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Jeanie’s Blog

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BirthdayFest

November 9, 2011 by Jeanie Nguyen | Permalink

If you’ve never personally experienced a group of teenage girls sobbing after an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, I’m going to write these next few lines under the assumption that you have a pretty good idea of what this hot mess looks like.

On August 17, 2010, seven hours before the take-off of my first flight from San Diego to Boston, I was standing in a garage, in a circle with my very best girlfriends. As we all strived to stay as classy as possible, we couldn’t hold back the streamlining tears that came concomitant with our hyperventilation. There was no denying that our lives would change drastically, our friendships would be challenged, and that we were drowning not only in our tears, but also in our profound fear of the unknown. Within this moment, we were sure that our worlds would ruthlessly collapse because we wouldn’t be sharing sandwiches or seeking shelter from the seagulls or comparing our carrot sticks at lunch anymore. Yes, these were indeed defining characteristics of our bestfriendship.

That’s why this time of the year is so exponentially imperative: two of my friends from home share a birthday on November 10. You can find me scrambling around Harvard Square attaching symbolism to each item purchased while reciting the nine steps of neuronal development (it’s midterms, round 2 season). With my birthday presents, however, I prefer to emphasize the importance of the birthday letter. So after I finished collaborating on a physics problem set (endearingly termed pset), I spent a few hours pouring my heart and cheesy humor into the lines of college-ruled loose leaf paper, until I realized I had a physics lecture in 4 hours and haven’t slept yet…whoops!

Sometimes on campus, it can seem like an ongoing challenge to get less sleep than all of your friends. This isn’t because Harvard students are obnoxiously competitive in all things related to life (did you notice I collaborated with other students to complete my physics homework??); it’s because we’re all trying to create marvelous memories of our college years. None of the stressful Math 55 psets will be distinguishable in the end and none of our organic chemistry exams will seem so pinnacle. What will be ingrained in our memories are the times when our friends in the Quad wanted to Skype about a pset because they live so far or the times you snorted because that nerdy joke just hit the spot. You’ll remember your friendships because it’s the friendships – not the psets or papers – that endure. So to all you current college applicants out there, don’t worry about losing touch with your friends because both, your memories and relationships, will last!

Running ‘On Harvard Time’

November 2, 2011 by Jeanie Nguyen | 2 comments

Most pity Bubble Boy because of the endless restrictions his environment imposes. But do NOT get that bubble confused with Harvard’s Bubble.

I like to think of the Harvard Bubble as more of a force field, protecting us from the hardships of reality (i.e. non-high speed internet everywhere). In all seriousness, Harvard does its best to secure and defend us from wide ranging dangers such as ignorance, crime, and even our personal lack of athleticism.

Harvard On The Move is a new initiative that strives to rally and motivate all members of the Harvard community – from faculty to students – to exercise regularly as well as take advantage of Cambridge’s majestically scenic suburbia. This semester, the program generously sponsored hundreds of students to participate in the annual Honan 5K race. As an enthusiast of all things free, I eagerly signed up and encouraged my friends to hammer it out with me. Little did we expect that we would add a few more K’s (kilometers) to the race.

On the morning (*cough* afternoon *cough*) of the race, my friends and I scrambled to figure out public transportation to the starting line. As we waited at the bus stop, a dandy iPhone App informed us that the bus was 2 minutes away; yet, 2 minutes later, the bus was magically 26 minutes away. Keeping in mind that the race would officially start in 22 minutes, our confused-angry-sassy countenances helped us come to a consensus, without words, that we just had to run the 2.4 miles to the event in order to start on time – or at least have the opportunity of starting on time. So off we scurried, making wrong turns and crossing every bridge that perhaps looked slightly familiar. We miraculously managed to somehow catch the tail end of the start and we practically instantaneously tapped into our arsenal of adrenaline to sprint pass walking participants as well as the participants being pushed in strollers! As hectic as the start was, most of my friends ran their personal bests and some even placed in our age bracket!

Sweatylicious after the race!

On our return trip back to campus, an important realization came concomitant to our muscle cramps: Harvard Time is an aspect unique to our bubble. The unofficial yet institutionalized policy of starting everything (even exams!) 7 minutes past does not apply to the real world of non-dorm living.

There are infinitely phenomenal things you can take away from Harvard: friendships, knowledge, semi-meaningless acronyms. But one thing I won’t take with me is Harvard Time. Good thing I have two and a half years worth of 7 minutes to do what I please.

It Hurts so Good!

October 27, 2011 by Jeanie Nguyen | Permalink

Picture a rowdy protester in the #OccupyMovement laying face down and helpless because he/she is getting arrested.

This was me – but without the handcuffs and the protest.

Yes, I was just laying face down in the hallway of my upperclassmen duplex suite. As my roommate (former member of Harvard’s Cross Country team) used a rolling pin to flatten my calves, I winced from this beautifully painful experience. I had been limping around for a few days now, but was still determined to continue my Boston Half Marathon training.

