Articles by Scott Yim

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There are so many cool events and activities on campus. The best time to get a taste of these awesome things is senior spring, right? Therefore, I’ve been trying a whole bunch of stuff that I’ve never done before!

Holi, a traditional Hindu ceremony that celebrates renewing relationships and the triumph of good over bad, was a few weeks ago. We have an annual event here on campus, much like ceremonies around the world, where people get together and throw colored powder at each other to celebrate. I think a fully authentic ceremony would also consist of a bonfire, but open flames aren’t allowed on campus, so unfortunately we aren’t able to replicate it exactly. Regardless, it was such a fun thing to do. There were so many seniors there (I imagine they had the same “senior spring” attitude to participate in things that they haven’t before graduating), and the pictures from the event are really awesome!

Me and my blockmate, Lina, at Holi!

Me and my blockmate, Lina, at Holi!

Another event that I just participated in is the Identities Fashion Show. It’s kind of hilarious because I’ve never done anything like it before, but my friend Sifon dragged me to the audition. Well, maybe “dragged” isn’t exactly accurate–I had secretly wanted to try something like this for a while, but I would have never tried it without her encouragement. Participating in the show was pretty simple. The scene directors basically fit you in expensive designer clothing, and you just practice walking. The day of the show, you get your hair and makeup done, and just walk down a runway. It was surprisingly a lot more fun than I imagined it was going to be, and I’m so glad I did it…definitely something I probably won’t ever do again, so it was a pretty neat, out of body experience!

Me and my friend, Nina, at Identities!

Me and my friend, Nina, at Identities!

Participating in all of these events has made me realize that there are so many amazing things at Harvard that I haven’t taken advantage of, even though I’ve been incredibly involved. There’s just so much to do here!

This weekend was my last show for Expressions Dance Company, a hip hop troupe that I joined the fall of my junior year. It was an incredibly fun and fulfilling experience because we’ve been working really hard all semester with weekly rehearsals, which ramped up to about 4 hours of rehearsal everyday this week. I choreographed two different segments, one of which is part of the annual Senior Dance! Senior Dance is open to any senior who wants to join, regardless of skill level. We had about 75 seniors in the dance, and it’s been a lot of fun to meet so many new people from different social circles, which is what Senior Dance is all about–bringing members of the class of 2013 together to have a good time.

Choreographers!

Choreographers at Dress Rehearsal!

Some senior girls at Dress Rehearsal in my friend Julie’s segment!

Aside from Senior Dance, I’m also a member of EXP, the traveling sub-group of Expressions. Here’s a video of an EXP segment, choreographed by two incredible freshmen named Kristen and Rebecca. So much talent!

Are those of you who are coming for pre-frosh weekend (or “Visitas” as they are now calling it) excited to visit campus?!

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The title of this post makes me sad. This past week was my last spring break…ever. I was able to travel a bit and spend some time at home. Spring break started at 3 am last Friday as I headed to the airport to fly to Seoul, South Korea! That weekend, I’d spend more time in the air traveling, than I would on the ground. I was only in Seoul for about 30 hours. It was the quickest (and longest) trip I’ve ever done. What an oxymoron.

My friend (and former PAF–Peer Advising Fellow, or an upperclassman buddy that is assigned to each and every freshman!), Lilli ’11, and I traveled together to shoot another episode of the Korean documentary we’ve been hosting for the past year. I’ve mentioned this before in previous posts, but to recap: “Homo Academicus” is an education documentary series consisting of 4 episodes that I’ve been co-hosting with 3 other Harvard students (Brian ’14, Jenny ’13, and Lilli). We traveled to various countries around the world to observe how cultural differences, privileges, and inequities affect education and styles of learning. One of the coolest things that I’ve done while at Harvard–definitely something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. It’s also something I would have never had the opportunity to pursue if it weren’t for being a Harvard student.

Lilli and I in front of one of our promotional posters!

The documentary premiered on February 28, and new episodes have been airing weekly on Thursday nights throughout March. The first episode had decent ratings, but the second one shot up to number 2 on the charts. As a result of the show’s success, our producers invited us back to film an epilogue of sorts as an episode 5, and thus, the 30 hour whirlwind trip to Korea occurred. The trip itself was as crazy and fun as it was exhausting. As soon as I hopped off the plane (a combined 18 hours of travel with my layover in San Francisco), I headed to a local cafe where we would be filming. We had a live studio audience of about 100 people, which was insane! One of the show’s viewers even drove 3 hours to be an audience member; what a trooper! While I’m on this high, let me just say that we were noticed on the street a few times, which was simultaneously both really funny and super bizarre. It felt like an out of body experience, but still very cool!

