Final Reflection
I actually did find the Boston trip interesting, and it was actually pretty nice to see some of the historical sights such as the Freedom Trail, Fenway Park, and the Salem Cemetery. Visiting colleges was something good for us to see and experience so we could get an idea of what looking into a college is like. It also helps us decide whether we would prefer an urban or suburban environment. It was also great to get a taste of Boston candy from places like Mike's Pastries and the oldest candy shop in Salem.
The best parts of the Boston trip, were always the nights. At the end of the day we always got to do something fun. The second night we went on that cruise ship, had a nice dinner, and we got to socialize with eachother. The third night we got to see movies and go have dinner at the mall. The last night we got to see a play called Shear Madness, which I liked because of it's excellent improvisation. Yes, visiting the colleges was boring, learning about some of the American history was boring, but we at least got something from it. The only thing I would really want different from the Boston Trip is that if enough people wanted to go to a redsocks game, if we got to sleep in, and if we weren't left in a town for 4 hours while the teachers get a "few" drinks at "Ye Olde Irish Pub".
The main thing I took a way from Boston is that it's city and the places around it are more historical than I initially though. The first thing I learned, and most importantly was in Fenway Park. It's that Boston Redsocks are better than every other team, the redsocks endured the curse of the Bambino for about 70 years, and that one the other side of the scoreboard, each redsocks player has written their name. We also saw the Boston Common, Paul Revere's house. Paul Revere got famous because his named rhymed with a poem that made him famous. We also went to Quincy Market and visited a Church with seperate cubicals that isolated families from one another. We also saw the graves of those involved in the Witch Trials and those who were executed within a 4 day time frame. This even included characters from the very novel we are reading in English class known as The Crucible. We also went to Lexington and Concord where we saw the memorial where 77 minute man stood against hundreds of British troops and "The shot heard around the world". We also visited the Battlesight of the Bridge that went to Concord and we saw a memorial to British troops. There was certainly something that we took away.
In our college visits, we went to Boston College, Boston University, and Harvard. Based on visiting those colleges, I learned that I am more likely to appreciate an urban city, because it a Suburban city you kind of feel isolated within the community. In an urban city, that's where the action is, and you meet a lot more people. Also the suburban setting, and the fact that B.C. seemed pretty right wing, and religious...which is not exactly what I prefer. I liked the sizes of the colleges, both in B.C. and B.U. Boston College was big enough so that you felt like it was really it's own exclusive community, but Boston University is a great size because you feel like your part of the city. Same with Harvard as well, I can't really complain about the size. The tours basically helped me understand that I would like a college near or within a city with people that are not only affiliated with the college. I thought I would be crazy if I applied to Harvard, and after that Harvard Tour, Steve even strengthened my opinion on not going to Harvard. Steve constantly ranted how famous patriots like George Washington, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams went to Harvard. Also the whole 150$ application fee, and 7% applicants are admited into Harvard just made me less likely to even think about Harvard. I still want to check out some other Surban Colleges, but it seems that I am more intrested in urban.
