Experience Everything.

It's been a while since my last post, so I think it's time for a new one. But it's been really hard to think of a good topic, so I thought I'd tell you a bit about this camp I'm at and hope my ranting will end with a good point :]

So I've always been really into "academic summer programs" and I've been wanting to go to one for about 2-3 years. And this year, I finally enrolled in one! I was so excited. It's called Youth Summer Programs at University of Toronto--they have a medical program and a law program. It's for 4 weeks, but you can sign up for as many as you want. Right now, we're about halfway through the 2nd week and I must say that this has been an experience I will never forget.

People here come from a variety of places, from Hong Kong to Spain and Italy to the US and all over Canada. And I've met some amazing people here. Everyone's so friendly and easy to get along with, maybe because the majority of us are in a totally new environment: experiencing "university life" while in high school. It's funny to see people meet and then two days later they seem like best friends. But that's happening all around me.

The work! (for Med): We have class 5 days a week. Usually about 2-3 hours of lectures and then 3-4 hours of labs. The lectures are given by professionals in the medical fields and college professors. They teach us some pretty advanced stuff, but everything stays interactive. The cliche statement we heard a lot at the beginning of last week was that we're here to "learn while having fun" and I never would have thought that it's possible, but it is! At camp we don't have to worry about exams, we just hear the information and know that it will benefit us later. Our labs/class time is in groups of about 20 with 2 instructors, university students who are studying in the field and definitely know what they're talking about. They are always available for questions and will repeat things as many times as you want. But at the same time, they are insanely friendly and open! We joke a lot, but we still get through labs that usually teach us a lot about ourselves.

The fun!: Every day we have about 3 hours of "evening activities." We are split into about 8-9 groups (for the sake of taking attendance in a quicker manner) with counselors who are so relaxed and understanding that we feel comfortable. Activities range from scavenger hunts and playing quiditch to visiting Toronto attractions such as the Eaton Center and CN Tower. This is a great time to meet with other kids and just hang out and have a great time like everyone wants to in the summer.

If you're here for more than one week, weekend activities are held such as going to Wonderland (which was the most amazing place ever!) or Niagara Falls. Or, you can hang out at the residence or have a counselor take you somewhere near by.

So far this has been an AMAZING experience for me. I love the lectures and the classes. Yesterday we had a lecture about different medications and how they work, as soon as we got out I wanted to know all about the medications I'm on and what they're classified as. I've learned so much and I've written so many notes and I'm still excited and anticipating even more.

Maybe my point is that these camps aren't just for nerds, that it doesn't completely revolve around learning and academics. This program is very well rounded and I think it'll be difficult for any other to compete with it!

Now let's relate this to a better purpose...

We have this life to live, and of course we want to live it to its fullest. But what is life except a compilation of memories and experiences? Key word here: experiences! Experiences such as this one give us the chance to meet new people, try new things, go new places, etc. And experiences like this have such a benefit in the long run. A week of physiology lectures may make you decide that you want to be a doctor. Or two days of learning about criminal law may tell you that you hate it with a passion. But the experiences, more importantly the knowledge you gain from them, will benefit you in the future.

So my advice to you: while you still have the chance, while you're still young, experience everything. Experience everything that you can because it will make a difference. And you'll have fun along the way as well.

P.S.--Check out YSP here!