First Year Revelations

A collection of lessons I've learned from first year. A lot of conjecture on various university experiences, including but not limited to: mathematics, coffee, smiles, pseudophilosophy and love (or something resembling it). 

o1. Anyone who says math is about numbers is absolutely lying. There are no numbers in math, with the exception of 0 and possibly 1.

o2. The only acceptable letters in mathematics are x, y, z, a, b, f (as in f(x)), i and j. Anything else is absolutely off-limits.

o3. It's okay to change your mind.

o4. Everybody thinks they know what they want, but few people actually know. Realizing how little you know is the first step to enlightenment.

o5. When your new professor says "I do not discuss grades over email" or "these assignments should be treated as take-home exams", run. Very far.

o6. Never underestimate the power of a smile.

o7. Whether it's an all-nighter, insomnia, a hangover—coffee really is the answer to all your problems.

o8. Nobody knows anything about true love at 18, 19, 22, whatever. But it's fun to hypothesize, and you can get close enough to the real thing for all practical purposes.

o9. You can write something amazing and your professor will tear it to pieces because they are a hipster who is bitter over being rejected by countless literary magazines. Don't let them sway you.

1o. Bad ideas are the most memorable ones, and will result in the best stories to tell. Ask me about the time I pranked my linear algebra TA on Valentine's Day.

11. Ambition is one of the most attractive traits in any given person.

12. So is passion.

13. Being nice to the people working on campus will get you everywhere.

14. You should probably buy that textbook in September. It will be $150 well spent, and if you don't, you will regret it in April when you're staring at the poorly-scanned .pdf version you downloaded on your computer in an attempt to be frugal.

15. Student councils run a lot more things around campus than you could ever imagine.

16. The fact that the professor standing at the front of the room is an absolutely awful teacher and you occasionally doubt his sanity does not change the fact that he is probably completely brilliant beyond your current comprehension. It's easy to forget that our professors are some of the top minds in their field worldwide.

17. You will lose touch with the people who said "forever", and that is okay. You will also figure out who your lifelong friends really are.

18. You can get a lot of free food on campus if you know where to look.

19. Know your stuff if you're going to get into an argument over it with the professor in front of your entire lecture. Know it very, very well.

2o. Your campus will provide you with countless once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Take advantage of them.

21. You will despise your field of study at some point or another. It is inevitable.

22. Taking a chance and smiling at the stranger you've been locking eyes with all over campus is never something you will regret.

23. Western is a big place when you're searching for somebody, and a small place when you want to avoid somebody.

24. You will wonder what you're doing with your life and seriously doubt your choice of major at least once. If you don't, you're doing it wrong. Bonus points for an existential crisis.

25. Do what you love. This is harder than it sounds.

26. Riding boots will make any outfit look more put-together.

27. There are a lot of brilliant minds at university, and also a lot of not-so-brilliant minds at university. Which is which may surprise you.

28. Every other faculty is underrated.

29. Raw talent only gets you so far; the rest is hard work. Never forget that.

3o. Good storytelling is an invaluable skill and talent. Learn it.

31. Everyone here has something to teach you, whether they are your professor, a classmate, a stranger or a friend. Be open to learning.

32. "I don't know" is, occasionally, the only right answer.

33. Being a mathematics major comes with an accidental minor in the Greek alphabet.

34. After a while, campus begins to feel like home. Like when you spend twelve-hour days there.

35. Sometimes all you can do is live life one day at a time and stop planning the future. Tomorrow could change everything forever.

36. You really can do it all—with many cups of coffee.

37. Despite all the early mornings, late nights and stressful weeks, someday you're going to miss this—so make it all count.

Staring Contests

“The power of a glance has been so much abused in love stories, that it has come to be disbelieved in. Few people dare now to say that two beings have fallen in love because they have looked at each other. Yet it is in this way that love begins, and in this way only.” 

                                                                                 - Victor Hugo 


i am not above stolen grins 

and obliging the occasional reckless desire

anything to capture your attention

i just want to be in your atmosphere.

i never thought that it would come to this—

goes to show what i know.

first chance, one glance

unexpected; out of nowhere

never could i have seen it coming

goes to show what i know.

i thought it would be just once

but you proved me wrong

whether better or for worse,

it goes to show what i know.

it's not quite like me to do this

it shakes me right out of my safety net

to meet your eyes, straight-on

staring me down; a challenge?

and the question

i am afraid to ask 

this is more than the other side of the door

and more than i could have fathomed

circumstance will decide our fate—

in time

so—

dear stranger with the tentative smile,

and the bold searching stare 

thanks for turning my world upside down 

the only thing i know now is that 

i don't know anything at all

you are the best thing

that isn't mine

yet.

waiting

is going to be 

the hardest part.

for now,

i will continue

to be your best-kept secret

The Witness

It was a routine Sunday morning
Sleepy-eyed, tired hearts
Meeting once again

I was there, paralyzed
By fear and my own weakness
Fighting the demons of my own creation
Until I surrendered myself to Love
Who always makes a way

And you were there
with watchful eyes; cautious as a dove
And before my eyes, you gave yourself up to Dance—
the smallest miracle; the wish of a searching heart
I witnessed you singing with the angels
A testimony to Love
Almost bringing me to tears
At the front of a crowded room

You may not ever know how much it meant to me
To see that one small step from you
But this is my eternal wish
For you

It only took a single moment
To remind me, all over again
that Love is here; alive
and
Love
is
Now