Blog #5: Future Plans

As of April 19th, 2022, I have officially committed to MIT! MIT doesn't admit by major and I don't need to declare until the end of my freshman or sophomore year, which is great because in the last few weeks, I have suddenly become very uncertain about what I want to major in.

When I applied I selected Course 2 (Mechanical Engineering) as my main interest. I've always planned on mechanical engineering because I want to know how to make things; I want the ability to take an idea from my head and make it a reality. That's the main reason why I've fallen so in love with CAD and 3D printing! And while none of that has changed at all, I've come to the realization that I also really want to "do science"! While I was visiting MIT for their Campus Preview Weekend (CPW) I went to an event where I toured a biological engineering lab. I got to see all of the incredibly interesting projects they were working on (like bio-cement!), see all the cool equipment they use (like a 3D printer for cells!), and try miracle berries (a plant that makes sour things taste sweet) as well as learn about the proteins that make the berries work! I found it incredibly interesting, and my interest was only further solidified when I toured a biochemistry lab and met someone who was working on vaccines for preventing cancer. As a result, in addition to Course 2, I'm now also considering majoring in Course 20 (Biological Engineering), 2-A 20 (Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in Biological Engineering, double majoring in Course 2 and Course 20, or majoring in Course 2 with a minor in Biomedical Engineering. On top of that, I have always been absolutely fascinated by astronomy, so I'm considering a minor in that as well. I know, it's a lot, and I'm heartbroken that I almost certainly won't have time to do all of it.

I am equally indecisive about my future career. It has always been my dream to work at NASA and help put humans on Mars. I'm still incredibly excited by that idea, but at the same time, I could also see myself working in biotech in a lab somewhere doing research or designing new medical devices. I've had people tell me I should try to combine those interests, but for some reason that prospect doesn't excite me as much as I thought it would. When I interned at NASA, I did actually meet a biomedical engineer who worked there, so I know it's definitely possible for me to work both in the biomedical industry and at NASA, but I'm not sure the types of projects I would work on are very exciting to me. My problem is that I'm very interested in, for example, building a Mars habitat, and also very excited about, for example, developing a cure for Alzheimer's, but I'm not thrilled by the idea of a bio project in space. I just have two separate interests that seem to become less interesting when I combine them. I'm not actually super worried about this. I think once I get to college and have time to explore, I'll better be able to define my interests, and I might discover that I don't like one of these subjects as much as I thought I did. Or maybe I'll discover a new interest. Luckily, I think there's probably no better place in the entire world for me to explore STEM than MIT!