Intel ISEF 2008
10am, Sunday, May 11th. I’m standing in front of the baggage check-in kiosks at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport with my huge red suitcase, my handbag, and my laptop bag. Excited shivers run down my spine as I cluch my project notebook closer to my chest. This is it. I’m going to Atlanta, GA, on a trip that I had only dared to dream about since… I don’t know, freshman year.
That’s right, guys. Only a mere week ago I was jumping up and down in disbelief at the fact that I was going to the largest gathering of brilliant young scientists in the world… and now I’m back at home, sitting in my office, exhausted after six days of partying (i.e. nerdfests) at the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair 2008.
… you know, I think I’m going to cry from sentimentality and nostalgia. Seriously.
I have never, in my entire life, had such a good experience as that I have had this week. I have never been as happy as I was this week. I have never spoken to such amazing people, never felt such excitement, never been so thrilled by simply being allowed the opportunity to be in the same room with students around the world just as passionate about science as I am. You know, sometimes I lament about the fact that I wasn’t able to make it here to ISEF sooner in my high school career, but at the same time, I reflect on this idea and you know what? I don’t think I would have appreciated it quite as much. Not only does this, being both my first AND last time, mean so much more to me as a mark of the culmination of my personal development and scientific endeavors… I also got to share this joy and exhilaration with fellow MIT prefrosh! You know who you are ;D
To appease my longing to hitchhike on a plane back to Atlanta (so I can either spend some more time socializing with the ISEFers who still remain or just sit in the GWCC and revel in the awe and sheer wonder of what just took place there), I’ll have to take you all back to review what was definitely the BEST week of my life. Starting tomorrow, I’ll have to skip down Memory Lane and tell all the juicy details, but since I’m dying from lack of true sleep and thus feel terribly drowsy, I’ll leave you with this teaser of an introduction. In the coming days I’ll post a day-by-day anecdote of my adventures - hope it doesn’t bore you all too much!
