Relearning how to learn
As I sat down at my desk in the middle of the Pacific Ocean waiting for an Internet connection, I wondered if the long-awaited response would be sitting in my…An ode to Kenji’s Cooking Show
At the start of the pandemic, my cooking skills were in top form. I had mastered scrambled eggs and had honed my selection criteria for one pot pastas (the simpler,…The roller coaster ride of research life is no less scarier than those at Six Flags!
While I remember most events from my past with an extremely high level of detail thanks to my photographic memory, there is more to why I remember what happened on…Working out my body… and my mind
You’ve probably seen countless exercise videos promising to help you drop 10 pounds in a month and copious articles telling you why you should start a new fitness regimen, but…Be water, MIT friend
I just finished my third year of graduate school in the Mathematics Department. I work in Fourier analysis, a part of math that studies qualitative and quantitative questions about the…MIT can work for couples
Do you believe that keeping up with a romantic relationship and completing a graduate degree abroad at a top university are incompatible? This is the story about how I was…The evermore squares
During quarantine, and especially during the era of Zoom classes, I became re-obsessed with crochet. I noticed that crocheting while listening to Zoom lectures helped me stay focused on the…The breaking point
I got off the escalator and stepped onto the platform. Three minutes until the train, eighteen minutes until I get to MIT, twenty minutes until my meeting. My breath was…An experimental study of the Holy Cannoli
Introduction The Cannoli is a form of dessert, which, in its most basic form, includes a pastry shell wrapped around a sweet ricotta filling. Historians have long debated the origin…Getting back to reading for pleasure
Spoiler Alert: If you haven’t read Harry Potter, Catch-22, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Count of Monte Cristo – there are a few references here that you may want…MIT-only memories
MIT is a unique place, full of fascinating people and experiences that you won’t have anywhere else. As students, I love to take advantage of the incredible opportunities offered by…
How a tree decided where I live
It was a hot summer day in India, and I was holding my dad’s arms and standing in front of this old tree. My young mind was fascinated by the…
How to hang in there
I was skimming the schedule of a conference last week when I saw the last thing any 6th year PhD student wants to see: a title that could describe my…Recreating the taste of home
“Do you need anything from home?” say my parents whenever we chat, asking if I wanted anything to be mailed. “I’m good!” I usually reply. There was one thing I…
Reactivating
As a budding biologist, I am familiar with the way metaphor is employed to effectively communicate scientific concepts. For example, the molecule of the moment is messenger RNA, whose name…
The White House is on the phone
President Jimmy Carter conceded the 1980 election earlier than expected. Ronald Reagan recounted, “I never dreamed it would be in the late afternoon when I was taking a shower, standing…
Wait, there’s a fun scale?
As a statistics-loving graduate student, I am prone to quantifying everything. I have a tracking app for my running mileage, a separate one for my sleeping hours, and even a…
Life lessons from a cookie
One of the most famous movie quotes is Forrest Gump’s, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” As a hobby baker with a…
Tomatoes, parmesan, bread… oh, my!
Focaccia – Your favorite (or soon to be favorite) dimpled bread that seems to have taken the world by storm recently. For those who haven’t heard of it, focaccia is…
How my journey to the Philippines brought me to MIT
During the summer of 2019, my mom and I visited the Philippines for our first-time to meet relatives and learn more about our heritage. To see as much of the…
The conflict and the privilege of MIT
The arrival It feels very strange to be writing this. I never thought I would be writing as a student at MIT but after a rollercoaster of events I was…
3 things I did as an international graduate student this summer
When I was accepted to the Master of Science (M.S). in Comparative Media Studies last summer, I had very specific goals of how I wanted to spend the next two…Whales of quals
This is my story of how I prioritized my mental health over qualifying exams. When I was studying for quals1, my phone kept autocorrecting quals to whales. I thought it…
Innovation and the daily grind
A life with daily grinds Over the last ten years, I remember working long hours on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), project finance deals, and operational issues without even realizing when…Finding your why
I was about 19 years old when my friend and I made plans to bike 70 miles to a state park in our area, camp for the night, and take…
How I realized graduate school was the right choice for me
The best realizations really do come in the bathroom. I was washing my hands in the sink when I heard the bathroom door shut as another girl entered. If you…
Nurturing yourself by nurturing some greens
Grad student life is filled with significant transitions like qualification exams, new roommates, selecting PIs and committee members, and more. But the uncertainties of grad school life suddenly became much…You have got to have a plan, and a planner!
Growing up in India Growing up in a busy middle class household in India, my parents did not once ask about my grades. They would just pick my report card…A graduate school simulator
Stardew Valley, the hit indie farm simulator, consumed much of my senior spring. While writing my thesis and finishing my coursework, I needed an opportunity to relax and focus on…
Escape MIT for a weekend
What will you do if you have a weekend free? Netflix? Video games? How about getting out of your (dorm) room and travelling to another state? During my undergraduate study,…
Making kofta in an air fryer
“Dinner is ready!” The smells of tahini and allspice waft through my house, while plates and utensils clatter around the kitchen. My family meanders around the kitchen in hungry anticipation,…
MIT PE to the rescue! Yee-hah!
Standing in awe, I gazed at the most beautiful theme park I have ever seen in my life. My friend and I had just entered the Volcano Bay at Universal…Christmas in September?
There’s an old saying, “you can’t take it with you.” It’s mainly used to caution people against overvaluing money or material possessions because you can’t take them with you when…I hear you
ME: “…I don’t want to talk about plans. Working inside the lab building feels depressing.” MOM: “Maybe you can talk to the department chair about finding a new advisor? That…To visit or not to visit?
The public health orders are clear: Stay. At. Home. Your mom’s voicemail is also clear: Visit. Me. Now. My family managed two fun and relaxing visits during the height of…