Godzilla-sized!

Luckily, I haven’t been jet-lagged! I don’t know why. I think the trip might have been too short for me to adjust to any timezone–perhaps my body was just really tired and confused. My parents are moving to a new house, so I’ve been packing up my things and going through all belongings that I’ve lugged around for years and years. I haven’t grown in height since freshman year of high school or so, and therefore, I always tell myself I’ll wear something that is clearly no longer age appropriate for me. This cleaning really helped, though, because I sorted through my entire closet and donated 3 bags full of old t-shirts, sweatshirts, and pants! The best part was that I drove back to campus to pick up my friend, Teagan, who stayed at school for spring break, to join this adventure. The joys of being a (fairly) local Harvardian: campus is just a short 40-minute drive away. Massachusetts residents, I’m talking to you! Being able to drive back and forth to campus from home whenever you’d like is such a huge plus!

I’m still in the midst of packing and am only home for one more day. Yikes. I should probably go do that now, but I’ve had a lovely last spring break that I’m sure I’ll look back on with fond memories. Crossing my fingers that it stops snowing!

Also, HUGE congratulations to the Men’s Basketball team on a historic win in the NCAA Tournament! I have a few friends on the team and am so incredibly happy for them! Can’t wait to root for them when they play Arizona!

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Wow, it’s been a while! It’s currently blizzarding a bit outside, and I’m not sure when it’s going to stop. I grew up on the border of New Hampshire, so I’ve been over the snow for years. It’s definitely not my favorite part about New England, but everyone else seems to love it. Check out Caroline’s post from earlier today for some pictures!

Prom pose!

Prom pose!

Last Sunday, Jeanie‘s sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, had an event at a local restaurant in Harvard Square. We danced the night away and were able to snap this fun “prom pose” picture! It’s always a good time spending time with other bloggers. The event was my fun for the weekend because I had a busy week coming up, both academically and extracurricularly. I would argue that this week was my worst week of the semester, with two midterms on Tuesday and Wednesday, along with meetings for student groups and lectures all in between. I think I slept a total of 6 hours during that two day window. Relatively, I have it pretty good since I’m not writing a senior thesis (hence the title of this post–Thesis Shmesis), which, depending on one’s concentration, have staggered due dates all this week, next week, and even post-spring break. After my exam on Wednesday, I was on an adrenaline kick and decided I would do something nice for my thesis-writing friends who live on my floor. I made a wall of encouraging memes, as well as printed out motivational posters and taped them to everyone’s door. It took me about an hour, which was a lot longer than I expected, but I think (well, at least I hope) that people were surprised. The decorations also added a lovely touch to our hallway.

Thesis Encouragement Wall of Memes

Thesis Encouragement Wall of Memes!

A few hours after postering and finishing my project, I came home to a Facebook notification that had me tagged in a photo and read, “THANK YOU to whoever posted this sign, but James might be a bit confused why it’s on his door… :) ” I realized I should be a bit more careful when running on such little sleep…check our the photo below.

Woops–wrong door!

I spent all morning yesterday filming a “Senior Spring Hype Video” as we are so unoriginally calling it for now. We had about 30 seniors show up to our film location in 10 minute intervals, and we asked them to dance, flip their hair, make faces, and act goofy in front of the camera. I’m in the process of editing all of the footage now into a 2 minute clip that we’re setting to fun music. We’re planning to release the video when we get back from spring break since most people will have much less work to do and can really bask in all the glory that is senior spring. We want people to really take advantage of our last few months here and this video will be an awesome way to welcome everyone back to campus. I’ll post the link when it’s up on YouTube!

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Hello 2013!

