If I could go back in time and change anything about what happened today, I wouldn't change anything. We had a nice breakfast at our hotel this morning and then we went to Olin to check in. While my parents had an interview, I sat outside at the Oval and relaxed and read a bit. It was a wonderful feeling, just sitting peacefully on the bench, watching Oliners ride around on their self-built recumbent bikes. What's so awesome about Olin is all of the diverse, nerdy people who are just like family. Family who share common interests, a common motivation, and, most importantly, a common drive to do well and succeed. I love it here.
Dad and Mom came after a while and we met up with Julian, who got his laptop and showed us his latest project. This was some amazing stuff- breadboards hooked up to his laptop, connected by an array of wires in all the right places. It all fit together to make a cool racecar game in which two players each controlled a spinning arrow and a button which would allow the cars to race each other to the finish. It was all beautiful in a way that's hard to explain- it all fit together so well, so perfectly, with all these intricate pieces coming together as a whole, like a butterfly, its wings decked with separate, unique scales, but all coming together in a gorgeous pattern.
We headed to lunch; first, we checked out a restaurant we've been to before, but it was closed, so we went to Petit Robert Bistro instead. It's a quaint, little, French-American restaurant with great food; I had a yummy French baguette sandwich with Jambon ham served with some slices of tomato and some French fries. Good stuff :)!
Later, the four of us went to Wellesley because it was one of the colleges I liked most from what I read in a college book. It was pretty old and it had a nice setting, but it was a lot bigger than I had expected, so it was hard to find our way around the place. It was also kind of imposing, not really the welcoming environment I had been hoping for.
After an hour or so of walking around the campus in a circle, we went to a small coffee shop nearby and sat down outside. An old man who was sitting on the bench next to us kept on talking about the ambulances and police cars that were driving by.
My dad got me some hot chocolate and a chocolate croissant. We sat there drinking and eating and talking, mostly about the classes Julian's taking. He told us that he is taking 24 credits worth of classes, though the maximum is 21, and two more classes that he won't get credit for at all. As he said, "I don't take classes for grades."
Later on, Dad drove us to the movie theater, where we watched a pretty good movie called "The Ides of March." The plot was really interesting, and the movie was quite dramatic at times. :)
We ate dinner at Solea's, a really wonderful restaurant with tapas, little dishes that we shared as a group. I had some delicious calamari, French fries, and some baby lamb chops. We went there last year for Family Weekend, too, so since we all liked it so much, Dad and I decided to make it a tradition. :)
In the car ride back to Olin, I had a really enthralling and inspiring conversation with Jules about nerdiness and college. I asked him where he learned all of the things he showed me today, and he said that most of it was at Olin. According to him, there's almost no time when you need to know something about engineering and no one knows the answer. That, I think, is amazing.
I told Julian that I do extra work all the time, and that everyone calls me an overachiever, but I'm proud. Julian replied, "There's no such thing as an overachiever- just someone who does what he should do." Then, as an afterthought, he said, "You can quote me on that." I smiled. "I probably will." And so I did. :)
With that note, he left and we told him that we'd see him in the morning.
And now, as I lay here in my bed at our hotel, I feel inspired. I feel nerdy. I feel awesome.
DFTBA (Don't Forget To Be Awesome),
Cora
Dad and Mom came after a while and we met up with Julian, who got his laptop and showed us his latest project. This was some amazing stuff- breadboards hooked up to his laptop, connected by an array of wires in all the right places. It all fit together to make a cool racecar game in which two players each controlled a spinning arrow and a button which would allow the cars to race each other to the finish. It was all beautiful in a way that's hard to explain- it all fit together so well, so perfectly, with all these intricate pieces coming together as a whole, like a butterfly, its wings decked with separate, unique scales, but all coming together in a gorgeous pattern.
We headed to lunch; first, we checked out a restaurant we've been to before, but it was closed, so we went to Petit Robert Bistro instead. It's a quaint, little, French-American restaurant with great food; I had a yummy French baguette sandwich with Jambon ham served with some slices of tomato and some French fries. Good stuff :)!
Later, the four of us went to Wellesley because it was one of the colleges I liked most from what I read in a college book. It was pretty old and it had a nice setting, but it was a lot bigger than I had expected, so it was hard to find our way around the place. It was also kind of imposing, not really the welcoming environment I had been hoping for.
After an hour or so of walking around the campus in a circle, we went to a small coffee shop nearby and sat down outside. An old man who was sitting on the bench next to us kept on talking about the ambulances and police cars that were driving by.
My dad got me some hot chocolate and a chocolate croissant. We sat there drinking and eating and talking, mostly about the classes Julian's taking. He told us that he is taking 24 credits worth of classes, though the maximum is 21, and two more classes that he won't get credit for at all. As he said, "I don't take classes for grades."
Later on, Dad drove us to the movie theater, where we watched a pretty good movie called "The Ides of March." The plot was really interesting, and the movie was quite dramatic at times. :)
We ate dinner at Solea's, a really wonderful restaurant with tapas, little dishes that we shared as a group. I had some delicious calamari, French fries, and some baby lamb chops. We went there last year for Family Weekend, too, so since we all liked it so much, Dad and I decided to make it a tradition. :)
In the car ride back to Olin, I had a really enthralling and inspiring conversation with Jules about nerdiness and college. I asked him where he learned all of the things he showed me today, and he said that most of it was at Olin. According to him, there's almost no time when you need to know something about engineering and no one knows the answer. That, I think, is amazing.
I told Julian that I do extra work all the time, and that everyone calls me an overachiever, but I'm proud. Julian replied, "There's no such thing as an overachiever- just someone who does what he should do." Then, as an afterthought, he said, "You can quote me on that." I smiled. "I probably will." And so I did. :)
With that note, he left and we told him that we'd see him in the morning.
And now, as I lay here in my bed at our hotel, I feel inspired. I feel nerdy. I feel awesome.
DFTBA (Don't Forget To Be Awesome),
Cora
