Hi everyone!
It’s the start of my last semester at Wellesley. That’s so crazy to think about; I think most seniors on campus right now feel like that too, and we are collectively trying to ignore the impending end of our journeys here, look forward to the future, and just enjoy our last few months together.
Winter break went by so fast. I travelled back home to Bulgaria and got to spend time with my friends and family there, which was wonderful. I also got the chance to do a little bit of travelling. I went to Vienna, Austria and Craiova, Romania for their Christmas markets. It was really great to get into the festive spirit of things. My mom and I also got to visit Marrakesh, Morocco for a few days in the middle of January, which was beyond amazing. Some photos, of course, are below.
Morocco
Vienna
Craiova
The remainder of the break I spent sick (yay, flu) and working on my thesis because you are expected to work for it during Wintersession. The exciting thing is that I passed my mid-year review with the professors who are on my committee board for my defense in the spring! The other exciting news is that my professor’s lab is preparing to publish a paper on what the lab has been working on for the past few years, and I just submitted the draft of my section of it, which is of course based on my thesis.
This semester has started with a lot of work, cold temperatures, and a lot of snow. I am taking a rather large workload since I messed up counting my credits, meaning that I am taking 5 instead of the usual 4 credits. I am taking two language classes: Elementary Russian II and Spanish Around the World, a half-credit class called Intercultural Competence class, two independent studies in the physics department—one is on particle physics, while the other one is a half credit group one to help us prepare a project we did last semester for publication,and my thesis, of course. I’m also working as a grader for two physics classes, and I am continuing working with CREST, the Collaborative Research in Energy Science Traineeships program. We actually just welcomed the new cohort of students who will be spending the summer in national labs like I did over the summer. Speaking of which, a paper that includes some of my work from the summer, was just published. Here is a link if you are interested.
The view from my window
So far the semester has been very busy in terms of academics and work, but there have also been some fun things. With Slater, we are preparing to organize a Slater Formal, which I am very excited about. There’s a new season of Drag Race coming out, so I am watching it with a friend. I also went to my first ever hockey game last week (yes, it was inspired by Heated Rivalry), and I actually had a lot of fun. I also almost understood the rules of that game.
Harvard vs RPI hockey game.
That’s it from me for now. See you again next week!