Then + Now

As seniors, we hear a lot about the “bucket list:” The SciLi challenge, 5 a.m. Louis, WaterFire, etc. Throughout this year, my friends and I kept putting various parts of the list off until later. But then, all of a sudden, it was May and I started to feel anxious about not having enough time to complete the list in my limited days left on the Hill.

At first, the realization caused an uneasy feeling—something reminiscent of the FOMO (fear of missing out) you feel during your first semester freshman year when you’re sick or busy and you miss a frat party that all your friends are talking about the next morning in the Ratty. I never went to Sex Power God. I never snuck onto the roof of any Brown buildings. I never took Mande. Does that mean I haven’t made the most of my college years? As an eager freshman, I told myself I would do all these random “must do before you graduate” things one day.

This quarter-life crisis caused me to wonder what it really means to make the most of your college experience. Obviously, this answer is going to be different for each person. But, I do know that it actually doesn’t have anything to do with an arbitrary list of activities. [Read more →]

Then + Now… yeah, I’m one of those “same face in every picture” people

When I first got to Brown in September 2009, I was lacking all kinds of life experience. Never been kissed. Never been drunk. Never gotten anything less than a B+ in a class (screw you too, AP Euro). I can say with confidence that none of those statements apply to me anymore (screw you too, Math 35). Milestones aside, though, it’s kind of astonishing to look back and see just how far I’ve come. At the start of my freshman year, I may as well have been thirteen years old for my lack of maturity. Now, well, I probably don’t always fit my parents’ definition of how a 22-year-old should act, but I’m pretty sure I at least match Taylor Swift’s.

The thought of graduating and entering the “real world” is terrifying. I’m one of the lucky ones with a cushion under me, what with my moving back home and going to grad school and all, and it’s still scary. I’m not going to have to deal with broken appliances in some crappy apartment and I’m not futilely searching for jobs, yet I’m still fighting the urge to look at May 26^th like the Mayans were off by five months and the world as I know it will end. [Read more →]

I’ve been webmaster for BlogDailyHerald since midway through my freshman year. In all that time I’ve written a grand total of zero posts, preferring instead to focus on behind the scenes technology work. Now, as a soon-to-graduate senior, I’m lucky enough to have a kick-ass successor who has taken on all of my Blog related responsibilities and somehow still finds time to write fantastic posts. But through a combination of peer pressure and procrastination I’ve been given one last job to do: write my first and only post for Blog.

In keeping with my love of the Internet and all things technological, I’m going to leave the eloquent, well-written posts for the other seniors to write. This post chronicles my time at Brown in the best way I know how: with animated GIFs and photos of cats.

Freshman Year

Meeting people in Keeney (Unit 3!) for the first time:

Writing my first essays in college:
[Read more →]

Then + Now

“What are you doing after you graduate?”

Those terrible, terrible words. I give the curious friend / acquaintance a passable answer. I try to change the subject. What am I doing after I graduate? The jobs I casually applied for rejected me. Living with my mom in NYC is much cheaper than finding my own apartment, (evidence: this tumblr is terrifying). What do you even do with a history degree? Were those econ majors and math majors right all along!?!?? But then I calm down. I remember the most valuable thing I’ve learned at Brown: Uncertainty should be embraced. Uncertainty is natural.

I used to have it all wrong. When I was in high school I kept my head down and powered through SATs to gain entrance to my *perfect* school. After a year I hated it, so I agonized over my almost-perfect-but-not GPA and sent off a flurry of transfer applications. I almost went to Columbia since I didn’t think Brown was “academic enough,” or so I posted on College Confidential. (My friends found this post two years ago and have never stopped making fun of me since, for very very good reason. No, I won’t post the link.) My main motivation was moving up that next rung on the meritocracy ladder. Even as I told myself that these artificial markers, like grades and enrollment at an Ivy League school, didn’t matter — I deeply cared. I really believed there was only one way to be successful. I was very unhappy. [Read more →]

Then + Now

Until the class of 2013 grows up and leaves us, BlogDH wants to highlight all the interesting things the class has been up to. Each featured senior will tag another senior for the next installment. Find this year’s other “Last Call” chain here.

People might know me as…
The funny guy who studies math and says “dude” and “bro” and “sick” way too much.

In my time at Brown, I am most proud of…
Coming out of my shell, and learning how to relax and enjoy life. I’m still trying to figure out the right way to measure success, but I definitely got it wrong my first two years here. I was afraid to try new things, to meet new people, and to focus on anything other than schoolwork.

