In which I am no longer new here by Keri G. '10
...well, it's true.
My name is Keri Garel, and nothing else in my bio is true anymore.
…all right, that statement’s also a lie. There are some things about that bio that are immutable; my birthplace will never not be Jamaica, and my love for pie is still only surpassed by my love for bacon and Arrested Development.
I’ve now seen more snow than I ever cared to see in my life; by that token, you can tell that I’m certainly not new here anymore. (In case the last three years of blogging and my recent distress over becoming a senior didn’t clue you into that.) My old bio is also a testament to my former desire to earn a degree in Chemistry (HAHAHAHAHA) and spend my life playing with brains, blowing stuff up, and curing cancer. My goals have clearly shifted quite a bit. This is partially due to a year of research, during which I learned – among other worthwhile things – that ampicillin-resistant bacteria will not grow in a kanamycin-containing medium and that spending excessive amounts of time with petri dishes full of bacterial colonies makes me want to shoot myself in the face. (Speaking of my UROP, I was explaining the O’Connor Lab’s work to my friend Adrian earlier today, though, and I was shocked when I realized that I could actually do so without sounding like an idiot. Who knew?)
I’ll elaborate upon my new life plan in an upcoming post. Hint: it’s teaching.
“So what, you went to MIT so you could teach?” you may ask. Of course not. I came here so I could learn (Hey! See what I did there?), and I think that’s been working out pretty well. No one should be expected to skip off to college with a definitive plan for their lives at an age where they’re barely trusted with adult privileges and responsibilities. At the very least, no one should have to be locked into whatever plans they may have; I had an awesome, well-thought-out plan, and look how that turned out.
Anyway, this all means it’s about time for a new bio.
There are people at this school who are exceptional at everything they do: they get all As, cure diseases, bake amazing cookies for their friends all the time, and manage to look awesome every day when they show up (on time!) for class in the morning.
I am not one of those people.
My name is Keri Garel, class of 2010, and my life at MIT is not what you would expect. I fall up flights of stairs only just more frequently than I fall down them (which is often). I should really cut down on the amount of bacon I eat, lest I have a heart attack at age 30. I am known for making obscene faces in photographs on the rare occasion when I am in front of the camera instead of wielding it, and I will attempt to write the next paragraph without including the word “I,” to compensate for its overuse in this one.
In my homeland, snow is only a myth. My fanatical, creepy-as-all-get-out love for brains means that people never fail to remember my major. The number of Sonic Youth albums in my music collection is a little ridiculous. My dorm is better than yours.
I love music, art, photography, dance, and theater. I’m still not quite sure why I go to a school for science and engineering, but I’m in good company here. (“Do you even go to this school?” “No, I just have a lot of feelings.”) The future is terrifying, but if you don’t ask me about it, then we won’t discuss it. Deal? Deal.
Actually Jared, if you added some dried split peas or lentils and a carrot and a single onion to ham water and added the bacon as a garnish, I’d say you’d have a really really good soup. If MIT doesn’t work out, try cooking.
What frightened me most about this entry was the capitalized laughing following the description initial desire to earn a degree in chemistry.
Seriously.
What frightened me most about this entry was the capitalized laughing following the description initial desire to earn a degree in chemistry.
Seriously.
Sorry for posting twice.
I should have known that pressing the “stop” button would not prevent that.
What I meant to say was:
What frightened me most about this entry was the capitalized laughing following the description of your initial desire to earn a degree in chemistry.
Seriously.
Again, sorry for the double (now triple) post.
mean girls references ftw
“I am not one of those people.” LOL, seriously, how many of us are? … how many of that type go to school at MIT? (mock agitated thinking here)
Oh, and Anonymous? You’re supposed to say “FIRST!”
jk
Hey Keri, bacon rules. Have you ever tried the Smoked BLT at Sebastian’s?
A wonderful introspective, yet MIT relevant, post. And nicely written. Much continued success.
DUDE this is so true. Almost nothing in my bio applies anymore. As the years have passed I’ve changed the age and that’s about it. maaan how things change in four short years!
