Attending this program in the city was a new experience since I've never really rode the BART by myself before but I find myself much more confident in using public transportation and navigating my way to places! That being said, my classes were also pretty awesome.

My teachers were really easy and fun to talk to (especially my character design and illustration teachers, I honestly love them) and it made classes so much easier. They gave me a lot of one on one feedback which was great to learn what areas I needed to work on. I feel that a lot of the teachers, in the Illustration department at least, are really casual and really cool! Even the teacher I had for a substitute was really funny and sometimes other teachers and models would stroll into our classes and talk to our teachers and the other students. It's a really neat environment to work in to say the least.

The only class I felt like I was doing homework-homework for was my foundation classes, Drawing and Composition and Figure Drawing, but I think some of my better work came from those classes! In my other classes we were given a lot of work time to draw for our assignments and do fun stuff which I found really enjoyable. I made most of my friends in my Illustration and Character Design classes, and met really cool young artists! It's great to be in a place surrounded by the things you love and people who share the same interest and help you cultivate your interests and passions. AAU has student work up all around their campuses and it's so inspiring to see when you're just walking around, taking a break from 2 hour classes.

The final student exhibition was really nice as we got to see everyone's work mounted up professionally and it was cool to see my stuff hung up in a gallery. I didn't get any pictures of it in the gallery so I just took my stuff home and took a picture in my room- It would've looked better with it hung up for memories but I was too embarrassed to take pictures of my own work, I guess.

But nonetheless, I had a great and productive summer and would love to come back if I get the chance again!

One thing I've waited for ever since school started: for it to be over.

Learning is good and all but really, you aren't really allowed to pursue the things you're most interested in, especially when you're a freshman. But I'm excited for this first year of high school to be over so I can have more experiences with learning about art through the art pathway "academy" at my school next year and of course, through this opportunity of going to the summer program in SF.

I'm both excited and nervous when I think about actually going there because on one hand I get to learn more about art from people who make a living off of art, meet new people who are also interested in art, and be able to become better than I am now by the end of the summer.

Also, thank you again, to my donors, for helping me be able to go this program. This is a program I would usually never even consider on going because the amount seems like too much but through Wishbone and your support, I can experience new opportunities, meet new people, and learn some more life skills (like how to take Bart since I don't use it).