Odds and Ends by Mollie B. '06

Since I just finished a 5.60 problem set, my brain is approximately the consistency of fuzz, and I am going to confine myself to writing something short about the last few entries’ comments on my blog. (5.60 is Thermodynamics and Kinetics, or physical chemistry. Physics + chemistry???? Whose idea was that??)

(Note: to look up the link for 5.60, I had to go to the main OCW site, which lists the departments in alphabetical order rather than by number. I am so fried right now that it took me a full minute to find Chemistry in the C’s rather than the F’s — for five, the chemistry department number. Who needs sleep? Me!)

First, about the football game on Saturday. I am very psyched that Sam is planning to join the marching band (you’re still going to do it, right?), so long as no pictures are taken of me with bad hair. Hee. And yes, sum1, MIT does have a marching band — sort of. They’ve been on hiatus for the past few years, and they’re pretty informal. No shows at halftime — at least not yet. Laura commented that the choice of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” was rather odd, even given the other team’s affiliation, and I totally agree. Haha, I’m not sure the Mass Maritime people even got it, which probably defeated the purpose. Oh well.

I am, by the way, the one in the front row middle of the picture of the cheerleading squad, with my poms together right above my knees. (Hint: to find me in any picture of the squad, scan the picture for the brightest white legs, and that’s me. Hey, I work in a lab all summer. And I’m trying not to get skin cancer.) A better picture of me cheerleading can be found here — it’s a better picture mostly because I’m doing my favorite cheer and I look really happy.

A few entries ago Sam commented that my schedule last semester was really stupidly insane. And, yes, it was. Moral of the story: whatever classes don’t kill you will only kill a few neurons and strengthen your resolve. (I’m pretty sure that’s not how the original philosophy went. But whatever.) It makes me happy to work hard. Well, happy and stressed. I think this is a pretty common MIT philosophy.

Finally, a note on the classic how did I get here story: lots of people are glad to hear that even a wreck like me can get into MIT, but they admit that still doesn’t settle their nerves. I totally understand. Just know that you’re going to be evaluated in your own unique bubble of context, and that you don’t have to have a certain GPA or certain SAT score or certain extracurricular activities to get into MIT. The best you can do is send in an application that reflects who you are — and if you don’t get in, it’s not because you are being rejected, or you are not good enough, it’s just that there aren’t that many dorm rooms at MIT and I’m pretty sure you don’t want to live in a Baker dodectuple. ;)