I took my last final two days ago and today I found out that I passed all of my classes. For those of you that don't know, the first semester for freshmen at MIT is graded on pass/fail no record (PNR). PNR gives frosh a chance to explore college and MIT without feeling stressed out about their grades. I feel relieved that I didn't bomb my finals too hard, and I feel excited about the next semester because I'll actually get to take classes in my major.
MIT is amazing. I've never been happier by whole life. I feel constantly stimulated and am casually absorbing valuable information just through conversations around me. Never once have I been bored here, or have gone to sleep without appreciating what a great day I had.
I was reflecting on what I've learned at MIT this semester. I'm more knowledgeable about EECS now, switching entirely to Linux and learning the command line, learning Android development through my UROP, doing hackathons with my (awesome) hackathon group, starting machine learning in my own time, coding in Python, learning audio engineering, and more... Moreover, my music improved also, despite not practicing nearly as much in college. I feel a deeper understanding of music, partially due to rehearsing with my trio and analyzing the score, a superb private teacher and a wonderful chamber coach, the Intro to Western Music class I took, and the plethora of quality concerts I've gone to in Boston including multiple BSO concerts, which were nearly all free.
What's most impressive about MIT, however, is the amount of information I've absorbed through my friends. I've casually learned about Raspberry Pis through conversations, won one from HackMIT, and set it up as a server with a friend. I've casually learned about the fast Fourier transform through my boyfriend, as well as about the names and functions of many electronic parts. I've casually learned about basic machine learning concepts through upperclassmen on hall. More so than anything else, the amount of understanding here makes me feel like nothing is impossible.
A while ago, I had issues installing Python packages on Ubuntu and accidentally deleted Python. Because there are many Python dependencies in Ubuntu, through deleting Python, I ended up deleting essential files, and Ubuntu wouldn't boot anymore. In any other circumstance, I would've panicked, yet at MIT, I was able to go to IS&T where someone quickly helped my back up my files and reinstall Ubuntu, while simultaneously teaching me about how partitions worked. Two days later, my computer again stopped working, this time both Windows and Ubuntu didn't boot. Initially, I had no idea what the problem was, but a friend on hall helped diagnose that GRUB wasn't recognizing my partitions. He helped me extract my files from a live USB and I then reinstalled both Ubuntu and Windows.
I relate this experience as an example of how incredible it is that I can casually absorb new information from people around me, and how MIT makes it feel like every problem can be fixed. I casually learned about partitions and random terminal commands just through going about my everyday life, and I'm able to remain calm when all of my files are at risk because of the reassurance that someone on MIT is bound to be knowledgeable enough to help with technical difficulties.
I'm very excited for next semester. Given the amount I've learned this semester, I'm very optimistic that I will graduate MIT with the belief that anything is possible, an expert in topics I care about, and more importantly, the ability to solve any problem that comes across my life.
Here are some pictures of my room, since it's the closest thing I can take pictures of:
MIT is amazing. I've never been happier by whole life. I feel constantly stimulated and am casually absorbing valuable information just through conversations around me. Never once have I been bored here, or have gone to sleep without appreciating what a great day I had.
I was reflecting on what I've learned at MIT this semester. I'm more knowledgeable about EECS now, switching entirely to Linux and learning the command line, learning Android development through my UROP, doing hackathons with my (awesome) hackathon group, starting machine learning in my own time, coding in Python, learning audio engineering, and more... Moreover, my music improved also, despite not practicing nearly as much in college. I feel a deeper understanding of music, partially due to rehearsing with my trio and analyzing the score, a superb private teacher and a wonderful chamber coach, the Intro to Western Music class I took, and the plethora of quality concerts I've gone to in Boston including multiple BSO concerts, which were nearly all free.
(Programs from concerts I've gone to taped onto my wall)
What's most impressive about MIT, however, is the amount of information I've absorbed through my friends. I've casually learned about Raspberry Pis through conversations, won one from HackMIT, and set it up as a server with a friend. I've casually learned about the fast Fourier transform through my boyfriend, as well as about the names and functions of many electronic parts. I've casually learned about basic machine learning concepts through upperclassmen on hall. More so than anything else, the amount of understanding here makes me feel like nothing is impossible.
A while ago, I had issues installing Python packages on Ubuntu and accidentally deleted Python. Because there are many Python dependencies in Ubuntu, through deleting Python, I ended up deleting essential files, and Ubuntu wouldn't boot anymore. In any other circumstance, I would've panicked, yet at MIT, I was able to go to IS&T where someone quickly helped my back up my files and reinstall Ubuntu, while simultaneously teaching me about how partitions worked. Two days later, my computer again stopped working, this time both Windows and Ubuntu didn't boot. Initially, I had no idea what the problem was, but a friend on hall helped diagnose that GRUB wasn't recognizing my partitions. He helped me extract my files from a live USB and I then reinstalled both Ubuntu and Windows.
I relate this experience as an example of how incredible it is that I can casually absorb new information from people around me, and how MIT makes it feel like every problem can be fixed. I casually learned about partitions and random terminal commands just through going about my everyday life, and I'm able to remain calm when all of my files are at risk because of the reassurance that someone on MIT is bound to be knowledgeable enough to help with technical difficulties.
I'm very excited for next semester. Given the amount I've learned this semester, I'm very optimistic that I will graduate MIT with the belief that anything is possible, an expert in topics I care about, and more importantly, the ability to solve any problem that comes across my life.
Here are some pictures of my room, since it's the closest thing I can take pictures of:
