End of lecture

Hi all, Just a reminder that there is no class today.

Best,

RB

Side story

So I ended my college life with the topology class, actually. I was presenting on the Jordan Curve Theorem using the fundamental groups and Seifert-van Kampen Theorem.

After the lecture, Prof. Tang asked where we would be after graduation. I was searching for jobs for my paused years. The time was difficult for me since I had higher expectations that people would understand my talent or give fair evaluations of me, but I did not provide complete information for those.

On the way back, I was talking with Cindy Zhang. I had never talked with her; I just knew she was awesome and was in many of the high-level courses like information theory and advanced CS courses. I just didn’t know how to start a conversation with her. She was just too obvious as the only girl in those theory classes.

She told me that she trusted in me and that I deserved a better school. She was consistently asking questions, and I knew a little about her.

I’m just used to being a quiet person, and we said goodbye at the front door of the gym. I was so happy that someone actually recognized and trusted my ability from a non-stake-holding view. That mattered a lot to me.

In some cases, I give more trust to strangers than to people who I’m familiar with. The professors might be getting used to praising students, biased by their personality, and my friends have no reason not to say good words for me. But she, maybe because I was unintentionally afraid to speak to her, still told me that I’m a good guy in the beginning. That was memorable for me.

In any case, I want to say thank you, and due to some of my past experiences, I felt that she might be one of my singularities in some dimensions. I don’t want to say that directly, and I believe saying these words only matters to me but not to anybody else.