Disappointments, Expectations, and Reality.

Hello, Liliana here!

I thought that it would be appropriate for me to follow up with the promise I made in my last post. It has been more than a month, and I’m pretty much set with my college decisions. (Go to my last post so you don’t feel lost.)

Well, first things first. Sadly, I wasn’t admitted into MIT. Apparently those dreams didn't have a hidden message. Hold on to your tears tho! I’m more than satisfied with the things that I accomplished at MIT and am well aware of the high amount of applicants every year. I knew how unlikely it would be for me to get in (I remember confessing my terrible low SAT scores and lack of academics) but I don’t regret giving it a shot.

I think my topic for this post will be disappointments, expectations, and reality.  To start off, let me tell you what a difficult month this has been for me. I applied to 12 colleges/universities this year, and have only been admitted to 6. That’s half of my list (This is the part where disappointment comes).  I have been offered admission to most of my state schools and some good private schools in MA. You may want to know that Purdue University (one of the top schools for Engineering in the country) is also among the list. GO BOILER MAKERS WOHO!

Now you may think, “Wow, I’m so happy for her. Her dream of going to a good college came true.” Well, not really. But I didn't know that at the moment. You see, when I got my acceptance letter I was elated. Beyond shocked. Excited enough to start packing my bags to move to Indiana (not really lol). When I decided to come to the U.S., I had big expectations for myself. I dreamed about being successful, being able to provide for my family, and receiving the best education out there.  Purdue definitely represented all of those things and I couldn't wish for anything else.

However, not everything is as it seems. All of my plans changed when I received my financial aid package and realized that not even in a million years could I afford Purdue. (This is where reality comes to play). No matter how much I begged, how many times I called their offices, how many scholarships I applied to, I couldn't pay for my dream school. Of course, taking loans came to my mind right away. But after thinking about it non-stop, and having crazy dreams about counting money, I came up with a decision.  

Why worry so much about something so simple? Education is education, no matter where you go. It doesn't matter if you go to a community college, a state school, or an Ivy League. You will get an education! What matters is what you do with it. That’s what’s gonna define how your life is going to be.

Short story short, I denied my Purdue offer. I’m actually thinking of attending to a state school during freshman year. But my story doesn't end here, no no! This is only the beginning for me. I hope to find my true passions, draft a plan to pursue them, and then set the plan in motion. After that is done, I plan to transfer out. To where? I don’t know yet. Ask me next year and I’ll tell you.

I’m really excited for the fall. I can already see amazing things happening. Being positive always helps even in the worst situations. We don’t always get what we want, but we can keep trying until we get something similar to it. That is what I’m planning to do. I’m gonna keep trying, keep applying, keep studying, and (of course) keep being positive. Who knows, maybe I’ll end up on the top of the world one day.

It is not that cold in MA anymore. The sun is actually out even though it is 6:00pm. Summer is approaching, and with it comes the start of an amazing internship opportunity I was offered (will explain in other post). Life is great. Hope yours is as good. Keep dreaming big. Best wishes and good luck to all of you who are trying to pursue something big. (Wish me luck, too).

Shades on,

Lily-

The Six Months Post

So I have been postponing this blogpost for quite some time now (6 months to be exact) , but  I think it's rather appropriate that I write a few words to describe this amazing and life changing experience, specially now that I have been accepted into MIT. I will try to provide an account that focuses on exploring how this experience truly ignited inspiration in me and how my life has changed as a result. It will be long though so you have been warned!

It's midnight in what has to be one of the most unremarkable (up to that point) days in my life. I'm laying down on my bed listening to some combination of Queen and Boston ,  just moments away from a complete shutdown to rest , and my calm and peace is just completely desecrated by the cold, loud, and obnoxious alert sound of an incoming email. I lift my phone look at It and find myself in utter disbelief to find a letter of admission to the 2012 MITES program. I ran upstairs woke up my family and told them the good news. This is where the journey began.

Fast forward two or so months and I find myself at the door of Simmons hall. Buzz, click, open, and I'm in to meet with my MITES T.A's. I'm informed that I'm in a cluster and that Alex will be the man in charge of keeping tabs on us for the next six weeks (an effort that resulted in records worthy of a Carmen San Diego adventure). I placed all my belongings in my room and went downstairs to await the remaining group to arrive, and there they were, the BLOCKS! Little congruent pieces of wood that captivated my imagination and led me to configure them into structures that deftly defied physics. Soon the rest of MITES arrived and by the end of the day we had built a metropolis, we had skyscrapers, bridges, convention centers, etc; all built by people that had never ever met before.In this manner these bricks became the first step in building (excuse the pun) our MITES family and consequently Igniting Inspiration in all of us.From that point on I soon realized that this program would be more than a glorified six week torture test for my academic skills.

