Hello readers!
Shout-out to all of the seniors applying, firstly—one month and two days until the Regular Decision deadline, and 18 days until the Early Evaluation! It’s probably not what I’m supposed to say, but all I can think of is that you guys are awesome. Balancing school, finals, and applications along with all the rest of your crazy activities is such an endeavor, and you should be proud of yourselves for all the work you’re putting in. One month left to keeping pushing, then it’s the waiting game, and you can sit back and relax (or gnaw at your fingernails, as suits you :).)
I’m encouraged to talk about what my feelings were when I was applying, and frankly I think I was panicked about trying to “find myself.” Unless you plan to go to med school, I think that the college is the only application in your life when you present yourself as an all-around person. Your growth, your self-awareness, what you value, your activities, where you’ve failed, who you are. I think of it as writing your soul on a silver platter, and while I’m not especially good at it now, I was worse at it in high school :).
That’s because knowing yourself is a process, and in high school, I wasn’t quite there yet. I always was fascinated by the separation between adults and teenagers, because adults just kind of knew, and didn’t change all that much once they emerged from wherever it was they came from. Teenagers can be anything; the future is wide-open, personalities change, situations change. I feel like I’m on the cusp right now, tipping more towards adulthood.
But hey, I just said I didn’t know anything then. I knew I was going to be a science major, and that was just about it. I had a fuzzy idea of what events in my life had been “arduous” enough for applications, and an even fuzzier idea of how I’d grown from them. I tried my best given the circumstances (meaning I was procrastinating because I was uncomfortable with the baring the soul bit, and I really wanted to work on schoolwork instead). And it all turned out wonderfully.
Seriously, if there’s anything I’ve learned at Wellesley, it’s that if you work hard things will be unexpected and beautiful. So many of my plans (and I’m a planner) have fallen through, but I’m so happy with where my life is right now. I’m a blogger! Close with the swim team! Friends in biochem! Five classes! An awesome lab, MIT classes next semester (who knows which :)), and an idea of want in the future that most people don’t have. Did I tell you my computer broke last week? I’ve wiped the hard drive three times, tried Bootcamp three times, visited the Apple store twice, had to take a taxi when the bus to Boston broke down, and now everything’s all right again and I’ve figured out how to scroll on Preview. Things work out. Just keep trying.
You’ll be hearing from me this summer, when I might start applying to graduate schools. They care far more about my research potential than anything else, but personal essays are tough no matter what they’re for. Spread the work out, stay calm, keep at it. I can issue all the positive uplifting statements I want, but as we all know, nothing gets done unless you want it to :).
And that’s what I have to say about applications. Good luck to you all! If it helps, know that everyone else is also working her butt off right now :). My facebook feed is clogged with finals-related memes, and comments underneath informing us that we all really should get off facebook.
Reading period has been very enjoyable this year—I’ve got an easy schedule. One paper, two finals, and writing for my English class (and this is where the “mandatory credit/non” mentality is starting to kick in :)). I finished the computer science paper yesterday—there’s nothing quite like charging through research papers until they finally start to cross-reference each other. My total number of citations for a 10-page paper was 28. WAY too many, but what do you do. I definitely know much more about immediate visual object recognition than I did when I started.
I keep on failing to take pictures, but I’ve been to some fun events. The CS department had a party with a chocolate fountain, and rice krispies drizzled with chocolate are fantastic. I was not invited to the Chemistry Cookie Party this year (a mixed blessing. On the one hand, no chemistry! On the other, it’s the Chemistry Cookie Party) but they had extras so I ended up eating quite a lot of cookies anyway. I’ve been eating many yummy and unhealthy things recently. The Admissions Office party had plenty of goodies, and they were handing out candy in the library yesterday?
The rest of the time, I’ve been holed up in my room, and that has been fun as well. Self-supplied with gum and hot chocolate, I’ve been doing practice problems and reading research papers for most of the day. Sometimes I even let myself stay up really late doing work, because that’s fun and makes me feel adventurous. Nothing like typing about the millisecond-scale latency of attention at 2 am in the morning :).
Today I came into Boston with some friends (Misha and Erin!), and we did dimsum and some Christmas shopping before I headed into Harvard Med School for research. That’s where I am now, sitting in a grey and white hallway with miscellaneous post-docs and PIs asking me if I need help getting past the swipe-card doorway. People find it odd when you sit on the floor, even when it’s clean. An unresolved mystery.
Wishing everyone the best with the busy-ness that is this time of year! And if you’re at college, wishing you the best on finals next week :). Something to look forward to at college, high school seniors—we get reading period and we finish school early. A heck of a lot of work anyway, but it’s a pretty sweet deal :).
Happy December!
Monica
Amy informed me that this is the nerdiest photo she’s ever taken. It definitely is not. MY WONDERFUL S.I. MULTIVARIABLE MATH GROUP! I love these guys, and have been meeting with them and Sam twice a week this entire semester. School would not be fun without all the friends :).