security check, we met up at Terminal B to eat lunch at Shake Shack. After saying my final goodbyes to everyone, I boarded and fell asleep for the entire duration of my flight.
Aaron
SSP 2023 CUB QoD Winner
SSP 2023 Most Rizz Paper Plate Award
My name is Aaron, and I go to Stephen F. Austin High School in Sugar Land, Texas. I enjoy playing sports such as basketball and volleyball with my friends as well as the violin. SSP has inspired to keep on shooting for the stars, and I will forever cherish the community we have built.