It's week two going on three and I'm absolutely struggling to keep up with all the work that I'm given,  I can't seem to wrap my head around this way of thinking and problem solving, and frustration is reaching peak levels. Midterms come and I do well, but not great. It may seem weird to talk about failure as a good thing but thats MITES for you. looking back on this time when I was at my lowest I can see that it was necessary to truly ignite inspiration in me. Up to this point  I had been trying to do everything on my own, the work, studying, etc; and it wasn't working. So in order to become succesful I had to let go. I began to work with others and ensure that I asked for help when I needed it and I quickly found out that my MITES family had my back.

The following weeks were not easier, but they were the most important. I learned like never before and I finally began to realize my potential ( Electronics class FTW!) , I didn't get perfect grades but I was learning and being fascinated by everything and that made me happy. I had my cluster, my shenanigans , Ohm's Law , the Bohemian Rhapsody club, etc; all of which came together to form the MITES family, the spark.

I can't say when or where exactly MITES Ignited inspiration in me, It's like trying to identify the match that lit a forest, impossible, and in the long run irrelevant. What I can say however is what It left me with. Igniting inspiration has simply told me to be a role model it doesn't matter if it be by working hard towards my dreams, helping others, or which ever other means I find appropriate ; the point is to simply be one,  for by inspiring others we not only create change in them, but also in ourselves, and ultimately in all. I will leave you my dear reader with this quote to summarize this post  and the message it carries, “If you treat an individual as he is, he will remain how he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be.” ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Questbridge, Robotics, and Car Crashes

Hello, Pedro here. It's hard to believe that it's been nearly a year since I heard about my MITES acceptance decision, and what an incredible amount of things have happened since then.

Looking back at this summer, a great memory for me was the day that we visited the Google office in Cambridge. Where else can you work, have free food, take a nap, and get your laundry done for free? I was like a kid at a candy store! That day I made it a goal to become a Googler for at least a short time in my life to experience it, and it was also the day that I decided to make computer science my perspective major.

Computer science, so sitting behind a computer screen all day is fun? Well, not quite. You see, I have this idea that computer science still has so many opportunities to change how we interact with one another and make our lives easier. For all I know, that could mean research at a university, making a start-up, or contribution to the work of the great companies out there (Apple, Google, Facebook... hire me!).

It seems like fate placed its invisible hand in my favor. I've always viewed MIT as my mecca of technological brilliance, but things took a different turn. I thought if I could make it to MIT, I could make it to the top in the computer world. I applied to Questbridge in hope of achieving this, and as I finally got the courage to check the decision status, I couldn't believe what I saw: "Congratulations, you've been matched with

STANFORD..."

WHAT THE...

It was a life changing moment, to say the least. Of course, I was stoked as could be, but there was a bitter sweet feeling in it. I didn't have to worry about which college to go to, how to pay, or anything like that. Now I was just worrying about not spending the next 4 years with all my MITES friends. Then the indecision came. Is this the right choice? Which program is the best? Who will I meet? Where's the best future? But then I looked into my circumstance a bit more. Stanford actually has the best CS program for what I want to do (artificial intelligence), the area is amazing, all the start-ups and the companies I want to work with are there, and the people I've met in my class so far are amazing people too. What was so surprising about it was that I always figures it must be MIT or bust, and it made me realize how close minded I've been. Just about any school has a lot of great things, and I needed to figure out where I had the best fit. The point is, always keep perspectives open! Sometimes what you're thinking won't be the best place even if it's great too. Palo Alto, here I come! So that's the update on my college status.

Now for robotics. My school is in its second year of having an FRC team, and I could not imagine how stressful it would be. Long hours every school day, no sleep, constantly going to Lowe's, and things always going wrong in the building process. It was an ideal example of Murphy's Law. I was stressed, probably more so than MITES. It felt like the weight of the world was on me, and I wasn't sure I'd make it rough the season with a robot built, but we managed...at a price.

