Going to school at MIT is like drinking water from a fire-hose.
This commonly heard phrase at MIT was accurate for me, as cliche as it is. A different simile can also apply to myself; coming to MIT was like drinking water from a fire-hose after living for years in thirst. My first year at MIT led to realize that it wasn’t the programming, or science, or math aspects that MIT possesses that I had been deprived of. Rather, it was the grit that a student at MIT finds in themselves to succeed in and pursue what they enjoy and feel passionate about.
Although I was always curious about programming and competent at math, most of my time in high school was revolved around marching band.
Continuing with the cliches, marching band had developed in me a discipline to reject mediocrity, and to accept only the best in the work I produced. The type of intensity in the practice that this program demanded was my first sip of the fire-hose; I recognized this as my freshman year at MIT ended, when I realized that the level of intensity in my work was reminiscent of my days marching an instrument.
- 2010 57th Annual Arcadia Festival of Bands: Gladstone High School: The Rifle Regiment
- 2010 Gladstone High School Gladiator Alliance field show: KONG
This post’s title can be attributed to the name of one of the competitive field shows that I marched in. With it we won 2nd place in the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association championships in the 3A division (Divisions range from 1A to 6A, and bands are divided according to size). During the same time frame, we also worked on a street march and participated in the Arcadia Festival of Bands. A rainy day ensued, nevertheless we reached 3d place in class C (Bands were divided according to experience, and being our first year in street marching, we were placed in the lowest division).
The type of mental workout that MIT can place on a student I have found to have few proper comparisons. Although I have not finished my time here at MIT, I find it safe to compare the amount of work it took me to survive my first year with the amount of physical work that my 2010 marching band season required to achieve results that our group had strived for.