Time and change by Jessie L. '07
Term’s over. Almost. I’ve always felt that term wasn’t truly over until all of my grades were in, and I’m still waiting for two of them (out of five). But I’m less nervous about my grades this term than I have been in many others, so it feels more or less over.
I’m in Louisville, Kentucky, at my mom’s house. I’ll be staying here through the end of the APO national convention, which is conveniently also in Louisville this year, then taking the bus down even further south to visit my dad in Woodstock, Georgia.
It’s very strange. The first few times I went back to a parental home from my college home, I felt like I was sliding into a different role, a different persona. There was who I was at MIT, and there was who I was at home. It wasn’t so much that they were different people, as they were the same person with different aspects played up or down. They dressed differently, spoke a little differently, and interacted a little differently with people. Such is the nature of being in very different envionments and having a very different status within them.
As I’ve gone further and further through MIT, the person I am at MIT, that person who shaped and was shaped by her environment, has developed more and more. You go to a place like MIT, and I promise you, you not only change but you find out a lot about yourself.
But paradoxically, the more I develop from what I was when I left home and entered school as a frosh, the more my school and home personas converge.
To those who celebrate Christmas among you, Merry Christmas, and to others, Happy Holidays – or if you celebrate no holidays during this time, Happy Winter Season! The shortest day of the year has passed, and now the days begin finally to lengthen again!
I loved this post. People around me seem to be worrying about how everything’s going to change in college – I’m a little afraid of everything new that’s going to happen, but we should change in college!
Are you finished with school, Jessie, or planning to go on?
I am a chinese colege student!I am always having the same feeling sometimes！
I guess it’s not just change, it’s growth too, eh? =)
Change and growth are often one in the same. Even changes that are mistakes have led to learning, or growth.
Its about how perspectives evolve when subjected to a change in environment…we tend to think in a different manner when all of a sudden we leave home and start off a new journey, many times alone…and this journey helps us pick up new lessons which eventually mould our thoughts..thoughts that remain stagnant, probably for a long time from then on..
aren’t we all a lot of personnas?! In every environment we try to fit as good as we can- its only natural…
And only if one knows all of your personality aspects, he will really know you..and maybe accept who you really are…
I saw a number of people at the airport yesterday wearing APO swag
I wondered if they were heading your way. Have a wonderful convention!
hi Jessie. How do you feel now that college is almost over?
hi Jessie. How do you feel now that college is almost over?
hi Jussie,
I understand how you feel in MIT. At home you do not have to worry about the assisments, test and what not.
I like to know more about life in MIT.
keshab
“The Elisabeth Town” was filmed in your town, and I love it.
Happy New Year!
Thanks for the update on the hall map/hacks. I stumbled across your blog while looking for something else. As an alum, it is great to know that current students are just as crazy as we were, thought quite a bit smarter it seems.
I also like this last entry and introspection, not something MIT students are known for, but someone I certainly remember discussing with friends. Good luck with the APO convention and the spring semester.
Thanks for the update on the hall map/hacks. I stumbled across your blog while looking for something else. As an alum, it is great to know that current students are just as crazy as we were, thought quite a bit smarter it seems.
I also like this last entry and introspection, not something MIT students are known for, but someone I certainly remember discussing with friends. Good luck with the APO convention and the spring semester.