Changes that I’m making this semester by Jenny B. '25

Paper notes

I hate taking notes with my iPad, so I went back to good old pen and paper notes this semester.

I’m still writing up problem sets on my iPad though because that makes it easier to submit the pset on Gradescope.

New UROP

I switched UROPs⁠01 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program. Undergrads get to work with actual research, and can get paid or earn credit for it. from the Tangible Media Group @ MIT Media Lab, to the Reliable Autonomous Systems Lab @ MIT. Without giving details, my project is to program two robots to move autonomously with each other. Pretty freaking cool!

I struggled a lot with the first 1.5 years at college because nothing seemed that interesting to me. It wasn’t until a few months ago that I rediscovered an interest in robotics, which got buried down in my conscience by the stresses of adapting to college. It’s great to have something I’m passionate about again.

Coding (almost) every day

I wrote a 1.8k-word post about how tough 6.009⁠02 Fundamentals of Programming. Its new number is 6.101, but I still call it by is old number. was. Underneath the extraneous backstory and distracting pop culture references, I was trying really hard not to show how angry I was at 6.009 and myself. A week after I posted that, I audited 6.009 and added 7.014⁠03 Introductory Biology. Fulfills one of the General Institute Requirements that students need to have in order to graduate. to my schedule.

I’m taking 6.009 again this year. I knew I was coming in with less experience than my peers, so I decided to make up for less experience with more time—at least 4-5 hours a day dedicated to programming. That was a good decision. I found out that I actually enjoy coding enough to do it for hours at a time without getting bored.

But I can also tell that the 6.009 staff took steps to improve the class since last spring. I was wrong for beating myself up over it last year, but I was right for being pissed off at 6.009.

Baseball

I’ve been a casual enjoyer of baseball since high school, but lately I’ve had the deep urge to learn about baseball statistics. Who knows why.

Campus library

I recently discovered Rotch Library, and it’s my new favorite campus library now.

My three top favorite MIT libraries now:

1. Rotch Library: It’s the closest library to West Campus. There’s these corners that I can hide in and do my work. It’s quiet, but it’s not overwhelmingly quiet like Barker.
2. Lewis Music Library: Same reasons why I like Rotch, except that I have to walk more to get there.
3. Hayden Library, but only the basement: I like hiding between the stacks. I’ll even sleep there sometimes.