would’ve, could’ve, should’ve by Veronica P. '27

Hi blog,

I’m a senior now! Or, at least in the sense that the current seniors have graduated, requiring new seniors to fill their place. I guess also in the sense that I’ve finished my junior year. Still, summer feels like a weird limbo where my senior-ness remains up for debate.

This year, I decided to stick around and volunteer for commencement— mostly because I wanted to spend as much time with my ’26 friends as possible, but also partially to sample what it would feel like to graduate myself. I foresee myself being quite emotional about the whole ordeal, so I figured the more time I can give myself to process the concept, the better. I’ve already cried, once, in February, about a commencement that still looms a year away.

Suffice to say, I’ve been thinking a lot about how I want to spend this last year as an MIT undergrad. And, part of that decision process requires looking back on regrets I have about the three years that’ve already been spent. It’s an oversimplification to hinge all these regrets on the very first year, but freshman year is the period I always find myself lamenting— the point at which all the sunk cost was at minimal sinkage, I guess. But sunk cost fallacy is just that, a fallacy. So, I figured I’d list out a few of my freshman year regrets, not to beat myself up for them—because all those regrets made me who I am today and yada yada—but to identify ways I can come out of senior year with at least one regret less.

Would’ve

Opportunities that, had I known about them at the time, I definitely would have tapped into. Or choices that, knowing what I know now, I definitely would have made.

• Gotten BlueBikes immediately! And been less afraid to take the T! It really helps you feel more like a real, capable person when you don’t solely exist on campus. My relationship with campus also probably improved once I stopped feeling like I was confined to it. Besides, Boston really is a beautiful city, and being able to watch the seasons change is such a blessing! Also, get the student pass. I didn’t know that was a thing when I finally locked in and ended up paying way more than necessary.
• Looked into more MISTI’s! I ended up going to Brazil for my freshman IAP thanks to a lucky last-minute opportunity digest from the Latino Cultural Center,  but I hadn’t interfaced with the MISTI website at all before that point. I’ve MISTI’d three times now, and every time has been so incredible. However, I never considered how viable of an option it was to study abroad for a semester! In retrospect, I would have at least looked into it (but time-wise this is more of a sophomore year regret)
• Not stapled with someone going into the Housing Process. It’s a lot of pressure to put on someone you’ve just met to be aligned with all your living and community preferences, and your first year residence forms a major part of your freshman experience! I think it’s ideal that everyone involved makes the choice that is specifically right for them.
• Become a blogger sooner. I was accepted my freshman year, but chose to hold off and reapply my sophomore year. I was afraid it was going to be too overwhelming in my first year, but now I realize how supportive and understanding the blogger community is! I guess I’ll always have to wonder what blogs my freshman year self would’ve put out if she put her mind to it…

Could’ve

Things I chose not to do, but that don’t keep me up at night because the outcome is probably net neutral.

• Seriously considered ASE-ing a few of my GIR’s. It would’ve freed up space in my schedule, but honestly freshman-year me was taking the “Undecided” major declaration very literally. Perhaps I would’ve actually made a few choices sooner, but going through the GIR’s gave me the time to really think about the kinds of classes I wanted to take at MIT. Plus, it’s a really good opportunity to bond with people outside of your major, because once sophomore year hits you’re only really taking classes with people within your department.
• Tried to rush a sorority. I felt like I had found the community I wanted with Burton One, and still feel that way! But you never know, maybe if I had tried the rush process I would have an amazing secondary community, or at least known for sure that it wasn’t for me. Caleb M. ’27 has a great blog series on acting on this “could’ve”.
• Joined a first-year learning community. I know lots of people who did Terrascope and DesignPlus and had an amazing experience! I think it’s a great way to make friends and connect with faculty in a low-stakes environment. The DesignPlus staff were nice enough to let me join my friends at their weekly lunches :)
• Gotten a meal plan. A big draw of the dining halls is social interactions and convenience, but I was lucky enough to have enough friends on meal plans that I could always borrow a swipe from! Plus, I think it was good to start the cook-for-myself learning curve early.

Should’ve

The better decisions that I was too scared to make.

• Listened to my freshman year advisor, at least a little more. When I came to him in the midst of a choice-of-major crisis, he told me that I sounded like more of a scientist than an engineer in thinking. He was even kind enough to give me contacts in 8 and 18 departments, two courses of interest for me, and encourage me to reach out to them to learn more before declaring my major. I never reached out to the contacts, and declared 2, Mechanical Engineering! (If you feel bad for laughing, don’t, I’m already laughing at myself) This isn’t to say that Course 2 has been a total mistake, I actually have found a lot of classes that I enjoy and validate my choice. I even think that the hands-on classes that were especially out of my comfort zone really expanded my thinking, and taught me so much about how the “real world” works. I’m the type to prioritize a manageable course-load (one in which true learning, reasonable sleep, and a life outside of school can all be somewhat achieved) over exploration, so I’ve never been able to justify squeezing in a class outside of the pretty extensive Course 2 requirements. But, every once in a while I’d get a comment from a professor about me being more of a physicist in thinking, and wonder about the major that I never even gave a shot.
• Tried to join clubs! I only just joined Camp Kesem this year, but I found a screenshot from freshman fall where I was considering a way earlier application cycle. I had a lot of fear about adjusting to MIT life, and didn’t join any extracurriculars until my sophomore year. Now, I look at so many cool clubs, like RingComm, MIT Gala, and MINCE, that I could’ve at least given a shot!
• Tried harder at dipping my toes into the whole career-fair, interviewing, networking thing. I’ve heard from so many friends that the only way to ease the anxiety is to do it enough times that you’re no longer paralyzed by fear. Unfortunately, I’m still mostly terrified.
• Locked into planning a list of bucket-list courses! There are so many fun classes that you forget you have the chance to take here— like sailing, or Drawing for Designers, or ceramics! Now I just have one year left to try to squeeze as much as I can out of, and try to wake up on time for the ridiculously-early PE registration window.

But Freshman Veronica didn’t get it all wrong!!! She found her community, traveled alone for the first time, met her best friend, side-quested plenty, came out of her shell socially, pivoted towards a major that was a better fit than her original choice, and, yes, even learned stuff while on PNR. It’s probably for the best that I couldn’t get it all right. In 2.008 this past semester, I worked in a team to design, manufacture, and assemble 50 identical yoyo’s. My lab instructor always said that he was only certain that the teams for which their yoyo’s didn’t work out had actually learned something. Some teams just got it miraculously right their first try, and never even had to figure out why. As much as we hate all the would’ve, could’ve, should’ve, it means we know what we’re going to do differently the next time. Or, at least that’s the hope.