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.

Coding Resolutions: What Will You Do?

Hey everyone. This one is going to be pretty short (relatively)! As February comes to an end, there comes a time when you sit back and reflect upon the year so far. It hasn't been too long since those New Years Resolutions, even though it definitely seems like it. Have you kept yours?

A resolution I had for this year was to become a better programmer. Thanks to some of the great friends I have, I received some Matlab books and software, but I really haven't started learning...anything. I remember starting to read and falling asleep promptly. I have my dusty Java book laying in my bookshelf as well. At least spring break is coming up!

Anywho, something interesting popped up on my Facebook wall. A video entitled "what most schools don't teach". I watched it and my face instantly brightened. Once I realized I was interested in "techy" things in high school, I instantly wanted to learn programming. Disappointed that there was no course at my school (or any school in our district), I sought to join our school's Computer Science Club (and, by association, the Robotics Team's programmers). We had a lot of fun, but I'm still not a very good programmer. Code.org is a non-profit organization that strives to give more students the opportunity to learn programming. I totally wish this was around 4 years ago when I started high school!

See the video here:

Go to Code.org and learn more about what you can do to help the cause and maybe learn some code yourself! I know that I'm going to be taking advantage of it!

Late Night Confessions

Is there a better way to spend the night than writing in the MITES 12’ blog? I think NOT! Let’s be honest though… I wouldn’t be doing this if I had school tomorrow. (Cheers to the winter break). Anyways, now that you know my reasons for joining this amazing group of bloggers, I shall start telling you my story.

Let me start by telling you a crazy dream I had four nights ago. I was suddenly at the MIT campus, surrounded by people I had never seen in my entire life. As the dream progressed, I realized that I was in one of those overnight campus visit programs. Funny thing was that I really didn’t know anyone and I kept wondering why I was even visiting the campus if I had already seen it from head to toes. Instead of going crazy asking pointless questions, I decided to follow the flow and get to know the people around me. Turned out that I became friends with a Chinese girl and some boy I can’t remember. They kept saying how MIT was their dream school and how excited they were that they got in. Instead of joining their gushiness, I only said that I didn’t know what I was doing there and that I still hadn’t been accepted to MIT. They looked at me as if I had grown another head, completely ignoring me afterwards (talk about weird people). I woke up soon after, not really remembering anything else.

I won’t deny that I put much thought into the dream. First of all, why was I even dreaming about MIT? I mean, I do have great memories about the place but, I wasn’t even considering going there for college. Yeah, I know. A MITES student who doesn’t like MIT as a potential college. What can I say? I guess I am looking for a ‘cozier’ place, not so involved with research, and little bit farther away from home. At least that is what I keep telling myself.

I guess my perspective on things changed when I had a second weird dream, the night after the first one. This dream was one of those that feel too real for you not to believe it didn’t happen. I was completely and irrevocably sure that all the things that went on in my head were true. So, as I was taking a shower, I heard my phone ringing. I went to pick it up and saw that I had an email notification from the Admission Office at MIT. “On behalf of the bla bla bla, You have been accepted …” I mean, I stopped showering right away. First thing I did was call my sister over to tell her the news (first sign that I was indeed dreaming as she lives in California). We both started crying and jumping around. Then, I got out of the shower and went screaming around my house (second sign that I was dreaming as “my house” was actually my aunt’s house in the Dominican Republic). The happiness I felt inside was something I can’t describe. I created so many plans in my head, imagining what my next four freaking years at MIT would be like. And then, sadly, I woke up panting on my bed. I took me a while to realize that I was dreaming, and that I had never been accepted to MIT.

Now, you may be asking yourselves, why is this chick talking about dreams and shit? Well, I really don’t know. I’m bored, I can’t seem to fall asleep, and I already finished reading my book for the week. But in reality, I do find these dreams kind of fascinating, hence to why I’m sharing them with you. I don’t think they came to me by accident. There has to be a deeper meaning to them, don’t you think? And as I kept asking myself those questions throughout these couple of days, I came out with a hypothesis.

How about if it isn’t the fact that MIT is not “cozy” enough what has me neglecting the idea of attending there so bad? How about if it is actually fear of being denied from such a great institution? I have felt fear many times in my life. I also know how it feels to be rejected. The feeling is not pleasant, not at all, and that’s why I try to exempt myself from those kinds of positions. However, I also know how it feels to be accepted, and let me tell you how great it feels.

After a lot of thinking, talking to myself, and remembering MITES, I realized that MIT might be in reality my dream school. I may have gotten lost between the idea of what I really want and what I think I should want, but now I’m certain that I would love to attend MIT. Obviously, that was the meaning behind those particular dreams. Why else would I be dreaming about MIT when I’m so close to learning if I got in or not? It is no secret that I’m scared, way too scared. I am definitely not the student with perfect SAT scores (far from that, actually) or an amazing record of AP classes, but that hasn’t stop me from trying. And I can’t help but to think back to MITES and remember all of the times I felt inferior and not capable enough of excelling. And here I am, several months after, feeling the same way. But I guess things do happen for a reason, and every lesson in this world is important. If I hadn’t attended MITES, I wouldn’t have known that I can achieve more of the things I can ever imagine. I wouldn’t have realized how strong I am, much less know that fear and anxiety are things that I can overcome easily.

I guess what I am trying to say here (Yes, you will finally read the real message in this long as post) is that we often lock the doors in front of us before they have even closed. We bring ourselves down by repeating how incapable we are of achieving things even before trying. It is our job to leave those antics back and step into the game, no matter how scary it can be. And if it doesn’t work out? Who cares! At least we know we tried. At least I know I tried getting into my dream school. And don’t even start thinking is because you weren’t good enough. You’re foolish if you think that way. Some things are meant to be for us, but some of them just aren’t. So, keep looking until you find that thing that captivates you and then try reaching it. Don’t ever stop dreaming big, I know I won’t.

Hopefully, you will hear of me again during April. I may say that I am an MIT alumna, but I may not. But maybe, I may say how I got into this other amazing place (and how I had crazy dreams about it, too), and it will all be alright.There’s a really weird quote I read somewhere (which i like a lot), and it goes along the lines:  “Dreams can come true, just not for dreamers.” Start acting up! Don’t wait for things to happen. And never, ever, ever, never let the fear of falling stop you from flying.

That is all for tonight. It’s almost 3:30 am and I have sleep to catch up on. Best wishes and good luck to all of you who are trying to pursue something big. (Wish me luck, too).

Much love from the girl with the cute Dominican accent.

-Lily 

In the News: Andrea speaks at Girls Inc. Luncheon

Here is a video and an article about my friend and teammate (Go Underdogs!) from MITES. As she teared up, I pretty much lost it, too, weeping. Her strength and perseverance astounds me and I admire her determination and drive. This is one MITES story that shouldn't go untold. Please check it out.

Video: Scroll down to see Andrea's speech
Article: Girls Inc. of Carpinteria National Scholar Spends Summer at MIT