MIA No More by Hamsika C. '13

I realize that it’s been more than three weeks since I’ve blogged, but I have two legitimate reasons for why this is so:

(1) The freshman bloggers are doing an amazing job of keeping the MIT Admissions page updated with entries.
(2) There has seriously been noooo timeee.

Since everyone else seems to be posting screenshots of their calendars, I’m going to do it too. Here’s mine for the week:

Andd a second shot, with stuff you couldn’t see in the first picture:

Yup. Story of my life. A partial story, actually, as these iCal representations of my life don’t take into account the following:

– Completing Funding Applications for my upcoming IAP trip to India
– Taking EMS Shifts (I happen not to be on any this week)
– Grant-Writing for EMS and Camp Kesem
– Designing a Themed Poster/T-Shift for the Spring MassCPR Event Organized by MIT-EMS
– Co-Planning the November Service Project for Student Leaders in Service (SLiS)
– Doing Homework, which currently includes:

(1) Reading for 9.01 (Intro to Neuro) and 5.13 (Orgo II)
(2) Writing a Literature Review for my 9.85 (Infant & Early Childhood Cognition) Final Paper
(3) Editing my 5.310 (Chem Lab) Lab Report due tomorrow (and doing the Pre-Lab for tomorrow)
(4) Completing the Lab Animal Safety Course for my UROP + Reading Manual on Electrodes

– Studying for…

(1) 5.310 Lab Quiz Thursday
(2) 9.20 (Animal Behavior) Quiz Wednesday
(3) 9.01 Midterm Monday
(4) 5.13 Exam Next Wednesday

~And~
– Figuring out what I’m doing with my life.

As off-topic as it seems, the last item on my list has been on my mind a lot lately, especially following a visit from a friend (and prospective student!) this past weekend. As I answered her questions about MIT’s academics and student life, it hit me yet again how there’s soo muchh to do here at MIT. This place lets you combine your passions and interests in many different ways…I can’t help but wonder if I’ve been taking advantage of this opportunity.

There are two activities in particular that I love doing, that I could spend hours doing without ever realizing the passing of time:

(1) Dance – I went to my first dance class as a seven-year-old, and since then, dance has taken me through so many ups and downs in life. I seriously never want to let it go.

-and –

(2) Drawing/Design – Every so often, I start feeling restless and just itch to draw. Back home, my school supply closet is filled with blunt color pencils and broken crayons. My mind is utterly blank and at peace when I draw: it’s just me, my color pencils, and the paper in front of me.

So now, I’m thinking of combining these interests into my MIT life. I’m decidedly doubling in course 7 (biology) and 9 (brain/cognitive sciences), but I’m also considering the following:

(1) Minoring in Visual Arts and Design – it’s a new minor here at MIT :)

-and (this idea is kind of a reach…but hey, applying to MIT was a reach for me. And look where I am ^.^)

(2) Potential UROP (or IROP, rather): Randomly contacting Ananda Shankar Jayant and finding a way to combine two of my favorite things: dance and science – when I watched her TED talk some months ago, I was both inspired and curious. I started wondering about the health and medical applications of various gestures and movements involved in Indian dance, an art form highly steeped in history and meaning. To combine dance and research would honestly be my dream UROP.

Sigh. So many choices. Thoughts?

P.S. Congrats to all of you who just submitted your EA apps :)