There is something magical about Shad Valley. It totally warps your perception of time so that one day feels like a week, but at the same time one week feels like an hour. Today, on day 21 of Shad Valley Carleton, I cannot believe that there is only a week left.
This morning, everyone in Green House was much more relaxed than they were last night, as the business plan for our entrepreneurship project was due. During project time, everybody was lighthearted, optimistic and contented with all of the hard work they put in the nights before.
After that, we had a riveting lecture by the one and only Sam Dubé, otherwise known as “Super Sam”. He taught us effective and fun ways to brainstorm and even gave us a conditioning lesson. Sam demonstrated how to do difficult variations of push-ups, such as push-ups with his feet on a higher surface than his hands and even handstand push-ups! Needless to say, we were awed and impressed by his skills. I wouldn’t mess with him if I were you!
After lunch, our afternoon consisted of workshops. Many interesting ones were offered, such as one for DJ-ing, one for studying aliens and much more. I chose one about art and music, with Mashid, a very talented individual who lives and breathes art. Our activity was to listen to music and draw what the music made you feel. I chose to paint using a watercolour-type substance, and it was a lot of fun!
My committee, Coffee House, set up for our second event after dinner. Our coffee houses are held at a student-run café called Roosters, and the employees there were extremely kind and helpful with setting up. Jeff Manthorpe, a Professor of Synthetic Organic Chemistry, and I were the MCs. It went really well, and there was lots of variety, from dancing to singing, instrumental performances, prose reading and even humorous story telling!
After that, the Carleton Shads headed off to bed to snag as much sleep as they could, as the entrepreneurship project final presentations are in only two days! Good luck to Shads everywhere; we at Shad Valley Carleton look forward to seeing you all at the Entrepreneurship Cup!
The realization that there is only one week left of Shad Valley tastes bittersweet. On one hand, I’ve missed my parents and my friends, and I would love to get back to them, but the happiness that it would bring is diminished by the thought of leaving my fellow Shads. Even though I’ve known these people for less than a month, I feel as if I’ve known them my whole life. I’ve met many people here that I have instantly “clicked” with, and it feels amazing. Having to leave them behind will be much more difficult than I thought.
Ellen Li, Shad Valley Carleton 2012
