Bay Area Weather is the Best Weather

Wednesday night was the long awaited ILC School Board meeting; for me, however, it was just another regular board meeting--the exception being I was looking much more forward to this meeting than the ones in the past. I was not only going to get together with all of my cohort, but all of the other ILCers as well. There aren't many instances where we all get together, so I was ecstatic.

I came home after school and took a much needed two hour nap, knowing it was going to be a long night. I woke up, got dressed, and made my way over to Lovonya Dejean.  I arrived the same time as my leadership adviser at school, who I am incredibly proud to say received an administrative position over at Richmond High for the upcoming school year (congrats Hillyer!). My dad and I made our way into the building and figured the rest of the group was outside. My attempts of being early had once again failed, as Don began speaking right when I arrived.  He went over the basic procedures of the night and allowed us to meet our chaperones.

My cohort and I were then introduced to the lovely Kendra! She was incredibly sweet and nice, I'm sure we'll be getting along together just fine. Through the midst of all the conversation, the cold began biting at my hands, and so we all made our way back inside. I may or may not be over exaggerating, but it most definitely was cold, especially when it was beach weather just a day prior. Everyone became situated inside and I took my seat up on the stage along with the other Board members. 

Seeing how packed the room was that evening, I already knew there was going to be A LOT of public comment that night, and I was right--34 to be exact. The main issue being voiced that night was regarding the Serra Adult School. This has been floating around for quite a few months now, so it wasn't anything new to me; however, my fellow ILCers looked quite surprised as each person expressed their opinions on the issue. About half an hour later, public comment was over, and we moved onto the next item on the agenda. Right when President Block said "Ivy League Connection", I walked off the stage and joined the rest of the group. 

Don started us off introducing the program, its purpose, as well as what it offers. The wonderful chaperones then began to introduce each of their respective cohorts, including the student speakers. Evan, Robson, and Lindsay all spoke extremely well, considering our time constraint. It was then my turn to speak. I had chosen the topic of what we would be doing once we arrive over on the east coast. Being on the Board for the past 6 months has made me very comfortable around all the Board members and staff; however being on the other side is a bit more difficult than it seems. Once the speeches were over, we all headed outside to take our group photos. 

I don't remember a word I said

We all arranged ourselves according to Don's instruction, hoping the wind would die down a bit, it did not. Cold, windy air and group photos? What a wonderful combination. Don took over 40 pictures since every few minutes someone's hand would be in the air readjusting their hair (guilty). After the group pictures, Don took our individual cohort pictures and any other photo requests we had. 

After the group pictures, my dad left as I had to stay the rest of the night for the meeting. We took a few more photographs and most the ILCers and their families had left. Noor and Raqeeb's parents continued speaking with Don, and I decided to stay a little longer and catch up with the two. Despite the cold air, it was really nice talking to the two of them, our conversation was all over the place. Their parents were done talking and were ready to leave, we all said our goodbyes and they headed home while I made my way back up to the stage for the remainder of the meeting. 

I would say that this meeting was an overall success. We might have not received as much recognition from the School Board as we would have liked; however no one left unhappy. I was able to catch up with faces I hadn't seen in a while, as well as a few new ones. Best of all, we managed to get some great photographs out of it. With each milestone event, the time for our trips are approaching and I'm beginning to grow more and more restless.

I love them!