Doctors sure are right when they say stress can take a toll. I couldn't focus in school, I kept forgetting the smallest things, I was irritable,  moody, you name it! The worst part was the distraction. For a moment I forgot that there were other things in life other than robotics. I kept thinking about the problems even as I was driving, and that's when I got into the wreck. Again, faith played its course. I don't know whether it was distraction, exhaustion, or just plain stupidity that caused me to rear end a preacher on Valentine's Day, but it sure made me ponder back at the fragile state of life.

I couldn't let myself be consumed by stress. I realized that I had to take control of my life, and if that meant accepting failure, then so be it. I stilled pressed on, and miraculously, the robot got done. Not as great as we planned, but the point is that it got done. I'm certain stress will come again in my life, but I have to learn how to deal with it, not by holding it in, but by doing little things like taking a small break, talking about it, getting more sleep, letting myself have some time with friends, etc. I know the MITES kids are notorious for never giving up, and although that's what makes us great, this is what makes us weak.

We sure have a difficult 4 years ahead of us: college, p-sets, projects, classes, living on our own, paying for things, possibly finding that significant other (THIRST), and then finally landing that perfect dream job. I'm sure we can all make it there, but if there's anything I want to leave is that we must realize that our dreams are in the future, and we still have to take care of ourselves in the present. I can just imagine all the possible rough days that will be head. Sometimes I'll just have to smile through it knowing that things will get better somehow. Just chill, keep focus, and stay happy. Easier said than done, right? This is something I really can't give up on. I know we can all ignite inspiration in each other to keep our heads up in the following years, and the network we've already made will be integral to our own success.

P.S. don't shake the baby.

Confusion and Failure, my two Frenemies.

" Hey Andres, since you got into MIT and all, can you fix my computer? Can you graph this complex polynomial in your head and tell me the average value? Can you hack into Pandora and get rid of the Pandora fish McBites commercial? Can you bring my bunny back to life? "

Okay so maybe I was exaggerating in the quote above, however, there has been a serious difference since my acceptance to MIT ( Which by the way I am still in shock of, maybe I will get over it when I graduate in four years ). One major difference I have seen is that people believe that I know the answer to everything, which is farrrrrrrrrrrrr from true. Like light years far. Like the distance between you and your remote when laying on the sofa far. Sure, I have worked hard and obtained great grades, however, I have had far more failures and moments of confusion than moments of success. The other day I was contemplating this, and I had flashbacks to MITES 2012. *Set the little flashback cloud*


I was in my dorm room at Simmons working on my electromagnetism and electricity physics p-set. This was early in the MITES program when I thought I could complete a p-set by myself. I looked at the intimidating paper and began to work. And I worked. And I worked. And I failed. Two hours had past and still no progress at all. I went down to the hallway and saw a group of fellow MITES students working on the same p-set and sat down and conversed with them. After working a couple of minutes we had solved the problem I had spent two hours trying to do myself.

Another MITES example, it was during the last day of engineering design. The countdown began and every team was racing to finish their robots for the competition. I was in charge of the hammer mechanism that was meant to smash down on a high striker in order to gain points. The design was sketched out with dimensions and it was time to go to the workshop and cut out the parts. I went to the drill press and drilled a hole in the shaft of the hammer. Oh did I mention I drilled the hole in the wrong side of the hammer shaft? So instead of smashing with the hammer head, the hammer would smash with its side. Brilliance alert here.

One more recent example, I was in my AP chemistry class and decided that my pencil was dull. Went to sharpen said pencil. Failed completely. I didn't pay attention to the side I was sharpening so I ended up putting the eraser side in the sharpener. Again, let me say, I fail a lot.

What is the point of me ridiculing my blunders? I want to say that failure and confusion is an essential part of life. Don't be scared to not know something or to be confused. It happens to everyone, and more importantly failure and confusion are essential to success. I have learned far more from my failures and moments of confusion than from my moments of success. Trust me, I definitely will remember more drilling the hole on the wrong side of the hammer shaft versus remembering the time I understood perfectly Euler's method and Separable Differential Equations. In MITES I failed so much, but I stuck with it. I would learn from my failures and moments of confusion and continue on.

I ended up acing my MITES finals.

So no, I am no super human that knows everything. I am just someone who is constantly confused and who constantly fails but decides to constantly keep at it and learn from these moments of failure. Intelligence is not measured on how much one knows, but on how much one is willing to learn.