This morning began at 7:30am when my unbelievably annoying alarm clock (my roommate agrees to the utmost) had the nerve to disrupt my beauty sleep and it was promptly taken care of with a large iron hammer. Fortunately, I remembered the reasons why I came to shad. This morning, I had an epiphany as to why I am here: I flew thousands of kilometres in order to spend a few precious weeks of my vacation with 49 other teenagers like me to appreciate the true value of the phenomenon we call humanity in its entirety. If this sounds cliché and similar to the stuff of textbooks and venerated bodies of law, well then it evidently appears that I am not the only intelligent life form who realizes the full implications of our existence.
In the mere weeks that I have spent at Shad, I have become well acquainted of what the human powers of creativity and morality can accomplish - our various engineering challenges may seem daunting especially under the most stressing conditions but somehow we always convert our chaotic mess of ideas into a pertinent and functional product that bedazzles everyone - even us.
In addition, the numerous lectures and seminars given by world-class professors have transformed our world in the most unimaginable of ways. Not only have they broken our insular 'teenage-model' paradigm of the world which leads to further questioning of the assumptions that we simply believe to be true but they have also been successful in encouraging us to truly think outside the box - the box being the aggregate of whatever norms or dogmas that we or the rest of society accept.
On our first day, we were given a lecture on the importance of creativity by Professor of Engineering Tim Little, and he spoke of the value of creativity in the modern world that we inhabit. Unlike previous centuries, ideas are now the most significant product of any developed economy simply because they quickly transform into commercial innovations that add additional value to our economy and bring those high-paying jobs to said country. Now this house project actually makes sense, doesn't it? From this perspective, Shad Valley may be perhaps the first experience of many of us had with expressing their unbound creativity in its purest and most brilliant that will ultimately bring happiness and more the wealth to the world. Whether or not you see Shad Valley as a philosophical insight in humanity as a whole, or as a medium through which we can channel our most powerful ability, or as summer time to enjoy, I am sure of one fact; this experience will bring us closer and you will create deep and everlasting friendships and memories with your fellow shads that will stand the test of time.
For the friendships and memories that will last a lifetime.
Xiang Fan, Shad Dalhousie University 2011
Hometown: Ottawa, ON
