21 May 2009

One Down, Three to Go

I am officially done with my freshman year at MIT.

(Well, okay, so I technically am still a freshman at MIT until the class of 2013 arrives on campus in the fall, but I don't really like this whole "conservation of freshman" mumbo jumbo, so whatevs.)

I only had two finals this week: 18.01 (single variable calculus) and 7.014 (biology with ecology). After studying a fair amount (I'll post pictures of where I studied, soon, by the way; any bibliophiles will love the Boston Public Library), I took the 7.014 final on Tuesday morning, and then finished my 18.01 final Wednesday morning. And now I'm completely, 100% done with freshman year. Any control over my grades is no longer in my hands; all tests are taken, all p-sets are turned in, and all papers have been submitted.

It feels kind of... strange. I actually feel like a real MIT student to some degree. I don't think I'll actually feel completely like an MIT student until I have the huge hunk of metal known as a Brass Rat gracing my right-hand ring finger (which will happen in less than a year!), but I at least know that I can survive the classes here. Hell, not just survive, but thrive; I got an A in my writing class (21W.732) (this prompted a jumping-up-and-down-and-laughing session this afternoon when I checked WebSIS - totally warranted!). Granted, I still hate, and am terrible at, physics, and I'm still not the greatest at math. 7.014 only strengthened my love of biology (though my TA did make me a little frustrated at times), and my writing class made me ridiculously happy. Getting an A in that class, and considering how much I enjoyed it, has pushed me to consider a career (at least for a while) in writing a little bit more, and now I don't think it's such a far-fetched idea. I think taking classes on topics I enjoy definitely correlates with better grades (though I still am waiting on my 7.014 grade...), and that realization makes me excited for next year, when I'll be taking classes that actually matter for my major. Regardless, I can survive at MIT.

Of all the things I've done in my life, surviving at MIT feels like one of the top accomplishments. And that's just surviving. If I can somehow manage to do remotely well here, I will be the most content person in the world.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

High five for 8.011! Will I see you in 8.02 next term? (At 9am? Blerg. But I hear Hudson is good.)

The whole "feeling like a real MIT student" thing is strange. My fall term, I came out thinking I wasn't sure if I belonged here - and then time off. This is the first time where I've felt, "YES, this place is for me!"