winter things by Fatima A. '25

IAP stands for Independent Activities Period. For the month of January, students are free to do whatever they want, whether that be staying at home or on campus relaxing, doing a micro-internship or a UROP,⁠01 UROP stands for Undergraduate Research Opportunities. this allows undergraduates to work with professors and in research labs to really explore the fields that they are interested in taking cool classes or traveling. The freedom to do whatever you want is really valuable and people find the best ways for them to spend their time. I asked some people what they were doing over IAP to show some of these ways!

Andrew L. ’24: pokemon quiz. nike. just do it. 

and general existentialism. 02 he is also taking the Chinese calligraphy class where you get to learn different strokes, characters and styles and also learn about the history of Chinese calligraphy. you make Chinese reading cards and there is a final video project presenting a character.

Eldar U. ’25: My IAP is split in half: I was at home before January 14th, and on campus afterwards. I got my cavities filled before coming back, and jumped into the middle of action upon my arrival. Since then, my life has been a hectic whirlpool of UROPing, housekeeping, and working Next House Front Desk (all while doing basic self-care too). I like IAP for the good kind of a chaotic mess that it is – I have freedom to bump into friends and have random conversations for hours, help with IAP production of Heathers by MTG,⁠08 Musical Theatre Guild, one of the theater groups on campus, that performs musicals and learn firsthand what it is like to Screw Up (the get-broken-glass-into-an-expensive-microscope kind). IAP is all about doing stuff you “never have time energy motivation discipline” for, and that is pretty cool B-)

Giuliana C. ’25: For my IAP, I took a class called “Spanish Incubator” that takes place in Madrid, Spain! The instructor, Margery Resnick, taught us so much about Spanish literature, history, and organized extracurricular events like a flamenco workshop (ole!) and eating the best patatas bravas in Madrid :)  I was a bit scared taking the class at first since it was mostly seniors and I didn’t really know anyone, but it turned out to be so much fun! I also got to practice my Spanish with locals, my homestay senora (she was the sweetest), and my roommate Emily (who I made watch the Rosa de Guadalupe with me). We traveled to other cities like Barcelona and Sevilla which were beautiful and it was great being immersed in another culture.

Hector C. B. ’23: Howdies, Héctor here. 

Ok, so to begin with, I’m kind of a senior, so despite my history of taking too much over IAP, I wanted to focus on what really matters: math. Wait, I meant neuro. Wait no, I meant people, final answer. You’ll edit that later, right? That’s why when I originally signed up, I just signed up for my UROP, went home, and had a relaxing time. But then I saw an email for a really cool class, and was like: “1 class can’t hurt, right?” So I signed up. I then saw another email, and was like “Bet!” Then, I saw another one… Anyways, worry not, I’m only at 4 classes right now and a friend says it’s okay as long as I keep it below 5 😃😆. 

Okay, so now that we have that non-sense out of the way, what have I been up to? 1) UROP! I’m with the Seethapathi Lab and in just a few short weeks, we’ve leveled up my trajectory modeling from finger motion, to walking motion [in progress]. Technically, I’m just getting a stick figure to “walk”, but we in the research world like to call it “state of the art, world class research”: it’s all about mindset 😃. From somersaults, to diving, to an impressive 5pi/3 split, I’m low key worried my stick figure has already outclassed me, but hey, all in the noble name of the AI takeover 😉 2) Class. *end here* 😅 3) Chillin’ TM. As mentioned, I’m kind of a senior and may leave MIT this year, which is wacky, so I’m trying to make sure I have a fun ending 😀. This being said, I consistently rank as an SSS tier introvert, so this has in part just been me figuring out that I can reach out to others too 👉👈 (*shudder*), and having fun. I’m still figuring out the details, but I think if I keep at it for a few eons, I’ll start getting the hang of it. In the end, let’s just have fun :). 

Katie K. ’24: I am taking a class, 16.810: Rapid Design and Prototype, divided into groups which are designing an air filtration and heating system for a car cabin. That is the second and third weeks of IAP for me, all day.

I am UROPing, playing in Heathers, doing the poetry workshop⁠09 Alan Z. '23 is running a winter poetry workshop where we meet twice a week and discuss our poems. and sometimes, cooking with people. 

P.S. also playing Dungeons and Dragons. I am hoping to play Portal at some point but it doesn’t seem likely.

Keita A. ’23: I’m a senior, and I’ve taken this IAP to do something that I haven’t spent much time doing these past 4 years — absolutely nothing. Okay, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much. I spent the first week or so of IAP at home wrapping up some driving practice, and after (finally) getting my drivers license (a minor miracle), I came back to campus and have been lazing around since. I know some people find the idea of sitting around and doing nothing excruciating, but I have to say I am pretty good at it… don’t ask me what my screen time is though.

Lynette C. ’24: I am trying to steal quog⁠10 out of the four frog plushies in our lounge, Lynette is particularly attached to one and is always willing to snatch it if it is in your possession and doing a UROP involving transcription in embryonic stem cells. I am also trying to learn Japanese and playing the new Genshin update (read: thirsting over Alhaitham).

Prajna N. ’25: I’m actually in London this IAP! I’m taking a class that involves the literature, history and literary figures  in London: 21L.591, aptly called ‘Literary London’. As a result, I’ve been visiting quite a few picturesque bookshops, watching amazing plays(notable mentions include a production of Titus Andronicus at the Globe(if you have read Fatima’s previous blogs, you know by now that I am somewhat fond of Shakespeare), and an Agatha Christie play set in a courtroom), and drinking lots of tea-some of which I’ve brought back for Fatima to try! Although I do miss being on campus, it’s been wonderful to completely immerse myself in a subject outside of STEM for once, something that’s been a little hard to do within the MIT bubble. I’ve also been trying to do some of my UROP work from last semester and keeping up with club activities, so all in all it’s been a busy but fun time.