Listing It All Out by Afeefah K. '21

you get a list and you get list and you get a list

May 29, 2021

Barker Library – The pin drop silence of the reading room is honestly better suited for taking naps than studying in my opinion. Add in the pretty comfortable green sofas and you are set!
McCormick Front Lawn – all you need is a picnic blanket or a hammock and you are set.
The big lecture halls (10-250 or 21-600). There’s nothing like the anonymity of a large lecture hall
Banana Lounge Bean Bags – pretty comfy the first few times I took a nap here. But after a few months I felt like they needed to be cleaned so I stopped taking naps here.
Dorm Room – what fun is there in that?

Sebastian’s Cafe- Conveniently located right next to the Koch Building in Kendall. The make-your-own pasta bowls are ~quality~.
Chipotle – In Kendall (actually right across from the new admissions building) and a decent enough distance from my dorm to feel like an excursion of a sort
CAVA – also in Kendall, I love love love their braised lamb and the free mini pita
Saloniki- right on Mass Ave, love the zucchini fritters and the fries just taste extra delicious bc they are *free* for students
Asmara Ethiopian – proper sit down in Central Square and Ethiopian food is just so good and the Indian in me appreciates being able to eat with my hands hehe
El Jefe’s Taqueria – located in Harvard Square, high quality tacos
Man O Salwa- hole in the wall convenience store in Somerville that objectively makes the best and most authentic desi food in Boston. The biryani slaps

Week 2 of MIT because I was homesick
Week 3 of MIT because I failed my first midterm
Some late Thursday night during Freshman year bc I spent too much time in lab and missed dining hall hours and was v sad about no food
Probably at some point during 5.12
While rewatching Taare Zameen Par with friends
The last night I spent on campus in Fall 2020
Definitely a bunch of other times that I do not remember right now

Stay in office hours till midnight – TA or no TA
Walk the Infinite corridor after midnight
Fail a midterm – it builds character
Cry in public – also builds character
Go *chairing* in the tunnels
Identify a fear and work towards getting over it (I finally petted a puppy whoop)
Make some kind of scrapbook/album of your time at MIT
Travel and eat good food on MIT’s money
Remove toxic people from your life – you deserve better
Go to a protest or march you care about
Try a lobster roll
Do a blind cannoli taste test (i recommend trying Mike’s, Modern and Bova in North End)
Go on a bike ride through Boston (i recommend biking to the Boston Harbor)
Take schmancy photos in a grad cap/gown throughout campus
Do something nice for friends and mentors before graduating

Go on a walk along the Charles with some emo music blaring in your headphones
Come back to your dorm room and do a deep clean so that you can convince yourself that you have at least something in order
Sit in the dark and watch your favorite TV show
Spend three hours in the dining hall talking to people bc what else is there to do now
Eat a crap ton of ice cream in the dining hall
Go to sleep and forget that this day even happened

Darwin’s in Central Square- like a 7 min walk from campus and is very homey, did most of my major midterm studying and essay writing here
Andala Coffee House in Central Square- also ver homey and all around chill vibes
Caffe Nero in Downtown Crossing – good place to study with a most likely very unfamiliar crowd
Marriott Lounge in Kendall Square- if you feel fancy you do fancy