I’m finally at college–

I had hoped to prepare a more interesting post this month, but I haven’t had any time at all to work because I just moved to Boston. Instead, I’m just going to write a bit about how my first week has gone and how I’m hoping things will turn out in the future.

My biggest surprise so far has got to be how quickly and comfortably I was able pick up and jump to Boston. Dorm life is actually pretty cozy, and my suitemates/friends are all good to be around. I’ve been able to meet a lot of great people and so far I’m really enjoying myself.

As for my classes, it’s definitely been intense. Discrete structures is kicking everybody’s ass, but mostly because our professor started off with graphs instead of something more familiar like probability. I certainly can’t blame him. At any rate, he’s been giving us a lot of great practice problems, and they’re the only things keeping me from ripping my eyes out over the CS fundamentals homework. I’m expecting discrete to cool off and fundies to pick up, so hopefully it will balance out.

I’m also in two fantastic classes about philosophy and currency, which up to this point have just been a lot of reading. I actually brought my entire book queue from home when I moved, and I can’t even touch it for all the PDF articles I’ve been printing – a real shame.

Finally, for extracurriculars, I’m trying to get into the school’s science newspaper and their TEDxNEU event club. I definitely like the idea of practicing my writing for a magazine, but I’m still apprehensive about TEDxNEU. I can’t tell if working in the event would give me skills that are worth the time commitment. There’s also a club for Big Data Enthusiasts but I can’t tell if it’s very serious. Up until last year it was focused on business and economics, which seems like a red flag.

Overall, I’m having a great time. In the short term I want to learn more about my professors, especially with respect to whatever research they’re working on. With so many possibilities I’m uncertain about the long term, but I think I’ve met good people and that things are looking up.