Monday has dawned on us for the second time at SSP. Our morning was greeted with tired groans and a lecture on optics and telescopes, presented by Dr. Z. Somehow, even though I had gone to sleep earlier (than normal) Sunday night, I felt more tired and struggled to keep up… I considered drinking coffee for the nth time so I could stay awake. After our 9-12 lecture, we went to eat lunch and were met with younger students from other camps that had just started; they crowded the lines and filled the dining hall with high squeaks and active energy. Hoping tea would effectively substitute coffee and fulfill my need for caffeine, I headed over to the student store cafe and bought myself an overpriced matcha latte. Meanwhile, two of my friends purchased new black 40 oz hydro flasks, which matched mine! A little pricey of a purchase, might I say, but they are happy and staying more hydrated than ever.
We headed back to Phillips Hall for two afternoon lectures, one on orbital elements and the other on gravity. When lectures finally ended, we went back to the dorms and I was planning to take a nap. However, my roommate and I could not stop talking, and soon it was already time for dinner. After dinner, I took a shower during the short break we had and walked over to the green room for a dorm meeting. During the dorm meeting, SSP-ers discussed things they had experienced with their social life at SSP and talked a lot. We were all excited to hear about plans for our beach trip coming up on Thursday!! Shortly after, we began our nightly routine of working on problem sets and collaborating. I honestly enjoyed these moments because we were both being productive and having lots of fun (as seen by an SSP-er’s first time doing taekwondo in the hallway).
It’s been a wild first week, with lots of laughter, sleep deprivation, physics, and fun. I’m looking forward to the next upcoming weeks when we start creating our orbit determination code!!
-Kennice
