…And I’m Done!

Hi!! I’ve know I’ve been MIA these past few weeks. Let’s get the usual excuses out of the way: 1) Differential Equations 2) not much kitchen action 3) research ( final projects this time)

As great as my professors have been, I’ve never been so happy for a semester to end. So, I thought I’d come up with a fun little summary of the semester:

Note Sheet– Since going online, most departments decided to either cancel finals or make them unproctored. The math department decided to stick with the status quo. We were, however, allowed 1 A4 sized sheet of notes.
Final Exams…. on the same day. 3 hours of Differential Equations, then all day to work on the Econ Final
Thought Pieces– Thought pieces were the main assessments of my Behavioural Economics and Public Policy class. The idea was to have us students apply class material by coming up with an intervention that used behavioural economics to tackle a real social issue. Well, turns out I don’t quite understand what constitutes a “behavioural solution”, but going from a 7/10 on my first one to a 9/10 on the last two felt pretty good
Hundred photos– Well… 375, but close enough. Part of my research project is to help my advisor with a database of facial photos for his project. I had to remove every last pixel of background or clothing. As someone who’s not very detail oriented, the task was beyond excruciating. Eventually did get it done after 3 weeks and my advisor didn’t even give up on me!
New Recipes – Turns out being stuck at home is a great opportunity to get in the kitchen. I perfected red braised pork, beef shank learned a Hunanese classic, made some green beans and hearty pot roast.
Amazing group-mates– Two of my classes opted for final projects in lieu of final exams. I’d always dreaded group work, but this time was different. My group mates for both projects not only did their fair share, but did it on time and without any reminders. For my Reserach Methods class, one of my group mates got her part done despite being hospitalized for a week!
Study Buddies– The three girls in my Econ homework group and the four friends that helped me through nearly every Diff Eq assignment are a big reason I’ve made it through
New Podcasts- I’ve been a regular podcast listener since high school, and every year I add a couple to my repertoire. This semester I added 8, bringing my total to 21!
Seminars- Although online learning isn’t ideal, it did allow me to attend our department seminars despite having a class that ended 10 minutes before seminar started. I even asked a few questions! These seminars have been an amazing opportunity to see the cutting edge of behavioural research, and I’m so lucky to be at a school that allows undergrads to participate!
Hours of Math- This is the average amount of time I spent on differential equations each week I never thought I would willingly spend this much time doing math and NOT hating it
Months since Little Moochi launched- Little Moochi is an adorable healthy eating startup I starting interning at since last February. They launched the first version of their app last January. Since then, they’ve come out with version 2.0 and now have over 2000 users! Even though all I’ve done is write blogs and edit content, I feel like it’s my baby- So proud of Summer and the team!
Problem Sets- These were unequivocally painful. Some weren’t too bad, only taking 3-4 hours; some were tough, taking 5-8 hours. Two actually made me reconsider going for Econ grad school- over 20 hours each, NOT including office hours and the time I spent literally dreaming about solving them.

Now that the semester’s over I’ll be kicking back for a nice long winter break! Keep your eyes peeled for some more delicious updates. Also, Christmas is less than a week away- Happy Holidays!

Until next time, Bye!