Happy New Year, everyone! Here’s my first post in 2013. I graduate in less than 5 months! I’m currently at home relaxing for a week before I head back to campus. I just returned to the States from South Korea on Thursday. I was in Seoul promoting the documentary I’ve been a part of for the past 9 months. You can read more about it in a post I wrote back in June, but to get you all up to speed, here’s a quick recap: “Homo Academicus” is a new documentary series that I’ve been hosting in between school and other commitments since the beginning of summer in 2012. Along with 3 other Harvard students (Brian ’14, Jenny ’13, and Lilli ’11), I traveled to various countries around the world to observe how cultural differences, privileges, and inequities affect education and styles of learning. Between the 4 of us, we’ve traveled to China, Japan, India, Israel, South Korea, and Uganda, visiting schools, interviewing students, and immersing ourselves in the rich culture of each of the countries. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for which we’re all incredibly grateful. It won’t be released until March 2013 on the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) and possibly BBC, but I thought I’d share a sneak peak of it with you all. I’ll have to try to find some online videos on YouTube or something, but in the meantime, check out the video below.

The trip to Korea was over a span of 5 days, including travel. The flight itself is about 14 hours, so we weren’t there for too long. The morning after we landed, we had a publicity blitz consisting of a morning talk show, as well as interviews and photoshoots with 3 different magazines and a newspaper. Some of the footage in the YouTube video above is from this week. Many of the interviews included questions about each of our upbringings and our road to Harvard. It’s fascinating how different all of our experiences were while growing up, and I learned new things about Brian, Jenny, and Lilli as we answered each interviewers’ questions. Many of the magazines also asked us our thoughts on the education systems of the countries to which we traveled. We mentioned some key takeaways we realized from traveling. I think one of the things we all agreed on is that we’ve been quite fortunate here in the United States, not just at Harvard, but in the education system in general. We’ve been able to study what we’re passionate about, which isn’t always the case in some other countries due to family expectations or boundaries that are set upon children at birth. We also agreed that we learned a lot more than we expected. Education isn’t the first thing you think about when considering cultural differences; it’s usually the language, food, social structure, etc. that come to mind. However, we all learned firsthand that the approach and attitude towards education vary from country to country and region to region.

This is one of the best examples of a neat opportunity I’ve had just by virtue of being a Harvard student. This project definitely would not have presented itself if it weren’t for Harvard, and all 4 of us agree that we’ll never forget this experience.

What am I doing this week? Well, I’m currently transferring files from my old laptop to my new one. My first computer was on its last leg during the fall semester, so I purchased a new one, but didn’t have the time to migrate photos, music, and important documents. Therefore, I’m doing it now–what I consider a great use of my January break. Unfortunately, I forgot my external hard drive at school in my dorm room so I’m currently using a 16 GB flash drive. It’s quite a slow process, and I’m driving myself nuts. It’s such a mindless process, though, that I really don’t mind it all too much. I just get nervous that I’ll end up missing a file that I really need.

I’ve also been working remotely from home with tons and tons of emails and Google Hangouts regarding things pertaining to the senior class. I’m a Marshal for the Class of 2013, which is probably best explained through the Harvard Alumni Association‘s website:

“Each senior class will elect eight class marshals. The first marshal is the Harvard College equivalent of class president and the second marshal is analogous to vice president, with the remaining six marshals serving as Class-wide representatives. Class marshals are elected by all senior class members eligible to vote, with the top two vote-getters earning the designation of first and second marshal, respectively.”

The Class Marshals make up 8 positions on the larger Senior Class Committee, which is a group of 29 seniors who work together to make senior year and beyond awesome and memorable. You could think of us as The Party Planning Committee if you’ve seen The Office. I’m pretty sure I’ve used that analogy when talking about House Committees in a previous post, but we do a lot of similar things–just on a larger scale! We’re currently working on a merchandise order, as well as planning parties, innings (around campus), outings (in Cambridge or Boston), service trips, and Senior Week in May. We actually just launched our official website–harvard13.org–so be sure to check that out!

I’m off to migrate more files. Take a look at our new Twitter layout for 2013. I’m no pro, but I try. We received some new followers after early admit decisions came out last month, so I’m trying to use my time productively and make it stick!

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My Ode to Gutman

I’m done! And I’m writing to you all from home! I got home on Saturday afternoon and then spent the rest of the day shopping for Christmas gifts. By the way, the holidays totally snuck up on me this year. I haven’t really had the time or chance to think about them and Christmas Eve is…today!

