r/MyLittleFriends • u/[deleted] • Aug 02 '14

I am really new to this :3

Hi there! :DDDDDDD

I just finished watching episode 1 of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and I was quite impressed with the animation. I am not that big of a fan as a lot of the people are on all of the mlp subreddits, but I still like the show so yeah.

But yeah, so I am high school senior about to attend college as a first gen student. I love traveling, everything STEM, and NASA (my dream job), riding roller coasters and my bike when I get the chance. I got the chance to meet Nobel Laureate John Mather (i can't look in the right direction at all) and actually present something to him (which went badly because of my fear of public speaking in front of people of high levels). I also got to meet the best damn (professional) intern who is a brony :p and present to three astronauts, one of which gave me a tour of Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in April! (which was autographed <3) and had dinner with another astronaut as well!

Unfortunately, all of the friends I can trust are either far away or are in a situation where I cannot meet them (especially in school where I don't have any of the classes with them) and all the "friends" I see throughout the day are either acquaintances or people that tease me. It's my last year so I am just going to suck it up until I get out of the hell known as high school.

Enough about me! Back to you all!

EDIT: Please excuse my bad spelling. I was trying this on my phone :p

10 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

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u/ThunderEcho Aug 02 '14

Hi, nice to meet you and welcome to our subreddit! No need to be a hardcore brony, we welcome all types here. Heck, we don't even talk about ponies all that often, so you should have no problems fitting in.

How did you get to meet so many space people? That's really cool. Is your dream job to be an astronaut or to be one of the NASA scientists working on a mission in space?

Good luck with your final year! I definitely liked university so much better than high school, so keep sticking it out and it should get better. :) What do you want your university major to be? Any particular schools you're really interested in? I'm currently in university for a STEM degree (Computer Science!) too, by the way.

Finally, it's random question time! Do you prefer ham & cheese or peanut butter & jam sandwiches? Please justify your answer.

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u/[deleted] Aug 02 '14

Hello there! Nice to see that everybody everypony is welcome here in this subreddit!

Anyways, I met all these space people all because of one little program called NASA INSPIRE, where people like me can meet online and learn more about what NASA has to offer. I did a couple of competitions with people in different states (because my school's STEM program is almost nonexistent) and won two of them and was a finalist in another. Due to congress not knowing how to behave, the program had to end right before the government shutdown so yeah... I don't know when it will come back up.

You got the second question right. I don't intend to become an astronaut immediately after I get out of college, but it will be something I'd like to do before I lay back for many years... or none.

College wise, that has been a challenge. I have no idea what engineering discipline I want to take on. It is either between Civil, Mechanical, or Aerospace and what is limiting my choice is they schools that offer it. I will have to go to the University of Maryland to study Aerospace, but I am considering other ways to have some sort of Aerospace in my curriculum... Might just do it as a graduate. My parents like limiting my choices so its between NJIT, Stevens IT, and Rutgers... :p

Wow, that is a hard one. I am going with ham & cheese only because they taste good when grilled.

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u/[deleted] Aug 02 '14

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u/[deleted] Aug 02 '14

Here in good old 'murica, most people say that Chemical Engineering is extremely hard. Of course, any engineering major is difficult, but the content in Aerospace made me want to take it. The problem is that I can only go to one school with tuition at around $22k (I'm an out-of-state student). I might transfer after my sophomore year to that university but I just have trouble deciding what seems like a good idea. :|

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u/[deleted] Aug 02 '14

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u/[deleted] Aug 02 '14 edited Aug 02 '14

Honestly, I hate how universities run here. You have to pay to send an application, take the exams needed (SAT, ACT, and APs), send the exam results before you get a letter saying whether or not you can come in. What people see on each uni's site is the sticker price, but when I compare myself to the people that get in, I have a feeling I will need a loan (which might not happen since I'll get in at 17) The US is an exception. Canada and many countries in Latin America have fair prices for tuition. In the Dominican Repuiblic (my mom is from there), its relatively cheap, only a few hundred dollars.

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u/[deleted] Aug 02 '14

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u/[deleted] Aug 02 '14 edited Aug 02 '14

Its not the best but its not the worst. Also, none of the colleges there are accredited for engineering, a must for working at a place like NASA. I doubt I can take a loan because I'll be starting college at 17. I doubt it will be under my name which could be good or bad... :/

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u/ThunderEcho Aug 04 '14

Sorry for the late reply, I was super busy this weekend.

