CMI Conference 2015

For those of you who don't know, the 17th through the 20th, Mom, Fox, and I went down to Wilmore, Kentucky, for the Charlotte Mason Institute's 2015 Conference. This was our second CMI, and like last year's, it was a great conference!

I must say the highlight for me was getting to meet two of my online friends, Willow and Nettle (names changed). We 'met' through AmblesideOnline's teen forum, but since they live all the way down in Florida, we'd never met in person. I was SUPER excited to meet two people who have gone through the same curriculum as I have, and get a chance to become friends with them.

From left to right: Willow, Nettle, Fox, and me!
(Photo courtesy Willow)

I'll tell you a little bit about them: Willow and Nettle are brothers, Willow the second youngest, Nettle the youngest, of six kids, all homeschooled up to college. Both are now graduated, and are starting college. Willow likes to write, do photography, and wear cool hats. Nettle enjoys Smash Up, Myers-Briggs personalities, and acting.
Both are very experienced CMI-goers (I believe this was their sixth conference). Nettle found us and greeted us right away, and from then on, the four of us couldn't be separated!

The first plenary of the conference was by Dr. James C. Peterson, about genetics and morality. He presented an argument against the notion, "It's in my genes, I can't help it." We are predisposed to be or act certain ways by our genetic coding, but as humans, we are able to act beyond the coding. "We are responsible for what we do with what we have."

'Directions in Courtship and Marriage' was one of the chats I went to. We learned some key lessons from Jane Austen's novels, Anna Karenina, and Far From the Madding Crowd. Some of the key points I especially took notice of:
-The right kind of love makes you a better person
-Keep a good head on your shoulders
-Keep an open mind
-Don't trust words over actions
-A person is a person, therefore, not a status symbol, tool, or ideal
Perhaps there wasn't any, what I thought, practical information, such as, "Do such and such", but why would there be? Each relationship is as unique as the people in it. I took away many good principles to ponder over, and to keep in mind for when I do meet that special someone.

Mom, Nettle, and I went to a workshop on Dry Brush for nature journaling. The key is not 'pretty pictures', but an accurate representation of what you are painting, whether you capture the shape, the color, or some little detail. I struggle with this, being rather a perfectionist. I also struggle with painting in general, and so I ended the class rather dissatisfied with my work. Not dissatisfied with the topic itself, however. I just now know that I need to work on my dry brush and nature journaling skills. Did you know the primary colors in painting are not red, blue, and yellow, but rather magenta, cyan, and bright yellow?

A goal I got to check off was 'learn a ballroom dance'. Imagine my excitement when I read on the schedule, 'Friday Night at the Park: Ballroom dance demos & lessons'!

And twirl!
(Photo courtesy North Laurel)

We learned the basic box-step of the rumba, and another routine of the rumba where I got to twirl around. This was, of course, a much more toned-down version of the rumba (I was shocked to later learn what the rumba is usually like). Willow and Fox decided against dancing, but Nettle was happy to be my dance partner. I can't say I was very graceful at all, but we both enjoyed ourselves a lot, and I didn't step on his toes!

The four of us spent Friday night after the dancing doing short scenes from Shakespeare. We chose scenes from 'Much Ado About Nothing', 'Love's Labour's Lost', and 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. The last one was especially fun. Nettle had the idea to switch the genders of the actors, so that the part where Demetrius and Helena enter the forest, I was Demetrius, and Nettle was Helena. Fox and I acted out the Pyramus and Thisbe story in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', also gender-switched. It made for some laughs!

What did I take home from the conference? Materially, a bag and a mug; it's hard to pin down the rest in items. Each talk left lasting impressions, that I'm still pondering. I got some motivation to continue reading and learning. I decided to read more of Jane Austen's novels; I recently finished Mansfield Park. I've picked up my nature journaling again. I made two friends. I found out that Kentucky is a really nice state. Beyond these, I know that there are many concepts working in my mind, and that there will be a gradual change of mind and character from this.

It was a wonderful three days, spent learning new things and forming new friendships. Those three days will, I'm sure, have a lasting effect for a long time to come.

Thanks for a great time! Thank you for paying for and taking us, Mom; thank you to everyone who worked to make the conference possible; thank you for the fun times, Willow and Nettle. I hope we can do it again next year!