Week 6

It’s crazy to think that we are already halfway through the program, it seems like the first month flew by. Although it seems like a reasonably long time, especially when it comes to getting to know people, the cohort is only just beginning to really open up and get to know each other which has been nice. I’ve been trying to plan a trip to the Dark Sky Park in Mackinaw City but it’s been very difficult to determine exactly who wants to go and what weekend would be optimal, but I really would like to go so I’m going to keep trying (picture from the park shown below). Additionally, we’ve made very loose plans to continue hanging out after the program ends which is exciting. While it’s easy to make relationships when you’re constantly interacting with those individuals, it’s much more difficult to maintain those relationships when there is physical distance. 

Overall I have been getting the feeling that this program will be beneficial down the road. While work can get a little boring and not having a very structured environment can be difficult, especially when it comes to organizing a work day and determining what needs to be accomplished, I think that being forced to do so will allow me to motivate myself in the future. Furthermore, there have been very few times in my life where I have been isolated from close friends and family for extended periods of time. While it can be uncomfortable, and definitely out of my comfort zone, I know that this is the kind of thing that allows me to expand that comfort zone and figure out what I’m capable of. As nice and familiar as it can be to have routine and group of individuals to consistently be with, I enjoy having a change and living in conditions that are very unlike anything I have previously experienced. I think that I would rather have a variety of memories with varying degrees of familiarity, than a lot of very similar memories in one setting. But I’m really looking forward to see what these next few weeks bring, especially with MoPop coming up.