MIT: Operation Frosh (02/10/23)

Rating: 2 Stars Date: February 10, 2023 Notebook: Deep Reflections 2021-2022 Tags: Reflection, Personal Last updated: 2026-04-06

Overview

Written in February 2023 after a visit to MIT, this entry documents the moment Jack’s desire to attend MIT crystallized from aspiration into obsession. It is the origin point of what his profile later calls “prestige gravity” — the pull toward institutions as symbols of belonging and potential.

Full Text

“It has been a long time since I have written here, I figured it was because I was doing decent. This also lead to me questioning what is next. After feeling like nothing much is happening, I read a blog online which really hit me. One is that there is so much I could have done in the time I have spent. Two, I have a burning desire to change what I have right now.”

“I realized that I really, really, really want to come to MIT. Even with the simple action of sitting in the lecture halls, taking the exams, suffering through the P-sets, and admiring the MIT lore, I realized that all those are made way better by the people you are around with. The people almost dictates your mood and aspirations. This is something that I really miss here. I am not good with getting along with most of the people, nor am I able to purpose my crazy MIT ideas to them in the first place.”

“Chilling with such awesome froshes and looking at brand new perspectives, that is something I really do miss. That is why I want to commence operation frosh: an operation to fully immerse myself into MIT culture. Something that I never felt such burning desire to simply [do]. I always believed that life is about experiencing everything, from the good to the bad. MIT is a pure representation of IHTFP (A superposition of ‘I hate this fucking place’ and ‘I have truly found paradise’).”

“I feel like the best way to really succeed, is to do hard things, and hit failures, but have the desire to try and try again. I want to take on the biggest waves, and ride it down smoothly, with a bunch of people of course. Have a set of anime protagonists by my side, be listened to when I am sad, and support the great antics.”

Key Observations

The people thesis: The central insight in this entry is that MIT’s value is not the curriculum — it’s the people. Jack identifies this explicitly: people dictate mood and aspirations. This is the earliest clear statement of his environment-as-destiny belief.

“Operation Frosh”: Jack names his aspiration as a covert operation — a characteristic move. Framing goals as missions is a recurring pattern.

IHTFP: Jack’s awareness of the MIT paradox (the school is simultaneously paradise and hell) suggests he’s thought about this carefully, not romantically. He wants the hard version, not the idealized one.

Anime protagonists: The phrase “have a set of anime protagonists by my side” captures something genuine about how Jack thinks about friendship — not warm social connection, but a crew of exceptional people running toward hard things together. This is consistent with his 2022 entry: “I aspire to be like people like Sigil.”

The Social Loneliness

The most striking line: “I am not good with getting along with most of the people, nor am I able to purpose my crazy MIT ideas to them in the first place.”

This is not false modesty — it’s a recurring theme across years of writing. Jack’s difficulty connecting with peers is less about shyness and more about a mismatch in level and direction. He doesn’t want to tone down his ideas. He wants to find people who can match them.

Related

• Social Reflection 2022
• Nostalgia Burnout Georgia Tech
• Walk In The Park Framework
• Jack Luo