A Recap of What I’ve Been Up To
College Apps, pi day, US Department of Education, ISEF, HS Graduation, and more…
I am back! I had taken a bit of a hiatus from blogging throughout the past few months as I was wrapping up my journey of high school this past month, filled with hectic events. But now that it’s mostly over, I’m now ready to share some milestones, reflect, and get back into blogging!
Through this blog, I hope to share a recap of some of the major events and highlights of my high school senior year spring semester. Without further ado, I’ll get into it!
January — February:
My first two months of 2022 consisted of me nearing the end of my college application process. I had finished my last application and submitted my last supplements to colleges in January. Soon after, I received interview requests from colleges which took place throughout January and February. I was also at school or commuting from about 7 to 5 pm every day, which added to the hectic nature. Alongside this, I was applying for many scholarships, and because of this, I had many scholarship interviews and other applications as well. These two months were relatively stressful as I still dedicated a lot of my time to school, I often had multiple interviews in a week, and I was completing other applications or sending college updates. Yet, this was also a time when my workload slowly but surely started to diminish.
One exciting thing that happened between January-February was that I competed (virtually) at the 2022 Austin Energy Regional Science Fair. After many long judging sessions, I was very excited to learn that I had ranked 1st in my category and I had been chosen as 1 of 6 Best of Fair projects, which meant that I would be going to the 2022 Regeneration International Science and Engineering Fair in May. I would also be competing at the state science fair in March. These were exciting updates in my science research journey and had always been achievements I had dreamed of fulfilling.
March:
March was a pretty eventful but more relaxing month. I was very excited for Spring Break, during which I took time to relax, go to OTF, and spend more time with my sister.
It was also in March–specifically March 14th (3/14) 6:28 pm EST ( that I learned that I was admitted into MIT! It was a pretty sweet accomplishment and my family and I celebrated pi day by getting pie and going out for dinner.
Near the end of March, I went to the 2022 Texas State Science & Engineering Fair, at which I got the Regeneron Biomedical Science Special Award! The state fair was in College Station, which was a 1–2 hour drive from Austin, and was a fun weekend.
April:
During April, one notable adventure was going to Washington DC for 4 days for the 2022 National Honor Society Scholarship Trailblazing Leadership Weekend. This was a fun experience where I was able to meet super amazing people from across the US and then also got to interact with many principals as part of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). I visited the US Department of Education, met the US Secretary of Education, and talked with other principals from schools about the nuances of their education systems, what changes they would like to see, and how these changes could be implemented.
May:
May was a pretty busy month. I was taking AP tests the entire first week of May. I practically had a test, maybe even two, from Monday — Thursday that first week.
But after this, I spent the second week of May at the 2022 Regeneration International Science and Engineering Fair! I spent the entire week in Atlanta presenting my science fair project, meeting people from around the globe, learning about other projects, and learning from leading thinkers like George Yancopolous and Maya Ajmera. I was also given the opportunity here to ask some questions at a panel event, which was fun. My question can be heard at the timestamp of 19:50 in this video below. I will be creating a separate ISEF post which will include more pictures and recaps of my time in Atlanta!
The last two weeks of May were spent doing minimal work as I had already taken APs for my classes. I had to take just one final for Differential Equation after which I would be done. On the last day of May, I had my school’s senior salute event which was a fun homage to the past four years.
June:
I had my high school graduation ceremony on the very first day of June. That same night, I had Project Graduation (our school’s version of senior lock-in). This was a pretty hectic day as I went from graduation in the day, taking a 2-hour nap, and then waking up at 9 pm to go to Project Graduation at a local YMCA where I would stay up until 6 am. It was hectic but also super fun. It was also pretty bittersweet as I was seeing some–probably most–of the people for the last time. I signed yearbooks and had my last laughs with many of those in the room. Yet after that night, I felt refreshed. Maybe it was the metaphorical start of a fresh new day (at 6 am and albeit the fact I had been up all night). While my day started the minute the clock started at 12:00 and it had continued, filled with excitement, adrenaline, and a lot of games for cash prizes, I was ready to officially call it a night. I woke up later that day groggy, not as refreshed, disoriented, but content. I’m glad I got that opportunity for closure, to try new things, and have a last hurrah. While it wasn’t my last time seeing my friends, it may have been my last time seeing many. And for that reason I am sad. I am sad to leave behind the story of the past four years of my life. These people hold stories, experiences, and segments of time that have cemented and inspired me.
After project graduation, I had my sister’s bday party & combined grad party. After that, everything else was a bit more relaxing. I had a lot of time off which was fun.
Looking forward, I’m excited to travel throughout July and then start college in August! It’ll be a fun second half of the year. This wraps up my updates and what I’ve been up to for the past few months. Going forward, I definitely hope to be posting more consistently–whether that be about any life updates, cool things I’m up to, some facts or concepts I find interesting, or anything else in between.