The days leading up to my exam, I spent quite a lot of time in one of my favorite study spaces on campus: The Graduate School of Education‘s Gutman Library. It underwent renovation last fall and was completed in the spring. Gutman Library is actually one of the most relaxing places ever. The people don’t seem very stressed out; perhaps it’s something about the Ed School culture? On top of the great atmosphere, they have awesome purple chairs, huge tables, comfy, lounge-like couches, and an amazing cafe that beats Starbucks any day. Check out the following video of John Collins, Head Librarian, who gives a tour of the renovated space:

What’s my favorite part about Gutman Library? No one checks your bag before you walk out! The other two libraries I frequent, Lamont and Widener, have people who sit at the entrance to inspect bags as students are leaving. They have to do this to make sure that someone isn’t walking out with items such as the Gutenberg Bible, of which Widener has a complete surviving copy. There are so many important books in our libraries…it’s nuts. It’s funny because as soon as you walk out of Gutman, it feels strange that no one asks you to open every compartment of your backpack. I love it. Hey, it’s the little things! And speaking of little things, another one of my favorite parts about Gutman is the fact that Dean McCartney buys everyone free coffee and tea throughout Final Exam Period! No kidding — it’s free drinks every single day, and you don’t even have to be an Ed School student. However, she was just named President of Smith College so I’m hoping whoever succeeds her will still buy us free coffee and tea during exams. I know it sounds hilarious but it’s really one of my favorite parts of studying there at the end of each semester! Gutman Library is truly a gem, and if you get the chance, I hope you’ll all check it out!

My sister, Amanda, came to visit on Thursday and stayed with me for two days. I don’t see her too often because she lives and works in Los Angeles, so all I wanted to do was hang out with her. Of course, I had to force myself to study! Luckily, I brought her to Gutman with me on Thursday and we were able to do work next to each other. She loved Gutman as much as I do, and just ask her for an outside opinion; I’m confident she would give rave reviews.

Happy Yim siblings!

Happy Yim siblings!

Now that I’m home, I’m ready to take some time to relax for the holidays, which will include plenty of eating, as well as Netflix watching. I’m thinking of starting a new television series. I also have several books I want to read. After some much needed chill time, I think I’ll start applying to post-grad opportunities. I’m also going to Korea with three friends from Harvard for 5 days to do a final promotional run for the documentary series that I was a part of this past summer. However, I’m purposely trying not to stay too busy!

I hope everyone enjoys the holidays and the end of the year. I also hope you’ll write or tweet to us bloggers if you have any questions! See you all in 2013!

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My Last End of Fall Semester

First, congratulations to the Class of 2017! I’m so jealous you all found out so early. I had to wait until the spring when I applied my senior year of high school because there was no such thing as Early Action!

On December 5, Quincy House had our semester-ly formal event! This year’s winter formal was a Tri-House Formal along with Dunster (Caroline‘s House!) and Leverett, which are two other upperclass dorm buildings. The event was at the Seaport Hotel in Boston, and it was the last event of the year I planned as HoCo Co-Chair. HoCo (short for House Committee) is essentially the party-planning committee (Have you seen The Office?) for each upperclassmen dorm building. Every House has one, and in addition to formals, we plan community events like study breaks and act as liaisons between the administration and students. My term is officially ending at the end of this semester. But back to the formal, which was a lot of fun. The venue looked like a convention center and it was decked out in winter decorations, along with falling snow and projections on the walls. Pictures absolutely don’t do it justice, but I thought this might help with the visual:

Tri-House Formal: "A Night by the Harbor"

Tri-House Formal: “A Night by the Harbor”

During Reading Period (which is the week before Final Exam Period, where there are no classes and we get all of this unstructured time to study), I had the opportunity to watch the musical RENT, which a few of my good friends were acting, singing, and dancing in. It’s a poignant story about young artists who live in New York and whose lives are all affected to some extent by HIV/AIDS. Read more about it here. I’m always amazed by my peers’ talents, but this show took that to another level. I’ll admit that I’m not very knowledgeable regarding musicals, but I very much enjoyed this one. It was definitely the best show that I’ve seen on campus. I don’t think there are any videos up right now, but I’ll make sure I post one as soon as they go up on YouTube.

Here's me and two of my friends, Mel and Yasmeen, who stole the show in RENT!

Here’s me and two of my friends, Mel and Yasmeen, who stole the show in RENT!

