Apr 19 2013

Turning on the Light

Posted in: Miscellaneous

It's hard to wrap my head around the chain of events that unfolded within the last couple of hours.

As emails flooded my inbox around 10:45 last night warning me to stay inside, I couldn't really process what was going on. 
The idea of a shooting occurring on campus was impossible in my head.
MIT, the place that I call home, the place where I learn and live, the place where I felt safe, threatened by armed people? And all this happening after the bombing too.
What was going on?

Text messages flooded my phone. Facebook blew up with updates on the status of the events. 
Police officer shot. Explosives. Car Chases. Automatic weapons.
Why was all this happening?

Then, when the news unraveled that MIT CP Sean Collier had died, I just felt numb.
Tears came to my eyes.
Why did these things have to happen?

I sought solace from some other friends and watched the events unravel.
As we listened to the news into the wee hours of the night, things seemed very grim. 
Needless... read the post »

Discussion

Mar 2 2013

We were worried

Posted in: Life & Culture

Two weekend ago, I spent my Saturday at a wonderful show called the Vagina Monologues. For the week following the show, I attempted to put into words what the show was about, what I thought during the show, and how I felt (enlightened) after the show. But I struggled to write anything that I felt truly encompassed what the show was about. So I reached out to one of my sisters (and friend I made before MIT through FRC), Erin B. '15 to write a blog about her experiences as part of the cast. This beautiful piece captured everything I pictured in a blog about the Vagina Monologues, but couldn't express in words. 

I never thought I’d be performing the Vagina Monologues; heck, I never thought I’d be writing a blog post that contained the word “vagina”. But here I am.

I first heard about the Vagina Monologues in my freshman year. An alum of my dorm was the producer and emailed me asking me to audition. As a shy freshman, even the thought of talking about vaginas in front of an audience... read the post »

Discussion

Feb 4 2013

The Story of the 5 Wits

Posted in: Miscellaneous

Once upon an IAP, there were 5 externs* who were lucky enough to be selected to work at a magical company called 5 Wits Productions, where many adventures awaited them.

For you see, engineers at 5 Wits got to bring people's dreams to life. They made it possible for people like you and me to experience things that we thought we only saw in movies. At 5 Wits, you could be a spy and infiltrate an evil corporation or discover Captain Nemo's abandoned submarine from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Now, you may be wondering why this is the story of the 5 Wits. 
Well, there was Common Sense, who decided that she could make water just the right temperature to drink by mixing hot water with ice.

Memory, who couldn't remember what the 5 wits were.

Fantasy, who loved to dream of castles and crowns.

Estimation, who was great at estimating the amount of pizza she could eat.

& Imagination, who loved to imagine he was a beaver. Or a dragon?

On the first day,... read the post »

Discussion

Dec 14 2012

Exploring the Outdoors!

Posted in: Academics & Research

At the end of fall semester, I look forward to one thing.
No, it's not finals (Common, who enjoys those?).

It's the 2.009 presentations!!!


2.009 is the Product Engineering Process class, usually taken by Mechanical Engineers during their senior year. In this class, students learn about the product design process (Ideate. Model. Test!) and then apply what they learn to create an alpha prototype for a new product! It's an awesome hands-on class that gives students a taste of what it takes to develop products in the industry.

Every year, Professor David Wallace puts on this immensely grand show to showcase the 2.009 student's products that they design over the course of the semester. It's always amazing. 

Here's my photos from the presentation!
The live band that plays music during the presentations. They usually play songs that hint at what the next product might be.

Orange team prepares to present.

Ferno: a flat and portable camping stove

StormShield: A... read the post »

Discussion

Nov 19 2012

Mistakes

Posted in: Life & Culture

My lack of blogging this semester is largely a reflection of how this semester has been going.
It's been incredibly busy, almost to the point to which I've just forgotten what's important to me.
This blog is about the mistakes I made this semester, largely losing sight about what I actually wanted for myself.

I think one thing that gets underestimated here is the pressures that we put on ourselves. Each of us here has high expectations for ourselves. We don't look at each other competitively- I've honestly never felt the need to "out do" anyone here- but rather we fall into the temptation of evaluating ourselves based on what others are doing. I've never felt this more than I did this semester. 

Over the summer, I contemplated a lot of things about where I wanted to be. I knew I wanted to go into Mechanical Engineering. But I didn't know if I wanted to do more than that. Many of my friends were considering minoring, or even double majoring, and I figured I might as well try... read the post »

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