In the End...

Elijah and Dad.

Sadly enough, today was the last full day of VSA. It definitely felt like a last day - people were hugging each other everywhere, signing each other's books...there was just a sense of finality to the day. Being the last day of class, we had to present our modified cars to our assigned children today, over at Belmont University. Our group was fairly certain we had fixed most of the problems that had come up. Boy, were we wrong.

For some reason, things that were fine when we tested them in the morning started going wrong. The battery suddenly became too week, the back support had to be readjusted, the steering wheel was too loose...the list goes on and on. We did all we could, but ended up having to postpone the car delivery date to Elijah's family; Amanda announced that she would work out the kinks in the car and deliver it personally. 

It was incredibly disappointing not being able to directly see the results of our efforts, but I'm able to accept this failure. Our team put in as much effort as we could have, and I learned so much over the course of just a few weeks. If only we had a little more time, we could have successfully completed our task. But hey, in real life you don't always get the things you need.

All the VSA students gathered here today...

Immediately after class we were whisked to the closing ceremony. To me, it felt like the VSA leaders tried really hard to hit us right in the feels, and it kind of worked. If anything, the ceremony was more like a joyful event rather than a tearful one, even if there were sentimental moments. They showed a slide shows of assorted pictures from our time here, brought up memories of proctor groups...at one point someone quoted Perks of Being a Wallflower (one of my favorite books ever) in a speech. The ceremony was kind of like a shock to me, like "Oh my god. This is actually happening, we're leaving tomorrow." I know it'll be more painful tomorrow morning.

Following some free time, which I used to pack and clean the room (which was actually pretty difficult, by the way. Stuff migrates across a room in a couple of weeks.), we had our last dance! I was in a good mood, but just didn't feel like dancing, so I found a quiet room and chatted with some people. I met Katrina, from Vancouver, Washington, who did a tarot card reading for me, interestingly enough. I'll spare the boring details about my romantic future, shall I? Anyhow, Jackie, Katrina, and I had a very deep conversation about a jumble of topics: the universe, autism, birth control...it was quite enjoyable, and a welcome alternative to whipping ten thousand times for lack of a better dance move.

To conclude the day, we had our final proctor group meeting, and had a hilarious time playing "Hot Seat." I could probably live with the boys for another ten years without getting tired of them, because they are funny. Oh, and I was also noted for being the student with the "most improved sleep schedule." I will neither confirm whether deny the truthfulness of this statement. :P

Last time seeing this gorgeous view...#7thfloor#realgood

It'll be time for departure soon. See you in a little bit.