Karen Hao
Editor’s Note: Portraits of Resilience is a photography and narrative series by Prof. Daniel Jackson. Each installment consists of a portrait and a story, told in the subject’s own words, of how they found resilience and meaning in their life.
Rounding up recipes
Recipes often call for a cup of a vegetable. Vegetables don’t come in cups.
When sleep doesn’t come readily
Watery eyes. Constant yawning. Nodding off in class. These are common side effects of not getting enough sleep. They are also typical characteristics of MIT students.
MIT APPLICATION ESSAYS THAT WORKED ‘I AM SHAMELESS’
This is part of a series of MIT application essays submitted by students who were later admitted to the Institute. The following prompts are from the 2014-15 and 2013-14 admissions seasons. Note that word counts aren’t strictly enforced!
MIT application essays that worked ‘Is that a paperclip, or the trigger to my next crossbow?’
This is part of a series of MIT application essays submitted by students who were later admitted to the Institute. The following prompts are from the 2010-11 admissions season.
Tricks, treats, and defeat
There are few text messages in this world that would prompt me to ditch a Chipotle burrito bowl and sprint back to campus. These anomalies include: “fountain of youth sprung from burst New House pipe,” “Random Hall milk gained sentience,” and “free pizza at Burton-Conner front desk.” On Halloween night, while taking advantage of the burrito discount, I received one such text of immense motivational caliber.
Saving time and turning back the clock
Last week, a few select individuals on campus celebrated another holiday on Nov. 1: a moment of quiet victory for everyone who adores sleep. Just last week, many of us experienced our very first daylight saving time switch.
Thank you, PE
Stinky gym uniforms, awkward locker room conversations, and getting hit in the head with a basketball. These are just a few of the horrid memories I have of high school PE. Yeah, not exactly how I wanted to spend my freshman year of high school.
MIT APPLICATION ESSAYS THAT WORKED ‘I’m like a moth to the flame when it comes to the hustle and bustle of Silicon Valley’
This is part of a series of MIT application essays submitted by students who were later admitted to the Institute. The following prompts are from the 2014-15 admissions season.
‘At heart, I am Chinese’
This is part of a series of MIT application essays submitted by students who were later admitted to the Institute. The following prompts are from the 2014-15 admissions season.
Coming back to TFP
It was somewhere along the Pacific Coast Highway, shaded from the setting sun by a row of tall palm trees on both sides, a refreshing headwind wrapping itself around my motorcycle helmet, when it suddenly occurred to me that I’d found what I was looking for. I’d spent the past several months away from school, searching, scouring the vast world outside and within for some elusive purpose, a gem of insight that would justify the profusion of pain and doubt that veiled my time in college up to that point.
Why bike across America?
This is the first article in a two-part series about a biking/teaching adventure across America. Part One describes what a 3,000-mile bike trip feels like and why a sane person would ever willingly embark on one.
‘My love for people is the best part of myself’
This is part of a series of MIT application essays submitted by students who were later admitted to the Institute. The following prompts are from the 2014-15 admissions season.
Green on the green
I really don’t have any extraordinary talents. I can’t throw a 90 mph fastball, I have the vocals of a dying cat, and I can guarantee you that there were multiple revisions before this article even made it close to the paper. Needless to say, I was a little intimidated when figuring out what clubs I wanted to join here at MIT.
Falling bottles and FOMO troubles
Unlike most horror stories, ’twas not dark and stormy when disaster struck one mild Friday afternoon. It might as well have been, though — the magnitude of my technological catastrophe should by all rights have triggered a swirling mass of rain and hail. Instead, I was left to gape at the aftermath of my colossal mistake to a backdrop of sun and blue sky.
Escape the dome: pset stalling and Boston Calling
There are times when I can forgive myself for unleashing my inner music fangirl. Even rarer are the occasions when I can allow myself to release her in public. During Boston Calling, two days before my first hell week, was one such occasion. In that period of pre-hell week, I saw armies of deadlines and tests march toward my slapdash barricade — namely, the weekend — but it was too early for a call to action. All I could do was sit quietly in a corner and hope that if I ate enough chocolate, I would survive the trials to come.
Learning to take rain by storm
This was it. This was the day I had been dreaming of for the past few months, the day I had been fantasizing about in my mind over and over again since my official enrollment into MIT, the day I thought might never come: today was the first rain.
Institute Double Take
For those unfamiliar with the MIT Sailing Pavilion, every time the moon is full the pavilion stays open past sunset and allows members of the MIT community to sail Lynx Catboats until midnight. On Sunday, Sept. 28, the full moon was made even more impressive by coinciding with a total lunar eclipse. I brought a Nikon D800 down to the pavilion dock and set up a series of long exposure shots. Green and white running lights on the boats made for wispy light trails as boats came and went from the dock, with the Boston skyline providing the backdrop. The 30-second exposure time allows for a low ISO of 400 and f/stop of 8, which prevents distant objects from appearing overly blurry or noisy.
‘I am an enthusiastic foodie’
This is the first in a series of MIT application essays submitted by students who were later admitted to the Institute. The following prompt is from the 2013-14 admissions season.
Raising the bar
When I learned I got into MIT, I worried more about the swim test and PE requirements than about the academics.