My friends taught me to balance work with fun, step out of my comfort zone, and smile a little more (a lot more). They keep me grounded! [Read more →]

Then + Now

Until the class of 2013 grows up and leaves us, BlogDH wants to highlight all the interesting things the class has been up to. Each featured senior will tag another senior for the next installment. Find this year’s other “Last Call” chain here.

People might know me as…the very loud girl in the Barus & Holley computer lab (B&H191) or the loud girl who reps the Bay Area and Derrick Rose a little too hard at Nelson or the OMAC.

In my time at Brown, I am most proud of…the impacts I’ve made, the research I’ve done, and most importantly, the relationships I’ve built. I am proud to have made positive impacts on people and on projects/teams I’ve worked on/with. Similarly, I am glad to have learned so much from the people that I’m surrounded with. The people at Brown are truly amazing and the engineering community is a family. I had the honor of working in an incredible lab (Professor Angus Kingon) doing some cutting edge research in materials science. (If you to learn more about my research, email me and we can nerd out.)

On a Friday night, you might find yourself…playing ball at the OMAC or sipping wine or Bailey’s with my bestie, Isha Gulati, at 315 Thayer. Come see us. [Read more →]

Then + Now

People might know me as… Gladys, just Gladys, my name is very distinctive so people hardly alter it but I’ve had very close friends call me Ndagire, Glad, Glarys, Lady or even “Maroon Sweater” over and over again under the influence of way too much happiness

In my time at Brown, I am most proud of… Graduating from Brown is such a big deal; I’ll be the first one in my mother’s line to graduate not just from high school but from college, in an Ivy League institution. I’ve come from very far, from my family’s tiny farm in Uganda to British Columbia and very soon New York City. Yes, the glass ceiling can and will be broken.

On a Friday night, you might find yourself… Anywhere from having a drink with my favorite people to tucked in bed catching up on TV, but hopefully, never in a library.
[Read more →]

Until the class of 2013 grows up and leaves us, BlogDH wants to highlight all the interesting things the class has been up to. Each featured senior will tag another senior for the next installment. Find this year’s other “Last Call” chain here.

Then + Now

People might know me as… a few different things I think. It depends on whom you ask. For some, I’m the guy who went to Russia to study acting. For others I’m that guy who played Tomtom in PW’s production of Goose and Tomtom. And then of course there are those who know me as the guy who wears plaid shirts a lot and big sweaters.

In my time at Brown, I am most proud of… all the friendships I’ve made. I know, a lot of seniors have already given this answer, but I think that’s a testament to how spectacular our student body is. I really couldn’t have asked for more supportive, loyal, honest and entertaining friends. I’m proud to have such great people in my life and to have shared four fantastic years with them.

On a Friday night, you might find yourself… going to an opening show at PW or the GCB. Actually, most of the time I’m doing both. However, back when I lived on campus, and before I was 21, I was usually playing Bananagrams, Slap Cup, or laser tag in the outside courtyard of Grad Center. And how can I forget the Gate and Jo’s? I spent far too many Friday nights closing out both those places. [Read more →]

Then + Now

Until the class of 2013 grows up and leaves us, BlogDH wants to highlight all the interesting things the class has been up to. Each featured senior will tag another senior for the next installment. Find this year’s other “Last Call” chain here.

People might know me as… the Market Shares girl. Which is great.

In my time at Brown, I am most proud of… my friends. They have become amazing, beautiful, strong, powerful, brilliant people and have pulled me up with them. I am also proud of my ability to avoid libraries, even/especially during finals.

On a Friday night, you might find yourself… drinking bourbon at my kitchen table, entertaining some ladies, maybe hosting a small, impromptu dance party.

The best class/professor at Brown is… this is a tease, because the professor isn’t at Brown anymore, but taking and then TA’ing Sustenance and Sustainability with Kathy DeMaster defined my Brown experience. She showed me that there is a whole world of people studying and talking about food and farms, and facilitated an amazing community in the ES department. She also has a wicked sense of humor and consistently mispronounces “meme.” Good times. [Read more →]

Then + Now

People might know me as… that girl who carries around the Round Magazine canvas bag most paces I go. There are a few of them out there in circulation, but mine is recognizable for being the farthest now from its original white.

In my time at Brown, I am most proud of… becoming deeply involved in wonderful friendships, a wonderful relationship, and wonderful projects.

Why don’t you have a Facebook? What’s the best part about not having one? Worst part? It’s been more of a passive choice than an active one. That, and I was planning to be ahead of the curve when it went the way of MySpace. The best part about not having one is being unaware of any and all unflattering pictures out there. The worst part about not having one is being unaware of any and all unflattering pictures out there. [Read more →]