Wait, Jess. Do you not still make the best blueberry waffles of my life? SWEET JESUS, EVERYTHING I’VE EVER KNOWN IS A LIE.
COURSE 9!!! Yesss
That’s what I want to take at MIT. How is it? Was your UROP part of your chemistry/bcs major?
I’d love to chat with whoever says “So what, you went to MIT so you could teach?”.
You’re saying you didn’t, but, well, even if you did, I think that’d be a wonderful thing. Teaching is such an underestimated job, and the world might be a much better place if more graduates from schools like MIT decided to teach.
By doing research or some other typical post-MIT job, you’d probably make a couple of important discoveries. By teaching, you could inspire twenty more students to make forty more discoveries… and a few to go pass their knowledge on to others by becoming teachers, too.
It would take me more time and space than I’ll allow myself to explain why, but this is one of my favorite blog entries/posts/whatevers ever. Thank you, Keri!
this post is the best i have read in a long while. and because of the same reasons you have mentioned, and my ability to screw up things when i’m bored, i may not be spending all that much time in a lab.
i mean, it’s for everyone else’s safety, really.
No Keri, my dorm is better than your dorm. Also, whatever happened to theater stealing your soul?
to cooker, et al
i wish people who commented on the mit blogs better understood humor, sarcasm, basic references to hilarious tv shows, etc
Can someone from MIT or anyone that can help, really, please? I know this is totally off subject, but the stupid computer Im on won’t let e-mail anyone and I can’t access the application, and I DO have a myMIT. Im logged on now..but it still won’t work, someone help me? please?
Can someone from MIT or anyone that can help, really, please? I know this is totally off subject, but the stupid computer Im on won’t let e-mail anyone and I can’t access the application, and I DO have a myMIT. Im logged on now..but it still won’t work, someone help me? please?
From what date will b form available for class starting in 2010?
can anyone paste the email on here that has the link at the bottom of the page? im desperate..im about to kick something, i think.
I’m sorry, but my dorm is better than all y’alls.
And yeah, crazy life. My plans have substantially changed since I’ve gotten here. I fought this for too long :D
Hey, Keri, what’s your Bacon number?
I think if you could make a bacon soup with some hot ham water, you’d really have something to bridge your interests.
“smack of ham!”
I’M A MMMMOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNSSSSSSSTTTTEEEEERRRRRRRR!!!
@alexandria: You mean [email protected]?
oh… you totally saved my last transformation, actually. i just realized that the bin i took my last dishes from were Kan plants and not Amp plates… HA, that explains why i got no colonies last time…
i should probably learn to look at little pieces of tapes with some writing on them.
mather chodi tujhe aur doosra kaam nahi aatai kya
Keri, I love you with the intense passion only possible through our shared abandonment of course V. I am counting the hours until you return to Senior Haus, my life, my love. I fear you shall be disappointed in what you find, however, for I have forsaken Arrested Development and have spent the past week watching the first four seasons of Battlestar Galactica, the epic tale of two races in search of Earth. I only hope that you will be able to forgive me for such a heretical indiscretion.
Our love will ring though the ages, my sweet.
-Laurie
P.S. Way to update the bio. It’s about goddamn time.
I’m thinking about BCS, too, but of course you never know where I’ll end up. :-D
Also, this: “I love music, art, photography, dance, and theater. I’m still not quite sure why I go to a school for science and engineering, but I’m in good company here.”
Pretty much sums me up. :-D I’m going to MIT because of the people. Where else can I talk about opera in biological and neurological terms and have people actually care and understand? :-D Of course, that’s not my sole reason, but it’s the main one.
^– Sorry, I didn’t mean to be Anon.
senior haus,ftw
“I love music, art, photography, dance, and theater. I’m still not quite sure why I go to a school for science and engineering”
I feel the exact same way sometimes
OH and i live for Thurston Moore (he went to my high school =))
How are the MIT dorms? Are they nice? Which one is the best one?
How are the MIT dorms? Are they nice? Which one is the best one?
they are amazingly awesome and EC is the BEST