Simply Be Present

Two years at MIT are almost over, and I cannot describe how I feel. Oftentimes I’ve questioned if coming to MIT was the right decision. I could have done so many other things, how did I choose my current path? I really don’t know, and I don’t think I’ll ever be sure that this was the right decision. However, at the same time I couldn’t imagine my life being any better than it currently is.

Now that was a pretty strange thing to say. My life usually consists of being sleep deprived and trying to fake a smile in order to get through the day, this definitely wouldn’t be the case had I chosen something other than MIT. The amount of work that has to be done here, just to be disregarded as an average student, is something that I fear at the beginning of each week. The thought that, every minute I spend talking to someone is a minute I’m going to regret having ‘wasted’, later when I’m working on my problem sets… this is another sad thought. But hidden between all these horrible experiences that are enough to make many of us want to quit, there are the good times that makes it all be worth it.

The experiences I’ve had in the past two years are treasures that now I get to keep for the rest of my life. The rate at which I’ve ‘grown up’ in many aspects of my life is something that was catalyzed by my experiences here at MIT. Although I’m reminded constantly, much more often that I would like, that I’m just an average student, my academic growth as an individual is evident. At least to me it is. The activities that I’ve pursued while being at MIT are completely different to things I would have done in many other places. This is probably due to the people that I’ve connected with and the way they have influenced my life.

My second year at MIT is almost over, all I can say is… ‘THANK GOODNESS’. This is probably going to be my ‘worst’ term because of my course load, and soon I’ll be starting a ‘new’ phase of my education. This summer I’ll be doing research full time for the first time, and I’m quite excited about that. Also, soon I’ll become a junior… which is a scary but thrilling thought.

There is no real purpose to this blog entry, other than to say, I’m enjoying my life, even though it could be much better. I guess I have a very optimistic take on things. Now I’ll go back to work, and hopefully I won’t regret not having done something more… ‘useful’ during this time I just ‘wasted’.

-Omar