Campus Life - Letters from MIT [最終回]

Creating your own bible

By Shin Kuwaki

友人とともに頑張ってきた勉強は、筆者(左手前)にとってかけがえのない思い出として残っている

I picked up one of my binders from my Biochemistry class and started flipping through the pages. Quickly skimming through, I saw the margins of my notebooks filled with doodles of the teacher's face. My friend sitting next to me had added the Chinese characters for "ni hao ma?" (meaning "how are you?") with a smiley face at the end.

I turned to my notes from freshman year for my Differential Equations class. The words are illegible toward the end, possessing a slight resemblance to drunken earthworms. It is easy to laugh about these things after completing the classes, but I remember they were no laughing matter during exam period.

Exams are an integral part of any college education, and almost no one likes them. Yet, they come with their own share of fond memories. I remember one time, as the supervisors came round with candy during the test, my friend, who was sitting next to me, and I tried to devise a system of checking our answers using Swedish Fish (small, red, soft candy that are shaped like a fish).

One Swedish Fish meant her answer was "A", two for "B" and so on. Cough the same number of times as the question number. This was bound to get out of hand, since there were 120 questions on the exam. Of course, the system was never put into action. Watching my friend's ludicrously stealthy maneuvers, combined with the tension prior to the exam, I ended up only laughing about it.

At the end of each term, many students create things called "bibles" for their classes. A bible is a collection of class notes, exams, and any other class materials that might be helpful for future students of the class. These bibles have saved lives at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), especially for students struggling through notoriously difficult classes. They are either donated or sold, whatever suits the creator.

When I first had a look through a bible, I was astounded by how well-organized it was. Meticulous notes were neatly arranged with tabs and labels, pages were numbered and dated, and everything was constructed in systematic fashion. I was amazed. At the same time, looking at those notes, I started worrying about whether every student made notes like these and whether I would be able to meet the standards of the school.

Two years later, I created my first bible. Students have come to me asking for a bible for a particular class, and they seem nervous when they see the pages and pages of notes and diagrams. In the end, though, they realize that it wasn't so bad after all. Perhaps a bible is meant to leave students with a sense of relief and satisfaction, reflecting on how much work was put into the class. Still, I can never seem to get rid of the habit of doodling in the margins.

There are many aspects of MIT other than the academics that I remember when looking back over the past three years. There were the surprise birthday parties, the trips to Niagara Falls and to the beach, the Fourth of July fireworks, the parties and dinners, and the countless times we crossed the Charles River with the Boston skyline set out against the evening sky.

Yet, it is the academics that stand out the most in my memory. Many of the precious times I have shared with friends are academically oriented - like the long hours spent in the computer clusters and the nights spent in a friend's room with three or four bottles of iced tea to finish a problem set. It is these moments that I will cherish most when I think back on my college years.

Shukan ST: Sept. 5, 2003

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