Talking to myself through a reverse to-do list
How keeping a “done” list got me through my first few years of grad school.
Communication is the most important skill I have developed in grad school. The types of communication we usually think about are technical and interpersonal communication, such as publishing and presenting your research, or communicating with your advisor. However, one type of communication I overlooked in my first year was communicating to myself. As a first […]
Learning from the magic bean
How becoming a coffee snob taught me about scientific experiments
It all started when COVID hit. I had all this newfound time while attending classes on Zoom and found an outlet – specialty coffee. Before I knew it, I had become a full-blown coffee aficionado who knew all about the full coffee production process and cared about flavors in coffee. I found that the best […]
Crying in C-Mart
My Asian grocery adventure in the Boston area
I can’t survive for a week without eating Asian food. Honestly, a big reason why I chose to come to MIT was because H-Mart was down the street from campus. However, after looking at my H-Mart grocery receipts from my first couple months here, I was crying (in front of) H-Mart. I realized that H-Mart […]
Working out my body… and my mind
How my fitness routine helped me establish healthy new research habits
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 I’m not here to convince you to start one. I’m here to share how having a fitness routine has helped me learn and grow as […]