Recent Reflections and Experiences

I hope that everyone is safe and doing well at home, wherever that may be. It has been nice to start school again last week, despite all of the new challenges following it that I will try to talk about.

The switch from the bustling MIT environment to my sheltered room at home has been the biggest challenge this semester. Virtual classes and lectures seemed appealing at first when there was nothing to do at home and plenty of time left over without clubs and social events to attend. I even decided to add a quarter class to try something new, computational thinking in Julia. However, this mindset was quickly tossed aside as I was flooded with videos, very early lectures due to time zones, deadlines, instructions, and all of the leftover work from the time taken away by the chaos before spring break. MIT claimed that we did not have to worry about any work during the two weeks we had to adapt, but some classes only pushed the work back and gave us less time to complete it. Some classes now have an exam due the same day as a problem set. I understand the feeling of not wanting to miss out on our full education, but the stress from the lack of preparation for this onslaught of work has been extremely challenging. In addition, not being at school with encouraging friends has given my productivity a big hit, making this whole transition even more of a struggle.

I appreciate 20.109 for adapting really well to virtual classes and trying not to overload us on work. This class has always tried to give us an advanced warning of deadlines and has been very considerate of our situations and circumstances. The 20.109 professors have been supportive and accommodating by not trying to make up all the time we've lost but continuing to move forward at a familiar pace. I am thankful for all of the thoughtfulness and preparation the professors have provided to us.

After turning in my data summary revision, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I've improved. From not having much scientific writing experience to receiving some praise for my initial work, I really began to appreciate all of the preparation and feedback given to us from homeworks and comments. Although the big project seemed daunting and foreign at first, I've learned a lot from this assignment. I feel much more confident in my scientific communication skills now and hope that I can continue to work hard and improve in this class despite the new struggles of virtual bioengineering.

~Michelle

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