Today was a great first day. After waking up at 5 AM, I packed up, wore my swag'iest clothing, and headed out with my aunt to the airport. Traveling alone, it was the first time I realized just how inarticulate I am, whether it be at the check-in counter, security, or on the plane. My words would come out in a jumble, and the nervousness surrounding my upcoming 3 weeks chocked me like a wet sock. I haven't met anyone at camp in person before, but I assured myself they will be nice people who share the same passion in math as me. Oh well, here goes nothing.

So after getting my baggage, I spotted 2 adults in purple AMSP shirts, and awkwardly said hi. They directed me to a group of campers, some of which are already socializing, others of which are standing by themselves with their phones. After being indecisive as to whether I should introduce myself to some of them for the longest time, the balance was tipped when a nice kid called Yi introduced him to me. I learned he's the same age as me, and is taking level 2 classes. After that, I introduced myself to 2 younger kids, but got semi-ignored. Not feeling discouraged, I spotted another camper standing near the carts, alone on his phone wearing an MIT t-shirt. Thinking my conversation would him wouldn't end in awkward silence (as most of my conversations do tend to end in), I began making conversation, learning he's AoPS name is Bogtro. Cool. Wait a second. BOGTRO??? B.O.G.T.R.O? My heart skipped a beat. While I already respect him tremendously for all his insightful posts, my respect for him doubled when I realized his sense of humility. Anyways, right around that time Luke arrived and so did the campers form paparazzi, so I stayed silent as I waited for the bus. I attempted one more "hello" with a stranger, but got ignored.

On the bus, I sat behind Mr. Sato and Yi, and I gazed at the beautiful clouds, thinking that my social life at camp won't be so bad after all. Anyways, I arrived at camp soon enough, and the next friend I made was this Chinese kid called Daniel who is in the dorm right across from mine, made more awesome by the fact he likes basketball as well. I then attempted to look busy unpacking my bags, and not after long, my long-time Skype friend Calculus123 arrived. He's extremely extroverted, a bit too so, but he's really friendly and we went outside in search of a court. Meanwhile, I forgot about Daniel and the other Chinese campers who like basketball . We picked up another tall Chinese kid and the three of us travelled as far as we can to find a court, which unfortunately, ended in vain due to the gym being closed for refurnishing.

So after coming back, the extroverted Calculus123 began introducing himself to random people, and I quickly met with a lot of Chinese campers. Then pizza arrived, and because I was lactose intolerant, I could only stray at the side looking awkward. Suddenly, two girls came up to me and asked if they can play handball with my basketball. After my heart traced out the shape of the Eiffel Tower in mere seconds, I said yyyyeesss... and asked them to return it to my dorm. But suddenly, a moment of opportunism flashed before me. Without hesitation, I asked, what's your phone number? Her friends giggled at the side. And with that ends my 3 year drought of not being able to talk to girls (she gave it to me by the way). Tears of joy trickled down my heart, and I may or may not have ruined this moment by jumping up and down and running around for celebration, forgetting that she was still looking at me. After that, and more introductions as well as awkwardness, I joined throwing a frisbee around with bobthesmartypants, droid, David Lee, and many others (around 10 people).

To no surprise, I completely failed my throws, so that was that. After that, my proactive roommate invited most people playing frisbee to a game of poker in our dorm lounge. Unfortunately, jet lag kicked in at around that time, so my social skills decreased during the game. Fortunately, I still managed to enjoy it and not suck. At the end, my roommate placed a huge bet on the last round, and ended up winning. At dinner, I sat with Raymond24Y and flash12 (who I met earlier on my way back from the locked up courts), as well as this other nice guy across. But before orientation, my eyes suddenly spotted a beautiful pair of eyes. Her long gossamer like hair drifted in the wind as she walked in my direction, stopping to chat with an RA. Daniel (Chinese friend) and I instantly froze, and 5 other pairs of Chinese eyes began locking down every motion of her. I swear to god, if I see her tomorrow, I will talk to her.

Then the orientation started and I talked with flash12 and his friend (darn forgot your name ) on the way in. Orientation was pretty comprehensive and shared a few cute moments: the same presentation as last year and some rules and advice. I sat with and talked to another stranger as well as flash12.

Then I met up with my RA and we went in a circle introducing ourselves. My dorm-mates are all really interesting: one can solve a Rubik's Cube in 12 seconds, another is pro at rock music, and another studies Chinese paintings.
Just to be clear, they were laughing with me, not at me, right...?

After that, we went back to our dorms and the RA gave instructions, and we got a lot of things figured out. 3 other people in my dorm are taking either Combo 3 or Geo 3, certainly a good sign. At one point, the RA asked us to send him a selfie for the yearbook, and someone asked if it has to be taken within camp. .

Just to be clear, they were laughing with me, not at me, right...?

Hooray for self-burns with Michael Sun.

...and after that I went back to my dorm to type up all of this. Now pray I don't get murdered in C3 and G3 tomorrow.