Reflections and Images

So far, the spring semester has been quite stressful. It is what I expected my spring semester to be. Some days, I feel like I am drowning under a sea of work. When I am bored in 6.0001 lecture (Intro to Computer Science), I sometimes think about the looming deadlines. Four problem sets will be due next week. Then two midterms back to back the following week. Then the whole weekend will be occupied with club commitments. You can see where this train of thought leads me at the end. Such thinking is not useful nor helpful and it only makes me want work to stop. Whenever I struggle with a problem set, I say IHTFP in my head many times. The worst days were when I wondered whether my life would be better in an alternate universe where I chose another college. But I don't like this mindset and I don't want to live like this for three more years.  Last semester was on PNR (Pass No Record), but there were still regular problem sets and midterms. Despite these assignments and tests, I d...

Last week I did something that was a figment of my imagination a year ago: traveling to New York City alone. I am still surprised that my parents allowed me to travel by myself since they worry a lot about safety. I think what made them trust me was that I went to New York City a couple times, so the place wasn't so unfamiliar. I also did the itinerary by myself, which included making bookings for a hotel, ordering museum tickets, etc. I think these actions showed that I was responsible and spent a decent amount of time planning for the trip, which made them believe that I could act as an independent adult -- well, to some extent. Before the trip, I reassured them that I spent at least thirty minutes carefully reading how to navigate the subway and devoted some time learning how to use the MTA trip planner, which I highly recommend for anyone visiting the city. I also used Live360, which is a family sharing app so they knew where I was.  Here are the nitty-gritty details of what ha...