Touch grass? More like touch clay.
Practicing failure at MIT Arts Studio's pottery classes
First discovered as an undergraduate student The first time I heard about the MIT Arts Studio was when I was an undergraduate student at MIT and saw an email sent out by a recent alumna to her former dorm Next House (which is right next to Tang): “Hey guys, sign ups for the fall classes […]
Go before you’re ready
Trusting yourself in a time-limited world
I like being prepared. It gives me a sense of control which is my shield against anxiety. The first time I visited New York, I read a guide on using the subway system. Before attending a beginner bachata workshop, I watched a tutorial. I believed that with research and practice, I could conquer any challenge. […]
Asking for help is not weakness
Conquering classes after a year of industry
I don’t know if I can do this, I thought. Did I make a mistake? I was in just the second week of the chemical engineering PhD program and my eyes, worn by the glare of my laptop, were struggling to stay open against the sea of notes and colored pens scattered across my kitchen […]
A nanotechnologist and a social scientist walk into MIT MechE….
Finding my place in the MechE department without a technical background
“What’s your name?” “Where are you from?” “What’s your research area?” These are, without fail, the first three questions exchanged between MIT Mechanical Engineering grad students who are meeting for the first time. I quickly learned this convention after spending just a few minutes at department orientation events when I first got to campus in […]
Adventures on Amtrak
A story of antics and perseverance
Powered by three hours of sleep and some reheated potstickers (in hindsight, this was truly an omen for how the rest of the day would go), I sprung into action at 5:22 am to make the final preparations for my journey back to Cambridge. Coming from a town in Delaware, I had managed to live […]
