From chore to creative hobby
How a busy grad student can find joy in cooking
We’ve all been there—work drags on longer than expected, protocols need troubleshooting, and by the end of the day, the idea of cooking feels more and more like another chore. Why didn’t I meal prep this Sunday to avoid this current dilemma? Energy levels are low and take-out sounds so good. As a fourth year […]
Hobbies: The Big Four
Why many grad students at MIT gravitate towards these four hobbies
Imagine this: It’s evening at the Muddy (the on-campus pub known for its cheap beer) during orientation or a mixer. You’re chatting with people you’ve vaguely gotten familiar with, and your drink of choice has made the awkwardness of meeting people ever-so-slightly less so. The evening lights are dim, and there’s some bustle around you […]
Discovering the freedom and fun of art without rules
Letting go of perfectionism through adventures in glass
When I stepped into my first glass torchwork class at Metropolis, one of MIT’s makerspaces, I expected to learn a new type of art. I did not expect my experiences with glass to change the way I organize my life. In my first class, my attempts to create a marble resulted in an unintentional and […]
From “Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything” to PhD life
My endless enchantment with Boston and Cambridge
Although this is my first year in the Boston/Cambridge area as a PhD student, I actually moved here back in 2021, when the pandemic was still in full swing. I reasoned that even if I didn’t get into MIT, I would like to fulfill a childhood dream of living here that I’ve had since about […]
Summer from the Sloan Building
A few of my personal time-efficient outings that helped me enjoy my summer (without losing my mind) during my summer course at MIT Sloan
As you walk from Boston to the MIT Dome, you will encounter the famous bridge measured in smoots. At 182.2 smoots ± 1 ear, you will see “HALFWAY TO HELL” written on the concrete. As I read this phrase, I thought to myself that it must be vandalism. Only after the summer term did it […]