#I GOT 11 POINTS FOR THIS WOOO FRIENDLY FIRE

[duhsty1]

pov um uhhh um @moonliched

FIRST ATTACK EVER WOWOOWOWOWO @chaireem you are next I am looking at you

[tatumbutinblogform-blog]

Sample Blogs!

1. What is something vexing that you're currently wrestling with?

My first (of many) MIT dilemmas

Ah yes. MIT. The place that provides students SO MANY things to do (not just plain or boring things, things I love!). The ~things~ I’m referring to are all of the majors, minors, activities, clubs, seminars, learning communities... You get the point. Though I am still a smol, not-yet-exposed-to-the-real-MIT prefrosh, I get the sense that it’s hard not to want to do everything. MIT is amazing in that it does a phenomenal job of picking diverse, passionate, motivated students; these students avidly seek out challenges and, from what I’ve seen amongst my prefrosh kin™, are ready to do literally everything at MIT.

But of course, that’s not possible. Although many wish they could quadruple major, time limitations exist, other obligations exist, you need SLEEP, and thus it’s likely not going to happen. I recently encountered one of my first dilemmas with regards to MIT (let’s just acknowledge that I’m not even there yet!) so buckle up!

Although I think I know what I plan on majoring in (course 20?!), deciding on my HASS concentration (preemptive, of course, as I am currently attempting to plan my academic journey here at MIT on FireRoad) has proven to be a challenge.

Obviously, I love math and science; but my academic interests also include non-STEM subjects like literally anything art history (actually history in general…) and Mandarin Chinese. I had the chance to explore these two subjects in high school-- taking an AP Art History course junior year (and consequently falling in love) and Mandarin Chinese sophomore through senior year. I knew I needed to continue these in college, as they really added a must-needed balance to my years in high school.

I vividly remember basically being in <3 love <3 when I saw the art pieces printed in my AP booklet during the test, mostly because the print quality was so nice! I was definitely not expecting to spend time ogling over some art pieces I studied all year during the most important test for the class, but there I was. I am still so incredibly fascinated by art history; I love learning why an artist decided to create their pieces, why the pieces were important during the time period, and omg how pretty! 

I also discovered the wonder that is learning a new language! Most students took a required foreign language during their time in high school, as did I, but I never expected to thoroughly enjoy Mandarin so much. Although I never had exposure to the language growing up (as judging from my appearance, I am most definitely caucasian and our family only speaks English. but fun fact I’m ¼ Japanese!), I definitely had a great time learning about the intricate language and culture. And at this point, I virtually only speak at the elementary-level, so there is still so much 中文 (Chinese) to learn!

So this is my first MIT dilemma-- do I want to do my HASS Concentration in the History of Architecture, Art and Design, or in Chinese Studies? Learn cool history things, or (hopefully) become bilingual? ahhhh!!!

After a lot of thinking, planning, playing around with FireRoad, I think I’ve come to the decision of choosing the art history route. I am most definitely not dead-set on it, but just to give myself some peace of mind. It came down to which one I really enjoy studying! While I love learning Mandarin, my passion for art history ultimately prevailed. But stay tuned for any changes!

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2. What happened Tuesday?

Solace in the Summertime My First Tuesday of July!

For many people, it’s usually a rarity to see the sunrise every morning (and in a perfect world, I’d be “many people”). I’m unfortunately woken up each morning by my 5:40am alarm-- I mean, I love my daily routine, but I just wish my day started a bit later. After getting everything situated, aka my breakfast, clothes, backpack, and bike loaded into the car (more on that later), I’m off to rowing practice!

Today's workout includes some hard pieces¹ on the erg², where I eventually totaled 16,000 meters rowed for the day. After stretching and foam-rolling, I did some strength training and wooo I’m done!

Just kidding! I brought my bike to ride today (thanks to mom for dropping me off this morning :D ) because the weather is wonderful in Southern California and I love the scenic route home. So, I embark on the 40 minute-ish ride-- slightly longer because my legs are dead, and hills are no joke-- and think about what I’m going to do for the rest of my day! With only 47 days (insert surprised Pikachu) until I leave for MIT, my time left to spend at home is quite limited. So many things to do!

It’s only 10:52 in the morning, but I’m hungry so I snack on some blueberries. I absolutely love blueberries!!! I wrote a sonnet on my love for blueberries once (my teacher told us to be creative, it’s just what came to mind!), so clearly, the love is real. So sweet! So pigmented!

After my blueberry escapade, I decided to read a bit. I didn’t have much time throughout the school year to read for leisure, so I’m just cherishing the time now! I just started the “A Song of Ice and Fire” series by George R.R. Martin (aka Game of Thrones in book form before it became a TV show). After reading for a while, I eat lunch, chill a bit, and write in my new planner that I got as one of my graduation gifts.

A few hours later, it’s dinner time! I make a delicious salad for dinner (I make one literally every night ~ friendly reminder to get your veggies in!) and get prepare for a meeting I have in the evening. The meeting is for a nonprofit I help run, called STEMChats, and we’re having our weekly leadership team call that will last a few hours (it’s a busy time for us!).

Sparing some minor events that occurred through the day, this is what I did on my first Tuesday in July! The day was pretty uneventful for me, mostly because I’ve done a similar routine most days of my summer so far. But I hope you enjoyed Tatum’s Tuesday!

A “piece” is basically rowing lingo for the workout. Most are either by time or distance (meters).

We <3 erging! Ergs are the indoor rowing machines used for on-land workouts and such (most rowers don’t actually like them because hard workouts = pain).

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3. What is your current obsession?

Jeopardy! Joy An Evening Tradition 

If you ask me to hang out any given day between 7pm to 7:30pm, chances are I’ll say no. I’ve been watching the fast-paced classic trivia show Jeopardy! for over 11 years with the company of my mom. Though I didn’t get many answers right in my early years, I now get enough correct clues each night to tally ‘em up (sorry for the unintentional flex). So, when I hear the ever-so-memorable theme song each night when the clock strikes 7, I instantly grab my small chalkboard, chalk, and a nice glass of water because it’s time for some Jeopardy!. 

Now, I’m not sure you’d call it an obsession. For me, it’s a hobby. Surprising yourself by remembering very niche details on events, names, and just utterly random topics? Count me in! Now I know at MIT we had (have? idk?) a ~celebrity~ in our midst: Lily Chin, Jeopardy! College Champion. I remember watching the tournament a few years back, greatly looking up to the contestants who just knew so much! I never ever thought that I’d be going to the same institution, let alone writing this blog. Maybe one day I’ll be on Jeopardy! (currently waiting for the next college student try-out!!!) and I’ll fulfill my life-long dream! Or maybe I won’t! But I’ll still continue to watch the show and reminisce on all the great memories watching it with family (but show no remorse for all the missed opportunities for hangouts with friends. sorry y’all <3) (let’s play a game called “how many times can you mention ‘Jeopardy!’ in one blog post”!)