To the Future Me: If You're Feeling Down...

When I go to Cam, I'm sure there will times when I want to regret my decision. It's not that going there would actually be regrettable, but because I'm a inherently paranoid decision maker. Here are a few things that I want the future me to remember so that I make the most of my time there :)

- After deciding to participate in CME, I've already stopped taking for granted what MIT offers us. There are so many opportunities MIT offers to help us kickstart our careers, whether in research, industry, grad school, or entrepreneurship. Some classes I want to take when I get back are 6.115 (Microcomputer Project Laboratory hopefully with Steve Leeb), Founders Journey, Engineering Innovation and Design (GEL 1), and New Enterprises (Sloan E&I). MIT may be hard, but you get a lot more application and experience here than any other engineering school (in my opinion)!
- At Cam, we have more control over our time. Therefore, I want to take time to build my portfolio, software-wise and engineering-wise. I want to join competitions there and student clubs, and get active early. I want to be self-directed and find motivation in working because I understand how important hands-on experiences are.
- Time is precious. I will only have one year abroad to do all the amazing things I've imagined. Travel, learn, meet people, try new things, and challenge myself in every aspect!

To the future me: When I have a real hard time abroad, remember that I knew and felt that this was the right decision. I am happy about this decision and feel the joy of breaking free. I've impressed my parents with how mature I was about considering my academic and professional paths while making the decision and how motivated I was to capitalize on the opportunity and fulfill a lot of dreams while challenging myself.

So there. If you're feeling down, think about how rough some of the times were back at MIT. YEAH. So keep your head up and smile. You're at an incredible place filled with amazing people and an ocean of possibilities. So go have fun and live your life!

Why I'm Going to Cambridge.

This is one of the surest things I've done in a while. Which is sad, because even on this decision, I wavered a bit.
But it's one of the first occasions that I feel like I'm doing something for me. And I feel like my mind and my heart agree. I feel free. For once, I've broken past any expectations of me or the pressure I feel from comparing myself to my peers.
I am doing this one for me. In my first few semesters at MIT, I developed a four-year plan without even giving thought to what or why I wanted something in the first place.
I have a Word Document (typing that made me feel archaic for some reason...) that contains all of the most interesting or inspiring words I have ever read online. Today I pull one out from Steve Jobs at the 2005 Stanford Commencement. It's one that I remind myself of often and quoted around the sides of one of my paintings:

"Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

 

I know my education is important. But what makes education more valuable is what you put into it - your ambitions, dreams, and confidence. Currently, I lack the latter two, and it terrifies me. Hopefully, by making myself realize that I can do something very different from my peers for a year and survive and feel phenomenal, I can believe that life can be lived without a dictated roadmap. Well, being the paranoid individual I am, I will still at least have a loosely designed plan for everything :)

I'm young. So I shouldn't live life scared of whether I'll fail. I should do things that interest, inspire, and intrigue me. And I am.

W.O.W.

W.O.W. = What. Obvious. Wonders.

It's crazy how blessed I've been these past few months. 

Two big (I know - kind of cliche) things I'm very very thankful for:

- I am interning with Google this summer! (And had the problem of deciding between that and GE, a company I've wanted to work with for a long time!) 

- I am studying abroad at the University of Cambridge for my junior year! 

This is one of those opportunities I never dreamt taking, and now that it is becoming a reality, I am in awe. My heart literally starts freaking out every time I think about it, and I'm pretty sure I'm banned from the topic around my friends because I've exhausted it into annoyance. 

So now I've just been compiling a Google Doc Bucket List based on places I want to go to and activities/foods I want to try!

Now allow me to freak out about this on my blog for a while (betches, it's my online space!): 

holy carp*, holy carp, holy carp, holy carp, holy carp, holy carp, holy carp, 

 holy carp, holy carp, holy carp, holy carp, holy carp, holy carp, holy carp,

 holy carp, holy carp, holy carp, holy carp, holy carp, holy carp, holy carp ♥

I deserve neither of these opportunities, and yet they're happening. I feel like the luckiest most blessed person in the whole world. 

I feel like Ron here. Ooh, or Cam. Better yet, this winner here. (I still love SNL.)

But in all seriousness, I am so grateful and undeserving of the blessings around me and I hope I can remind myself of how good my life is as the semester rolls in.

*see this blog post

And just for kicks: