Free things=good things. Go to the crew intro meeting for a free athletic shirt. Go to the Barker Center Café as it’s closing for free coffee. Go to Lamont Café for a free massage from your peers (apparently). Go to the laundry room for free condoms. Go to the career fair for free random shit with company logos. Go to the libraries for free pencils. Go to Mather Lather for free soap. Go to any bulletin board for free thumbtacks. Go to Lowell on Thursdays or Sparks House on Wednesdays for free tea. Go online for Freeze Magazine. Go to the Democracy Center for freedom. Go to MIT for freaks. And don’t go to Harvard if you want to save money.

—Charles R. Melvoin

Harvard is full of memories waiting to be made, so when faced with a decision, always do the more memorable thing. You definitely won’t remember another Saturday afternoon you spent in Lamont writing a paper about how dinosaurs affected the cosmic connections of the universe, but you’ll never forget the time you took a road trip to Maine with your friends in search of the perfect lobster. Don’t be afraid to get off campus and take some risks.

—Jun Li

When in doubt, always outsource opinion—but only take it if you agree, and own your choice. And always be skeptical of the following: Craigslist, that kid in section who “brings in outside reading,” anyone you meet at a club, Square store prices, yourself at an ATM on a Saturday night.

—Asli A. Bashir

Until senior year, I probably spent equal amounts of time talking about the work I had and actually doing that work. Many nights, I begrudgingly dragged myself to Lamont to crank out a paper only to peruse Facebook and Perez for three hours, and maybe inhale a bag of Cheez-Its or two along the way. Not very productive. Then I realized, if you’re going to commit to work, commit to it. If you’re not going to be productive, then don’t bother trying—do something else that’s fun and get it out of your system. In other words, work hard, play hard. It might be a cliché, but only because it’s true. Why unproductively toil away in the library when you could be hanging out on the Claverly steps with your friends in the sunshine?

—Julia M. Spiro

All the advice worth giving in 100 words or less: Go drinking with a professor. Take a class with Jennifer Roberts. Change your concentration. See a movie in Boston. Sneak McDonald’s into the theater. Get spiked cider on the Daedalus roof deck. Go club-hopping in the Alley. Read FM. Wear your retainer. Make art.  Attend Eliot Fête. Write a thesis. Go sake bombing at Takemura. Throw someone a surprise party. Watch Lady Gaga in concert. Quit a student organization. Pass out in a pizza parlor. Invent new slang. Smile a lot. Laugh at yourself. Keep in touch. Ninety-nine. One hundred.

—Jamison A. Hill

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