The semester is coming to an end, and I wish it wasn’t because this means I’m that much closer to senior spring. I’ve actually been feeling pretty sick the past few days. I had a 20-page final paper to write with a 102.4 fever. That sounds absurd, right? I don’t know where it came from. It happened so suddenly and I just felt deathly ill. Luckily, the teaching staff of this course that I’m taking was incredibly understanding and gave me an extension on the deadline. This way, I was able to sleep instead of trying to get creative juices flowing. Looking back on the earlier portion of the week, it’s actually kind of hilarious because I can’t describe what I felt like in any other way than feeling like a vegetable. My head was heavy and thinking was so incredibly difficult. I’m not at 100% yet, but definitely a huge improvement from what I was feeling on Monday/Tuesday. And the paper’s in!

I’m far from done, as I have an exam and another paper due by the 21st (aka the last day of Exam Period). Unfortunate! I haven’t stayed on campus this late since freshman year. Everyone leaves here at different times for a variety of reasons–some people leave as soon as their last commitment on campus is over, whereas some people choose to stay a few extra days to hang out. Reading Period and Finals are interesting because the level of difficulty and rigor can vary from semester to semester, from concentration to concentration. I’ve had a semester where I had to take 3 exams, and others where I have only had papers and projects. I’ve also had two exams on consecutive days, or like this semester, have one paper due and then literally over a week until my next assignment or exam. I’m not sure which I like better. It’s always a tradeoff though. For some, getting everything over with is the ideal, even if it means a super high-stress couple of days. For others, dragging everything out over the full two week period and staying until the last day is desired. This is the first year in a while that I’m the last person in my room to leave. My roommate, Paul, left today, which is a full 8 days before I head home. One roommate down, 6 to go. The rest of the guys will be leaving between now and Wednesday, which then leaves me here for three days on my own…

I’m sure those three days will leave me bored and wanting to procrastinate, so I’ll make sure I post once more before the end of the semester!

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Yikes, it’s been a while since I’ve posted an update on life. This semester has flown by. And I feel like I say that in every other post I type. It’s true, though!

The past few months have been stressful and emotional. Senior year is weird. I think it’s starting to hit me that I only have one semester left. It’s bizarre thinking I won’t be seeing my 7 roommates everyday or that I won’t be able to head down to dinner with them in the dining hall next year. Aside from friends, there are also so many classes I want to take before graduating. There’s just not enough time!

Looking towards the future, searching for a job is quite possibly the most daunting task I’ve ever had. As a senior, the culture here can be quite stressful and cause you to doubt yourself, especially when you feel like you’re the only person who has no idea what you’re doing next year. I’ve heard it all: unbelievable job offers that my peers have landed, to medical school folks either with a research position or those who are going straight to becoming a physician, to people who are just planning on taking a year to travel the world. However, there are so many people without plans who just aren’t as visible, which is what I keep trying to tell myself. I’m currently in the midst of applying for different opportunities, all of which I’m incredibly excited about. I know I’ll find something I love, but it does, indeed, get difficult hearing about people who have already figured out the next several years of their lives, so to speak. I miss being an underclassman. I think these feelings come with being a senior and would exist regardless of where I went to school. The thought of being somewhere other than the place that I love so much and have come to call home for the past three and a half years is incredibly scary. I don’t want to leave Harvard.

Me and one of my roommates Paul!

Me and one of my roommates Paul, Harvard-Yale 2012

Before we get any more nostalgic, seeing as I still have 5 months left as an undergraduate, let’s talk about the present, something more uplifting! This past weekend was Harvard-Yale, as Jeanie mentioned in her last post. We have this huge rivalry with Yale (surprise!) that dates back since the beginning of time. Each year, students and alumni from both schools gather at Harvard or Yale (the location alternates schools every year) and reunite all to watch the Harvard-Yale football game in what is probably the most memorable weekend of the fall semester. This year, The Game (yes, it’s a proper noun) was at home at Harvard Stadium and I had the opportunity to catch up with a friend from Yale! Funny story–she and I met at Harvard’s Pre-Frosh Weekend (now called Visitas) back in 2009. She ultimately chose Yale, but we’ve kept in touch since and had our first meal together in my dorm building, Quincy House, since we first met as seniors in high school. It was so nice catching up with her and we had a great conversation about our experiences at our schools. There were too many good memories to pack into such a short meal!

