72 Hours Later… by Chris S. '11
I have the "morning-after" syndrome.
Has CPW left you with this? :)
So I learned two major things about myself this weekend, courtesy of you guys:
1. I apparently do not look like myself *points at the banner* (perhaps bringing a stuffed penguin with me next CPW would help? =p) and apparently I look a lot taller.
10. “Wow, you don’t sound like a college professor in real life!”
I’m sure now that you guys start to head back to the four corners of America (and the world!), there will be an opportunity to relive CPW through the various guest blogs that would undoubtedly be popping up over the course of the next few days. But I just want to say something.
In a word, you guys are awesome. Meeting so many of you over the course of this weekend at random events – seeing how you all hail from OH, PA, VA, MD, HI, NY, MA, CA, NJ, MI, SC, GA, TX, MO, WA (just to name a few) and getting to know your passions in high school, from research (I don’t know how many ISEF and Siemens people I’ve talked to these few days) to violin to scuba diving to volunteering to a passion for languages to butterfly collecting…it all had been “wow.” I am now convinced of the statement by Admissions that they are “excited” about this class. You guys are truly one group of accomplished people that blows my mind away.
As you undoubtedly now begin to ponder your college choices and attend other colleges’ admit weekends (I know Princeton is next week, and Stanford the week after), I hope you have a good time exploring other college campuses (though, you’re not allowed to have a better time than you did at MIT =p) in making an informed decision about where to spend the next four years of your life.
But there’s something you should know.
One of the questions that kept on popping up over the weekend was, “How much of MIT Blogs is real? Why does it always look like you guys are having a good time?”
MIT Blogs are real. We don’t try to give you a sugered version of what MIT is like. This is real stuff.
Granted, we don’t always blog about our stress during the weekdays when we’re up tooling all night – nor do we blog about the anguish of failing an exam, but hey, that’s just something that comes with the rigorous, well-renowned scientific training that MIT offers. Yes, we do get stressed out at times, but we also know how to enjoy life when we’re not doing coursework (and there are too many blogs to that effect, so I’m not going to bother linking them all). :)
We hate MIT at times for keeping us up at 4 or 5 in the morning, but we love MIT for all the possibilities it offers – diversity, excitement, enthusiasm, research, and a healthy dose of quirkiness, to name a few. This is why IHTFP stands for two things. This is why my EC interviewer reflects nostalgically upon her time at MIT. This is why we come together during CPW and Orientation to show you what MIT has to offer.
A lot of people are wary of the statement that “CPW is fake – you guys are just getting this together for us, but it’s not like this during the school year.” True – we might not be having like 600 different events every single weekend, but we’re trying to give you a cross-section of MIT culture, to attempt to show you everything that you can possibly be involved in at MIT. We might not always be having barbecues, roofdeck parties, and pancakes at 2 in the morning, but they’re all there. We’re not trying to bribe you. We’re welcoming you to MIT.
On Saturday, a prefrosh asked me, “If you could pick only one thing that you love about MIT, what is it, and why?”
I said, “The people. Definitely the people. What makes MIT so amazing is the excitement and the enthusiasm that’s present across all facets of the Institution. Intellectual curiosity in class aside, the flow of energy in student groups, the passion in student-led initiatives are really things that make MIT students so special. MIT admits passionate and driven individuals, provides them with a place to learn, and lets the students bump into each other, do crazy stuff, and accomplish the things they’ve been dreaming to do.”
I hope you got a taste of that during the weekend.
And I hope you enjoyed the liquid nitrogen ice cream. :)
first
I’m very glad you had a great time! I’m so eager to apply and hopefully next year I’ll have the opportunity to attend CPW.
Brilliant
. Glad to hear that stress and fun goes hand in hand (what? o_O). Remember everyone – MIT > Stanford > Princeton.
Awesome entry. I completely, 100% agree with everything you said. Have you been reading my mind when I’ve been sleeping, Chris?
By the way, you should know that there are 10 types of people in the world: those who understand trinary, those who don’t, and those who confuse it with binary.
Just saying.
Well thanks to the *cough* 10 pm, lobby 7 tour *cough cough* I have gotten a total of around 10hrs of sleep for the past 3 days
thanks for the red bean soup
haha
ohhh, I miss MIT already… I wanna go back ;_;
Wow that picture looks like me on friday night!
Gahhh…I never got liquid nitrogen ice cream. I went to the Random Hall one on the first day and it was absolutely packed. So my group and I did the sensible thing and left haha. After that, I forgot to go find other liquid nitro events…*sigh.
Chris – You really are much taller than I expected haha. I was caught off guard.
haha, I am from SC.
I don’t think I ever introduced myself though? We talked for a bit at iHouse. 
^ I remember you.
yeah, i was weak for the first two nights, and got some sleep then, but sobe energy drink fixed that problem on the last night (then i crashed for 9 hours before getting up to do hw, and i still want to go to sleep)
I just want to emphasize the whole blogs-aren’t-fake thing. It’s absolutely true. The bloggers tell you about the good and the bad – they’ve told you of struggles in classes and tooling until 5am, but they’ve told you the bazillion other amazing things about campus too. And you really gotta work for it all, ya know? Some nights are tough (like tonight for me, lots-o-tooling), but other nights you feel like the top of the world (like two nights ago for me).
I hope you enjoyed CPW. Realize, yes, it’s a super-saturated MIT, but by following the whole “work hard, play hard”, you won’t be disappointed =D.
Seriously, that whole “MIT is very diverse” thing didn’t truly hit me until CPW. They weren’t just talking about ethnicity/nationality, they’re talking about personalities and interests and EVERYTHING. But one common thread was that everyone was thrilled to be there. woot. Can’t wait until fall!!
I think I might have seen you around campus? The person I saw did look paler/taller than what you seem in the picture above…so I was afraid to say hi ’cause I wasn’t sure if it was you. Maybe I’ll say hi next year when I’m no longer a prefrosh, lol.
Yeah.You KINDA look like yourself.and yes, you are a LOT taller and skinnier than I imagined.
Thanks for the red bean soup.(I was one of the short Asian girls who ate/drank it, Rachel was the other one) It might have looked like a prank with dirty water, but it certainly didn’t taste like dirty water. Next time, consider using a smaller pot, or clear glass pot, or GREEN BEANS!
Hey Lauren!! I met you [again] in the morning when you were going back with the energy drink in your hands. You’d just done the Capture the Flag? [err.. if I have the wrong Lauren, sorry ^_^;;.. but I remember you said Sobe..]But anyway, I know what you mean… I passed out last night after 36 hours of like no sleep – So I decided to not go to school, lol. ^_^
And Hi Chris! I don’t know if I met you..
geat post
‘MIT admits passionate and driven individuals, provides them with a place to learn, and lets the students bump into each other, do crazy stuff, and accomplish the things they’ve been dreaming to do”
not THAT should be put in bold at the top of every post. Dont ask me why. I just happen to love the soud of that
Hey! (I was the first “random kid” that you and Karen talked to). It was nice to meet you!
@ roshan ’12
What time did was it, that you may have met me? i drank the sobe energy drink at about 10pm Saturday night, and got the another one (Bawls, this time) around dawn.
On another note, LUCKY!!!! i’m so jealous that you got to miss school to recover. I go to a boarding school, so faking sick is a bit harder for me…i was falling asleep by C block, and i still have a ton of work to do this week, but CPW was definitely worth it.
@ chris ’11
i met you at the MTB, and i second Yuzhi ’12. you are definitely taller and skinnier than i expected.
good job!
eyyy!!! thats me guyyys!!!