An Atypical Saturday by Derrick B. '08

An Atypical Saturday: That followed an atypical week

MIT is certainly an unusual place. Case in point: no one really asks how your day is; they ask how your week is. That’s because most MIT students take this place one week at a time. For me, each week is like a round in a boxing match. And this week, I went down hard. MIT landed a good right hook and I hit the mat. Talk about being knocked into next week. You win this time, MIT.

All you prospective students should expect weeks like that. There will be sleepless nights. There will be weeks you have to choose which work to do because you have too much and can’t do it all. And there will be weeks where you feel like you’re not good enough. Just remember to get up and keep fighting, because you will make it. And when the match is over, you can walk out of the ring with your head held high and know that you’re a stronger person for it.

Ok, enough of that. This post is actually about how I spent my Saturday. I was invited by several of my friends to my first Red Sox game. I’m a senior and I’ve never been. Naturally I couldn’t pass up this opportunity (especially given the horrid week I had), so I paid way too much for some tickets and decided to go.

On my way to the student center, I passed a football game. MIT vs. Dartmouth. I thought “Wow, sports do exist here.” I have the proof:

We even have cheerleaders!

My friends were late, so I stuck around a little while. I didn’t stay to the end, but we were losing when I left. Oh well.

We all met up and walked over to Fenway for a late lunch. Nothing like eating with friends to relax you.

Jackie ’08 and Lawrence ’08

Erika ’08 and Rene ’08

After enjoying a full rack of BBQ ribs:

We walked around Fenway in the massive crowds of people:

And managed to snag some Red Sox paraphernalia before it sold out:

Julianna ’08 and Lawrence ’08

Don’t let anyone tell you that MIT students don’t have good hygiene. Obviously, Lawrence has an incredibly clean nose thanks to Erika.

They shut down the streets around Fenway at game time, so there were a few street performers. I thought these guys were particularly good

Because it was our first time, and Julianna was in the lead, we got lost. Lawrence, however, came to the rescue and pointed us in the right direction:

Finally, we all made it:

The seats weren’t bad. We sat in the back of the outfield. A little later Sasha ’08 came to join us:

Don’t be freaked out. She always looks like that.

I hadn’t been to a baseball game in a while, and I forgot how quickly they went by. An hour and a half after we got there:

RED SOX WIN!

So it was a day of firsts. My first bad week this semester came to an end. I saw my first MIT football game, complete with cheerleaders. And I attended my first Red Sox game. Make sure, even if you have a lot of work, to relax sometimes and hang out with your friends. It makes a world of difference.