Me and Catherine, the other Co-Chair of Quincy's House Committee

Me and Catherine, the other Co-Chair of Quincy’s House Committee, Harvard-Yale 2012

As far as The Game goes, we won 34-24! My class, 2013, has been really lucky because we haven’t lost once since we’ve been Harvard students. I think Yale needs to step up their football game ;) In her post, Jeanie mentioned the Rhodes Scholar interviews that occur every year on the weekend of Harvard-Yale. There were indeed not one, not two, but SIX winners from Harvard this year! Of those six, four live in Quincy and three are friends of mine! We’ve been laughing saying that there must be something in the Quincy water. All four winners literally live within 20 feet of each other in the same hallway. I can poke my head out my door and see their rooms. I’m so happy for all six of them. What an achievement–definitely worth missing The Game for!

I’ve been home, just about 40 minutes north of campus on the border of New Hampshire, for a few days now on Thanksgiving break. I also went shopping at midnight yesterday (or early this morning, rather) for Black Friday, which is a day of the year when many retailers open their stores at ridiculously early hours with huge sales to get rid of much of their inventory. It’s one of the biggest days in the United States for the retail business, as well as a day when many people get their holiday shopping done. It sounds crazy that I went at midnight, and even crazier that I drove back to campus to pick up some of my roommates and blockmates (up to 8 people you choose to be placed into the same House as you after freshman year)! I guess that’s one of my favorite parts about being a local student. I can go home for breaks, bring people with me, or just drive back to campus if I want to hang out with my friends. We had too many people who wanted to go shopping, so my roommate/blockmate, Adam, rented a Zipcar for the entire morning. We took advantage of a lot of the deals and shopped until 7 am!

Shop 'til you drop?

Shop ’til you drop?

I’m trying to relax, spend time with family, and eat leftover Thanksgiving desserts (pie, anyone?) before heading back to campus on Monday morning for Reading Period and exams. I’ll be sure to update more regularly now that the crazy part of the semester is over!

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Senior Fall: In Full Swing

I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather lately. I can’t seem to kick this cough! However, the weather in Cambridge is beautiful today so I’m trying to look on the bright side–no pun intended ;) The past few days have been overcast with a few drizzles of rain showers so seeing the sun is really refreshing. The unpredictable weather here is both a blessing and curse because you get so much variety but you never know when it’s going to rain, even if it’s beautiful and sunny!

I can’t believe it’s already October. Where did September go? Senior fall is definitely in full swing. Schoolwork is picking up and we’ve already entered midterm season. Luckily, I don’t have any midterms that overlap in the same week, whereas I know several people who have two or three exams over the span of just as many days. I don’t know which is better. On one hand, having every midterm in the same week gets them over with, but on the other end of that argument, it’s not as stressful to take them one at a time. I’m taking an engineering course called “Innovation in Science and Engineering” (ES139) this semester, and there are no exams. My midterm was making a video that depicts how a successful person went about “Problem Selection.” My friend Min and I chose to profile Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon.com. We basically made a montage of pictures and video clips with our voices narrating Jeff’s story. It was a pretty untraditional midterm assignment. I’ve never done anything like it for a class at Harvard before, but we had a lot of fun with it. I’m definitely not a huge fan of exams, so I thought it was a cool way to assess what we’ve learned so far.

Min

Me and Min!

I’ve been getting a lot of meals with people I’ve lost touch with since freshman year. These are people who, for whatever reason, I didn’t spend too much time with as a sophomore or junior. It’s actually really nice to catch up with old friends, especially to see what their Harvard experience has been like compared to mine. It’s also really nice to reminisce about things that I might not be able to talk about with friends I met in later years (i.e. my pre-orientation experience with Dorm Crew or my freshman year entryway). One topic I’m still getting used to is “the future.” It has come up in every single meal or conversation I’ve had with someone who is also a senior and I haven’t seen for a while. I’ve heard everything from medical school to investment banking to graduate school at Oxford. It’s both scary and exciting–but I’m trying to keep a healthy distance away from the future and live in the present. I try to remind people we still have a year left: a whole quarter of our Harvard experience!

It’s a short week for me. Today is Columbus Day in the States, and therefore I don’t have any classes. I also don’t have any classes on Fridays this semester (the first time this has ever happened). I wish I wasn’t feeling under the weather, or else I’d be outside enjoying the sun. I’ll probably venture out into the Square anyway for tea or Starbucks with one of my friends later this afternoon. Quickly going back to this idea of memory lane–I suspect many of you who are high school seniors are also having similar conversations about the future. Make sure you take some time to enjoy senior year! It’s probably a mix of a whole lot of emotions but I encourage you to take advantage of every opportunity you can!