I am not a runner. I’ll never identify myself as a runner. If anything, all of my athletic glory stems from my high school swimming career. To many people, college serves as the pinnacle time to redefine themselves academically. I agree, but being such a passionate math and science person (probably since the womb), I’ve found that much of my personal exploration has been in the athletic arena.

One of the best decisions I made freshman year (and life in general) was to attend the Women’s Crew informational meeting. From here, I was directed to a boathouse across the Charles River. This sounded like standard procedure until I walked in and my line of vision was filled with three dozen men on ergs. Apparently my 5’2” build fits the profile for a men’s heavyweight coxswain.

My boys and I in action during our first race! (Same day as Harvard-Yale 2010)

I eagerly agreed to steer the boat, itching for the physically challenging, team environment I had once thrived in while swimming in high school. However, I felt like the responsibilities of coxswains were limited to administrative matters when we weren’t in the boat. I was fed up with holding the clipboard after eight and a half minutes. I asked to participate in the boys’ conditioning drills and my thighs soon wanted to violently murder me as I ran stadiums. Even though we all quit crew at the end of the semester, we’ll forever be united through the pain we endured.

The whole gang!

 

I checked “crew” off on my “East Coast To-Do” list and considered other athletic opportunities such as Kickboxing classes at Harvard’s gym and Harvard club sports teams. It’s undeniable that the opportunities at Harvard are limitless, but the university’s location also makes them seem boundless. Does the Boston Marathon ring a bell? Well, I registered for the 2011 half marathon after listening to my realistic side and considering my personal athleticism. I encountered super difficult problems during training such as estimating the probability of serious danger when running late at night after lab, and being fireman-carried down 2 flights of stairs by a good friend because each step caused shooting, unbearable pain…no big deal.

I can casually describe all the stress and strain in retrospect because the overwhelming feeling of accomplishment far outweighs the agonizing discomfort I experienced limping to the Science Center.

Beyonce should sing "Run the Half (Harvard Girls)"

 

Crossing the finish line with the cheers of my best friends and sorority sisters will be a memory that will never grow hazy. Being able to set a personally lofty goal and achieve it will never become overrated.

 

 

Academia will (hopefully) be challenging at whatever university you attend; so, stop limiting yourself to academic pain and perhaps run out of your comfort zone, literally.

A B C easy as … Productivity

October 19, 2011 by Jeanie Nguyen | 3 comments

If Family Feud were to poll 100 Harvard students and asked whether or not the students felt they were productive, I would bet my right leg (or maybe just my left pinky…) that all one hundred would answer “no,” regardless of concentration, gender, and hair color. These poll results aren’t because we spend all day bashing Yale; instead, we hardly feel productive because we’re too passionate.

 

 

Widener Library during Harvard's 375th!

 

One of the greatest advantages of Harvard College is “Shopping Week,” the first week of every semester where students have the ultimate freedom to sit in – or walk out – of classes in order to evaluate courses as they see fit. It’s literally the perfect way to ease back into academics due to the lack of pressure to commit. Professors can’t assign homework and there aren’t any (discussion) sections or five hour labs to consume your evenings. The week is typically dedicated to socializing and organizing your extra-curricular calendar which comes with a hefty load of informational sessions, adviser meetings, and applications. These extra-curricular activities have a snowball effect; after spending hours applying, interviewing, and auditioning, you’ll only dedicate more and more time as your commitment level rises. Your time commitment is directly proportional to your impact. Yet, as you stroll into your dorm every evening, you’ll vent to your roommate about how unproductive you were because you spent the whole day organizing a leadership conference in Japan, or implementing plans to tutor and mentor children in underserved Boston communities, or couldn’t put down your book of leisure.

These feelings of unproductivity never stem from sleeping all day or watching re-runs of Jersey Shore. I’ve noticed how Harvard students have a tendency to categorize their extra-curriculars as unproductive matters; this is because we’re so passionate about applying what we learn in the classroom to the real world, that we don’t even consider this work! It comes second nature to us because the Harvard community fosters this meaningful kind of application and involvement – so much so that it’s as easy as your ABCs.

Hi, I’m Jeanie!

October 19, 2011 by Office of Admissions | 2 comments

Jeanie Nguyen ’14

Although my vocal fluctuations may give it away, I’m a San Diego native, striving to preserve my tan during the depths of East Coast winters. As a sophomore premedical student, I intend to concentrate in Neurobiology with a secondary in Global Health and Health Policy and a citation in Spanish. I’m employed at the Harvard Decision Science Laboratory as a Research Assistant. Beyond class and sticking EKG probes on human subjects, I’m an exercise enthusiast who has developed a working mental map of Boston via distance running. My predilection for urban life and culture has been satisfied by my volunteering efforts as a youth tutor and mentor, as well as a liaison for the Distinguished Young Women of America scholarship program and the Elks National Foundation. I split my free time between hysterically laughing at corny jokes and pick up lines, craving delectable avocados, and watching trashy reality television…because who doesn’t like a good old fist pump every now and then?

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