my freshman year in laptop stickers by Ankita D. '23

yesterday was a really shitty day.  a lot of annoying and stressful things happened, and just as i thought things were looking up, i spilled water on my laptop. it died instantly; the technicians at the Microcenter⁠01 tech & repair shop located right next to Trader Joe's in West Cambridge took one look at it and told me not to bother fixing it since my motherboard is a goner.

it took about six emotional breakdowns and two whole pints of Ben and Jerry’s to finally come to terms with everything that had happened that day. now that’s coping, folks.

losing the files on my laptop and having to pay a good amount of money for a new one sucks, but what i find most tragic is the loss of my laptop stickers. i’d been saving space for stickers from all four years at MIT, so it sucks that a one-second fuck-up cost me my freshman year sticker history.

here they are! in chronological order of getting them:

this is the first of my two Taiwan stickers that were designed by artist Eric Charles Olmstead. it features Taipei 101 and stinky tofu, which were both cornerstones of my experience in Taipei last summer. i got this sticker in my hostel since the artist also stayed there and left a few behind for other residents.

this was the first sticker i put on my laptop since i didn’t want to ruin its pristine surface with an, uh, “unworthy” sticker. i deemed this one fitting as soon as i saw it, though. it’s probably the one i’ll miss most.

my second Taipei sticker, by the same artist. i’m obsessed with the design of the fish and am BITTER about losing this sticker.

i got this at the MISTI booth at the activities midway during REX. i remember being really excited about it since i was certain that i was applying for at least one MISTI program. also, since i’m passionate about learning languages, this sticker made me happy every time i looked at it. rip.

this technically was my first piece of Bomber⁠02 my living group is called the Burton 3rd Bombers merch, so i was psyched about getting it. a senior from the floor printed dozens of these sometime early in the year, so i grabbed 3(rd) and put them on my water bottle, door, and laptop. i spent a lot of time deliberating on where exactly to place it on my laptop since it’s such a weird shape. i ended up trying to be artsy and putting it over the world to ~further the metaphor~.

yay more fish! i got this at a MISTI Japan info session. even though i ended up not applying for the program, i’m a weeb and couldn’t resist having some tribute to Japan on my laptop.

this came in our floor’s massive merch order that came sometime in IAP. i bought a lot of clothes—sweatshirts, sweatpants, frat crewnecks, you name it—and also several of these stickers. i’m glad i decided to not use them all lol.

Dance Troupe is mit’s biggest dance organization. i got this as a reward for being the first person to arrive at spring registration, i think? Dance Troupe events are typically held in the Porter Room, which is a large room in my dorm, Burton Conner, so all i have to do to be present is roll out of bed and walk downstairs. it’s pretty great. i loved this sticker and was super excited about getting it; i think i chose it over a free tank top since i was so eager to put it on my laptop. thankfully, it’s replaceable!

so, yeah, there we are! i’m going to miss these stickers—and my laptop, of course. my new one is arriving soon and i’m excited to personalize it, but damn. losing documentation of your experiences in such a tangible way really sucks.

so…before you put stickers on your belongings, know that losing them may or may not hurt like a bitch, so get more copies if you can!

this message was sponsored by Wow I’m So Emo About My Laptop™