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It’s such a strange feeling being a senior. The start to the semester has been incredibly busy, and I echo Caroline’s sentiments about senior year being a completely different experience than any of the others. I’ve also been putting myself out there in the job search, trying to get my foot in the door somewhere. I’ve been learning a lot about different industries and trying to see where I feel like my skills could have the most impact. It’s a pretty daunting idea–the thought of entering the working world scares me a lot. I love school and have found a home in Harvard that I don’t want to leave.

Before the job search, I was able to have fun with the Crimson Key Society (CKS), which is a service organization Caroline, Kemie, and myself are a part of. CKS is essentially Harvard’s welcoming committee, and we give campus tours and run Freshman Week (what we call first-year student orientation). Some highlights include the First Chance Dance, the Freshman Talent Show, as well as our annual showing of Love Story. We all dress up in 70′s gear and dance outside the Science Center to songs by music groups like The Jackson 5 and The Bee Gees before the showing of the movie, which is always a lot of fun!

My friend, Jill, and I before our showing of Love Story!

My friend, Jill, and I before our showing of Love Story!

Besides getting back into the swing of things, my dorm building, Quincy House, recently had our annual Field Day and Exorcism. There are 4 teams each year: sophomores, juniors, seniors, and staff, and every team has a different colored t-shirt. While Field Day sounds like a sporting event, you actually don’t need much athletic ability at all. And yes, the entire staff of our House show up to compete, from our Housemasters, Lee and Deb, to our House administrator, Larry, to our Resident Dean, Judith, and our entire staff of Tutors and even their children! We compete against each other in balloon toss, dizzy bat races, limbo, and tug of war (to name a few), and it’s just an overall great welcome back event that gets everyone involved in some friendly competition. I was the limbo champion last fall, only to experience a bit of an upset when I got eliminated in the second to last round this year. An even bigger upset, however, was when my class (2013–the defending champions from last year), came in second behind the staff.

...seconds before an epic fail of falling in the second to last round!

…seconds before an epic fail of falling

Senior year has been quite a ride already and it’s only been a few weeks! I’ve met some amazing new people and I’m super excited for what’s to come. I’ll keep you all updated–best of luck to those students in the States who also just recently started school! #YOLO #YOSYO!

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One Last Hurrah

The last day that I was on campus as a Proctor for Harvard Summer School, a few of us went to Revere Beach, which is about a 40 minute T ride from campus (the T is what we call our subway system). Fun fact: Revere Beach is America’s first public beach! Actually, about 10 of us were supposed to go, but between real world jobs and trying to wrap things up on campus, only three of us ended up making the trek out to the shore. Meghan and Chris are both rising seniors as well, and we figured we would have one last hurrah before leaving for the last few weeks of summer. And, of course, we wanted one more opportunity to get our tans on, since that’d probably be pretty difficult to do once the semester starts in September.

The T is super easy to navigate and incredibly convenient. To be honest, I don’t get to use it as often as I’d like just because it’s so busy during the school year. However, I have several friends who try to get out to different parts of Boston and Cambridge a few times a month, and that’s something I’m going to try to do for the upcoming semester–after all, I only have two left. We arrived in Revere to find out that there was a group of 15 year olds playing incredibly loud music on a stage near the beach as part of some kind of community youth event. It wasn’t exactly the peace, quiet, and relaxation we were looking for, but I think we learned to tune it out since we all ended up taking a dip in the water at one point and then eventually falling asleep as we laid on the sand.

Meghan, Chris, and I at the beach!

As we were leaving, we noticed a super conveniently located ice cream shop right next to the T stop. What’s a beach day without ice cream? We took well over 5 minutes to decide what we were all going to order, which was especially inconsiderate seeing as there were people in line behind us. However, we were so incredibly excited and our server was really accommodating and sweet. I wish I knew what the stand was called so I could give it a plug in here, but the delicious ice cream is the only thing I remember. Yikes. Either way, the ice cream shop right next to the Revere Beach T stop is delicious and you should all go if you get a chance!

Our delicious ice cream

I’m in India for the last leg of filming for the documentary I’m co-hosting and will make sure I blog and post pictures from this trip! Back to campus at the end of the week for PAF* training, and I’m really looking forward to it. Blog again soon!

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*PAF: A Peer Advising Fellow, or “PAF,” is basically an upperclassman buddy that every first-year student is assigned to based on broad academic and extracurricular interests.

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