Astronaut-to-be Adri is already loving their first summer at EXPLO — a place they describe as inclusive, interesting, and humongous!
So far, I'm really liking EXPLO. I like that people ask me what my pronouns are; it makes me feel comfortable. Where I'm from, people usually just assume. I've never been at a three-week summer program. It's quite comfortable here because camps I've been to before had so many students who didn't speak any English at all. I like that everyone here can communicate in at least one common language, and sometimes others, too.
My brother and my sister both came here when they were my age, and this summer it was my turn. They would always come home after EXPLO and tell me about their classes and friends and memories they made, so I knew I wanted to come. Hearing about all the different types of classes and that I could do whatever I wanted made me want to come even more!
I've only been to my classes once, but I'm already really excited and interested. I'm excited for Computer Programming because I'm not great at it now, but getting really good at it is one of my goals. I'm taking Chemistry in Action because I'm already really into chemistry, and I can't wait to learn even more. Today, my instructor was talking and I started writing all of it down in my notebook so I could ask more questions later.
I'll be 13 in three months. Sometimes I'm scared because I'm worried I'm moving too quickly. I'm skipping a grade in school this year, which makes me feel like I'm rushing through school. I'm going straight to high school. But I'm also excited because I'm becoming more independent.
I want to be an astronaut when I grow up. That's always been how I've imagined my future. To be an astronaut, you have to have 20/20 vision and to have studied a STEM subject. So that's my plan.
By the end of the summer, I want to be really good at programming and know a lot of chemistry. I also want to not want to leave: at camps I've been to, the way I know I had a good summer is that I don't want to leave when it's over. So I hope that on the last day, I'm very sad to leave so I'll know I had a great summer.
Charlotte Steinberg