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.