After traveling through Europe, we finally made it to our last destination: Boston. I was so sad to arrive to Boston because it meant the end of Winterline. I didn’t want it to end, I had such a good time, I just wanted to keep on going for ever.
We stayed in Boston for two weeks. The first week we worked at Startup Institute. I really enjoyed working there. We learned all about interviewing and applying for jobs. For example, we learned how to make a good resume, the different types of styles of interviewing, how to prepare for an interview, how to speak in public, etc. It was so interesting and helpful and the teachers were great! With Startup Institute we also worked on developing our own business idea. We were divided into groups of three or four and brainstormed over a couple of business ideas and then we would present it. Each day we learned something new about the business planning and present our own at the end of the day and they would give us feedback. The last day we had to do a pitch of our plan. We went to a conference room in MIT and presented. We had a judging panel. We would present our business plan and ask the “investors” for the amount of money we thought was necessary. Then they would ask us questions about our plan. It was so difficult doing this because there’s so many things involve and we had to do a lot throughout the week but only present the most important during the pitch.
During our last week in Boston we worked with Wheelock Family Theater producing a play to perform at our Winterline graduation. We developed a play based on our experiences throughout Winterline and created all the scenes with funny and memorable events that happened to us. For example, we did scenes from Estes Park, NOLS, scuba diving in Panama, and eating dinner together in Rancho Mastatal. We also did scenes like funny encounters with the hotel staff in India, rickshaw drivers in Cambodia, and Thai massage instructors in Bangkok. It was super fun creating the play. It was nice remembering things since the beginning and laughing at old jokes that we had forgotten about. We did so much brainstorm over our whole 9 months together and it was nice to end on that. The last day, on May 7th 2017, most of our parents came over to Boston to watch us perform our play. After that we had our graduation ceremony and were handed our certifications. It was so weird to have it in our hands; we had graduated from the Winterline Global Skills Program. I couldn’t believe it was the end of it. After that we greeted our parents and headed back to the hostel. We spend the night together and said our goodbyes in the morning. It was so weird to leave and to know that after living together for 9 months, it was all over.
I was so happy to have been a part of this group. I learned so much form myself and from other people and had so many experiences that I know I wouldn’t have been able to have if it wasn’t for Winterline. I will always cherish my time there. Traveling and learning all these things was the best thing I could do before starting college. I am so excited to start college in the Fall and I am ready now. Taking a gap year was the best decision I have made. I would do it again if I could. I am so happy and grateful that I got this opportunity and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I am still the same person that I was before taking the gap year, but I am now more independent and curious about the world. And I am so excited to continue learning and experiencing what the world has to offer.
Next stop: University of Denver!!
