Party food and relationships
Be yourself and focus on doing what you enjoy, and things will follow.
Boredom blues
You can learn a lot from an experience even if it’s not the most ideal. Be curious and be open to possibilities.
Auntie says farewell
Auntie invites would-be advice-givers to hang up their own shingle next year and start giving advice. To ready the path for the next generation, she will offer some reflections on the principles by which she has written this column.
Sometimes in lectures, instead of learning, I am freaking out
Unlike my classmates, I could not focus on the lecture. I was instead intensely focused on an urgent optimization problem: If I wait until the end of the lecture, will it bleed through my pants?
Plague and despair
There are lots of ways to be a student here. It seems unlikely all of them would make you miserable.
What to expect when you’re expecting… to come to MIT
The opportunity to really follow your passions without too much to lose — that is a tremendous privilege, a freedom that few human beings in history have had. Do not waste it by following along with what everyone else wants just because everyone else wants it.
Talk, talk, talk
You can change your friends, but you should also probably change your thinking.
Participate in a UROP
During my freshman summer UROP, I spent one of my most fun and adventurous days helping set up a computer cluster for my lab at the Bates Research and Engineering Center.
Welcome to CPW, Class of 2023!
“I feel like something that makes MIT stand out is that it has a relaxed atmosphere. Other schools feel more strict about ‘this is a liberal arts college; this is the science; this is the engineering college.’ Everything is mixed together and there’s more flexibility to choose what you want to do. It also has that relaxed vibe where no one judges you!”
A dropped class and a dry spell
My girlfriend says she loves me, but hasn't wanted to have sex the past two months.
Humans of MIT: Tarun Kamath
“Coming into college, I decided that I wanted to create an environment where my friends and peers could talk about mental health.”
Drive through Boston/Cambridge
“I don’t know when to turn,” I said, vaguely panicked. My partner responded with something reassuring. He was buckled into the passenger seat beside me, and I envied his comfort. Through the windows, I could see cars all around us, zipping by in front or at rest across the street, waiting to rush forward.
Faltering friendships and careless classmates
Don’t think so much. Enjoy yourself. It’s OK.
‘How do I stop myself from feeling like this?’
Auntie Matter advises a student going through a self-described “midlife crisis.”
For the lonely and lovelorn this Valentine’s Day
A wise MIT professor once told Auntie that the hardest part of human life is finding love. With that in mind, Auntie presents Valentine’s Day selections about finding, and navigating, love.
All about Auntie
This week, in lieu of actual questions, Auntie Matter narcissistically decided to invent and answer questions about herself.
Nine weird food combinations in my life
Sometimes when you’re a poor college student, you just put the things in your cupboard together. Other times you realise you just had a weird childhood.
Advising the advisor
Instead of telling your students not to work a specific kind of job, encourage them to be a specific kind of person — one who is awake in the world.
Inner circle and inner peace
Take pride in your behavior. It is genuinely impressive to bear a difficult circumstance with grace.
Alphabetical advice
Even if you reexamine the situation and conclude you made some mistakes, what’s done is done, and Auntie believes you should try to forget about it.