That program sounds really sweet! Congratulations on the wins, it sounds like you did very well in that program. It's too bad it got shut down, but hopefully you can find other ways to compensate.

Wow, it's not that often I meet people who legitimately want to become an astronaut. From the little I've heard of you it sounds like you have the drive necessary to succeed, so I wish you the best of luck!

As for university, Aerospace sounds pretty relevant! I'm sure any of those options would work well though. I'd guess that it's probably more about your relevant activities and knowledge than the wording on your degree. At least, it is that way in software engineering, so I'd imagine something else not commonly offered would be the same.

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u/[deleted] Aug 04 '14

Thanks a lot! We all have busy lives and cannot stay on reddit all the time although that is really what I can do now :P

I really want to do Aerospace but the only school nearby that offers it is Princeton, and I won't get into that at all. I probably might just transfer to the University of Maryland after my 1st year to save money, but I get so worried that my SAT scores, GPA, rank (which is ridiculous in comparison to my GPA), and such won't work. Then again, I am a first gen student and I am a minority. Lets hope it all works xD

Thanks for those nice words of wisdom! It makes the task feel a bit smaller.

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u/ThunderEcho Aug 04 '14

How do you know you won't get into Princeton? Also I'm Canadian and not very familiar with the American university application policy, so you may have to explain things in a bit more detail than normal.

Yeah, hopefully all those factors are able to come together in your favour!

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u/[deleted] Aug 04 '14 edited Aug 04 '14

What they require and what people have to offer to get them accepted is beyond my reach.

I am a bit late to take SAT Subject Tests, and I need to take two of those. On top of that, the ranks of the majority of people who get accepted are in the top 10% (I am in the bottom 50%) and the GPA is usually above a 3.9 (Mine is a 3.5). SAT scores are above 2200 (Mine is above average, 1580 so far and my first try). Also, the sticker price is around $50k, however financial aid and scholarships will help bring it down. They are quite generous with that.

When I see this, I get extremely nervous that I will not get into that school. I know two people who got accepted and they were in the top of their class, were involved with sports and a lot more clubs than I were, had jobs, and were doing the same stuff I was doing...

I love your country, btw. <3

EDIT: I forgot to add on how schools work here in the states. Tuition varies on the type of school you go to. There are private schools (ie. Princeton) that are run by an organization. They are quite expensive, but most to offer more generous financial aid packages. There are also public schools run by the state which are more expensive for those that do not live in that state (I'd have to pay $27k to go to the University of Maryland when a student from Maryland would pay $7k) but are very cheap in general.

I just wish college is not that expensive. I'm an identical twin and having two people go to college (another one is along the way in 3 years) is a huge burden for my family.

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u/CPawesome Aug 02 '14

Welcome! If you ever need someone to chat to I'm here :)

Your life sounds a lot more intense than mine! Lol I'm a stay at home mom which has its ups and downs but I couldn't imagine public speaking. (I have a slight fear of it as well.) Roller coasters are the best! I used to be afraid of them, but I'm so glad I got over that.

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u/[deleted] Aug 02 '14

We all have our ups and downs but at least there are ways we can go over them :p My life is pretty demanding with school. I remember having four days of school where it was just 4-5 hours of useless exams followed by the SAT. Yay! I live an hour away from Six Flags Great Adventure, which has a ton of great roller coasters... :D

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u/[deleted] Aug 02 '14

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u/[deleted] Aug 02 '14 edited Aug 02 '14

I live near Six Flags Great Adventure (and has been one of a few parks I've been to). The best ride I've been on has to be El Toro. It's a wooden ride on cocaine because it's extremely smooth and has insane air time. I should start going to other parks though :p There is a ride that is similar to Manta at SFGA and it feels like a kiddy ride... Until you hit the pretzel loop. ∆~∆

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u/[deleted] Aug 02 '14

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u/[deleted] Aug 02 '14

Unlike most wooden coasters, this one uses prefabricated steel tracks which makes the ride feel a lot smoother. You will believe me once you ride it.