An Outstanding Dinner with an Iconic Brown-like Vibe

Had this with some coffee which helped me to have
the sustenance to write this blog. 

Wow. Despite my lethargic nature when the dinner in the City wound down, this has been one of the most amazing and compelling functions I have ever attended. I was to considerable surprise to be greatly invigorated and rejuvenated after listening to Mr. Ramsey's speech about how we are to be different from others so we can find our own niche and passion, fervently urging that we ought to take advantage of such a priceless opportunity given to us students as it is truly unique from other pedagogical organizations. This is due to the fact that many school districts do not provide such opportunities for students to obtain scholarships attend collegiate summer programs on massive scholarships.

Meeting so many of the Brown alumni and the current Brown students reaffirmed the quirky, yet positively unique nature of students who attend Brown. After hearing the stories of one alumni who spoke about smashing quarters, having a professor who taught engineering and Maoist theory, as well as knowing students who obtained grades on the pass/fail system not only interested me but helped me to finally find a utopia of not facing students who seem uninterested in spontaneous and out of the blue topics and issues.

This laissez-faire criterion is something that I have been struggling to find due to my unconventional interests and aspirations as well as having such a broad curiosity in a variety of different topics to talk about, try out, experience, or create. Brown seems so hard to define into words due to the incredible amount of diversity of matters on which is discussed and feeling lost and maybe a bit overwhelmed is something that I need, something which can free me out of a bubble of social conformity and non-abstract thinking. To hear how even concentrations like engineering permit a great deal of liberal arts-like classes are truly unique and lead me to hope I may be able to experience that one day.

But onward to some of the dinner specifics. The speeches iterated by one of alumni and the sponsors really spoke out to me as to expand what I am thinking about and really challenge and question the status quo as well as norms which may seem mandatory due to living in a certain social construct. The expertise and advice have motivated me to do something similar where I promise to engage the college-going culture in schools in the future as well as trying to create an even bigger and more promising step to assist those who really need the opportunity to expand their horizons and I have to exclaim that the ILC-Brown relationship is close to perfect for fostering that ambiance.

I have to admit I felt a bit peckish during some of the earlier speeches as the salad was tantalizing my taste buds but after watching others starting to eat their succulent salads with hesitancy, I began to do the same and I guess Don was right with his eating advice. I did feel a bit out of place with the halibut but it is hard to go wrong with ordering either entree at such a fine restaurant. The fish was extremely flaky and complimented the buttery and rich sauce with green peas, leading to a nice balance between a light and airy feeling and a dark and robust one.

I regret that I wasn't able to talk more with some of the other people at the dinner since they were seated at other tables dispersed in a relatively large room but towards the end of the dinner I spoke to many different sponsors and alums about majors, experiences, Rhode Island, German existentialism, school, and just life in general! Talking with a former panelist on the train led me to form new insights and experiences I otherwise may have ever had leading me to my main advice for anyone doing the ILC; TALK TO OTHERS AND PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE! IF YOU AREN'T, YOU ARE DEFEATING THE PURPOSE! Trust me, it won't be that bad and it will actually benefit you. If you got this far, you are absolutely capable of accomplishing this, guaranteed.

The nice seating room we were in, I couldn't get over the temperature-controlled wine cellar!

On a less preachy note, the amount of different people I have met as well as the outstanding range of topics I spoke about and the diversity of people I spoke to led me to have some pride in what the ILC does and what this district has to offer. I am forever in gratitude and this program provides life-changing opportunities which are too crucial to simply acquiesce, and to prevent this from happening, one must take initiative and stand out by doing something innovative and revolutionary, or else we will all just have backward and plain lives. Too bad Orwell or Huxley wasn't at this function, despite the upscale atmosphere. I presume many other blogs talked more about what occurred at the dinner but I beg to differ by presenting the importance and vision that this dinner places in the future.