Wow. It's been months upon months since I've touched Xanga. It seems that life gets in the way of my writing more than I can even explain.

Things I've done since my last time on Xanga:
-Acted in a play.
-Performed in a Madrigal Dinner.
-Completed a semester at school.
-Learned a new song on guitar.
-Joined my school's Pit Band.

That's all I can think of for now, even though I'm sure there's much more. I'm going to cut this entry short, because I have to go clean my room before I lose my floor.

I just wanted to allow the internet world to know I'm alive, and that I'm (at least partially) functioning.

Au reviour!

If you’ve read my past two entries, you can probably already predict what I’m doing right now. I’m drinking tea, as always. I do think this could turn in to a daily ritual. It may sound strange, but this partnership of Salada and Xanga is working quite well.

Today I went to the MIT Admissions website to check out their Blogs, since I haven’t checked them out in a few days. I immediately went to Yan’s blog. Because of Yan, I’ve learned more about MIT than I ever would have, had I not stumbled upon her blog. I’ve learned all about tasty water, the fundamentals of MITglish, and that maybe it’s a spoonful of corn chowder, not sugar, which helps the recession go down. Yan is a fantastic writer, and I’m fairly certain it’s due to reading her blogs (along with those of the other MIT students and faculty) that my own was born.

It has been said “Act as the person you want to be and it will happen”. Maybe this was the temperament that caused me to open this Xanga account. Perhaps it was my complete and total adoration of the concepts which I was reading that made me finally realize that I could be doing the same thing (on a much smaller scale). Obviously, instead of attending MIT, or working there, I’m on the other end of the journey—tying my metaphorical shoelaces before heading out on the cliff-side hike that is the college application timeline. Or, maybe I’m just a sick, twisted, obsessed little girl with too much time on her hands that she spends fantasizing about a pipedream instead of doing something productive. But, eh, I’ll hope for the more positive reality.  

Will my blogging about MIT, and my dreams to attain a spot on MIT’s roster for the undergraduate class of 2015, help me somehow accomplish the task I have set for myself? I certainly hope so. It’s nearly an affirmation, is it not? I have set a goal, and I am guiding myself towards it, and I am keeping that goal at the front of my mind every single day. Some people might claim that this proves I am just setting myself up for failure, or that I’m running the risk of disappointment. I don’t see it that way, though. I see this as an experiment in the betterment of myself, and the trying to set and accomplish life goals.

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe."
-Anatole France

I completely agree!

[On a side note: I would like to publicly congratulate my dear friend, Ermanno, on his graduation from university with a degree in Engineering. He is the person who has most inspired me to continue forward with my interest in MIT, and he has more interest in this blog than anyone else I know. Ermanno, I'm extremely proud to be your "little sister", and I can't wait to hear of the things you accomplish when you begin your Level II studies. Congratulations, Doctor!]

          I’m spending the first day of what was supposed to be a very busy week sitting around my house in a pair of pajamas while sipping tea and forcing a Kleenex to my nose every five seconds. Still somehow managing to balance my NetBook on my lap, I realize that my interest in a particular website has lately crossed the threshold into obsession. “What was the website?” you might ask.  It is none other than that for the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

          Now, I’m not your stereotypical MIT-bound-high school student. My interests do not lie in mathematics, or engineering, or anything remotely to do with math or science— but in the Political Sciences. I’m the type of student you would normally find looking into Liberal Arts colleges;  I love English, and History, and creativity. I’m not one for the confines of math, where there is only one answer (most of the time!), and that answer is never up for debate. Also, from an academic standpoint—I’m no National Honor Society member, with my weighted GPA only falling at a 3.6. I’m no musical protégé; I can’t program a robot in ten seconds flat; and I haven’t taken every AP course offered at my school. Though, I’m in no way a slacker. I work hard for my grades, and I take honors classes, with the marks to match. Needless to say, it might be a stretch, but it’s not impossible to imagine myself being accepted to  a school of the caliber of MIT.

          I suppose this entire ordeal dates back to early this spring, when I realized that Political Science (namely International Relations) was the field of study for me while looking through a college-guide. I delved into research and became more and more assured that I had found my ideal Major. It wasn’t until about a month later that I received a basic informational letter from MIT, and began looking into the Institvte. Initially, I assumed the school was only for those with an intense interest in the maths and sciences, not to mention only for extreme geniuses. I added the Institute to my list of colleges to visit because I was going to be in the Boston area looking at schools anyway, and moved on to some more liberal universities in the area.

          Finally, the day of my Boston-Area university visits came, and I hopped into the car with my parents, and set out on the seventy mile journey to Eastern Massachusetts. Some schools caught my eye; others didn’t. Some were in fantastic locations; others were too rural for my taste. But it wasn’t until we drove into Cambridge and I was at MIT’s campus that I was immediately overwhelmed with the feeling that this was the school for me. The buildings varied from Simmons Hall’s ultra-modern appearance; to the more classic brownstone buildings that the area is known for. There was grass, but it was still as urban as possible, with the Charles River flowing by on one side, and the heart of Cambridge beating on the other. I was impressed with everything I saw, and through the rest of my school visits that day, I couldn’t get the sanctified sight of the campus out of my mind.

          Now that I’ve finished my tea, I’d say that it’s time to cut to the chase. Since that day this summer, I have decided that no matter what I might think of my academic and personal capabilities, I am going to apply to MIT come the fall of my senior year. This blog is going to serve as an insight to my next year, as an average high-school kid readying herself to apply to possibly the most prestigious school in the world. It’s strange to think that just a little less than 365 days from now, I will be writing admissions essays, and stamping my heart to an envelope.

 “Start by doing what's necessary; 
then do what's possible;
and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
-St. Francis of Assisi.

Thank you for those words, Frank, that’s exactly what I’m going to do!