This week's guest blog is written by Ynika Yuag, a Year I English student:

As the final weeks of my first year at ATYP fly by, I’m left to reflect on my new experiences at this amazing program. One of my favorite things about being in ATYP is that it allows me to work my analytical mind to harder levels. As a more creative and artistic person, it still provides me an outlet to express myself in a way that does not hinder my creative capabilities, but rather sharpen them by teaching me about new structures and forms that I can still apply my own creative touch to. I can’t read a single paper, whether it’s for ATYP or in regular school, without mentally revising and analyzing it along the way. (I still don’t know if that’s a bad thing or a good thing. Oh well.) 

Another thing I love about this program is the instruction and class participation. My teacher, Mr. Brieger, does an excellent job at reinforcing interpersonal bonds between students while keeping them on task and maintaining a fun and safe classroom atmosphere. He keeps the intelligent conversation flowing and never completely rejects a student’s ideas – only helps them to improve and even build off of. And, thanks to the small class sizes, it’s easier to focus and learn, which is important because the work pace feels about ten times faster than regular school.

The work is, at times, extremely challenging. But the biggest thing I love about this program is that it pushes you to achieve things you never knew you were capable of. Before I joined the program, my friend (and ATYP alumni) Jessie told me, “In regular school, the teachers will slowly wade their students into the water and teach them how to swim. In ATYP, the teachers will throw you into the deep end and tell you to swim.” A year later, and I completely understand.