Final-ly!

Final-ly! Oh how the months have passed- from fall season to finals season to flu season. Even our poor school representative, number man, has fallen ill; don’t let this be you. Why not? Because the unfortunate symptoms include: Feeling quite hot, but in a 100 °F kind of way Fatigue, surprisingly unassociated with a heaping workload Being miserable (much more than you were when watching Les Miserables) Missing out on the best month at MIT- IAP! If being relaxed and useless stresses you out, its never too late to check the IAP listings by todays date and attend an impromptu event you didnt have to register for. The dark matter lecture I found myself immersed in today definitely wasnt in my schedule, but I walked out enlightened and luminous, which are qualities dark matter can never hope to possess. This is an elaborate introduction to what I really want to mention, which are some of the memorable moments from GIRs in fall semester. Congrats to all the new 17s- sorry you have to take general institute requirements, but theyre really not so bad! For example, I took 5.111, which is (re)Introduction to Chemistry. The semesters lectures were divided between two professors, both of whom I enjoyed. Once, every student armed with an alpha particle (ping pong ball) pelted a monolayer of Au nuclei (styrofoam ball contraption, behold below) at the front of the room in order for us to calculate the percent rebound, relating to the Rutherford model of the atom. You should have seen the way the ~300 person student body radiated alpha particles, watch out. Another time, we were given spectral glasses that refracted light into WHOA EVERYTHING IS RAINBOW AND SHINY Meanwhile in18.02 (Multivariable Calculus), several student hackers said farewell to our sketchy-proofed, flappy-armed (and completeley loveable and entertaining) professor with a question for him on the screen. Im continuing 8.01L (Longer Physics) into IAP; its been a great introductory class since I dont come from a strong physics background.  (Read: none.) I was also a member of Terrascope, and even though we completed Mission 2016 remarkably well through the chaos, I learned that I personally dont perform too well when Im not passionate about the research  topic. However, I had tons Hubble-barns of fun in my HASS class, 4.301 (Introduction to Visual Arts), especially during the final performance piece: All in all, this was an unforgettable start to my life at MIT. I reflected upon the amusing memories as I gallivanted down the Charles, looking at our shining Institvte across the frozen waters (and thought, oooo this is Ice in state Ih, one its 15 possible states, which I learned from 5.111). Yep, the unaesthetic scaffolding on the big dome is still up, which totally aids climbing it, not like thats legal or on anybodys checklist or anything. But wait- Whats that on the scaffolding? Is it an anthropomorphic pie chart? Its the first hack of 2013! A great way to start, after last years concluding one on December 17, in which Lobby 7 was decorated with a Mayan calendar and a dragon. This is because Mits finals week coincidentally ended on the same day as the end of the world. Quite fitting. So thank you Pac-man, for teaching me unwavering dedication and unstoppable energy. Heres to a great new year.