I’m so excited because tomorrow is the first day of a the JMM or Joint Mathematics Meetings, which is apparently the largest annual gathering of mathematicians in the world. It is also my first time at a real math conference. The sheer size and scope of the event is mind-boggling. There are hundreds upon hundreds of talks, exhibits, booths, and events of all sorts occurring over four days. Even now, with less than twelve hours until the doors open, I’m not sure of which talks to attend. There are so many catchy titles, and the fear of missing out is hitting me hard. I’m doing my best to keep in mind the advice a grad student gave me: go slow, take breaks, and don’t burn out.
I expect the first day to be extremely hectic and overwhelming. I will likely over-plan my day, try to do too much, and end up missing some of it. That’s okay. I can learn from any mistakes I make and then do better on the second day. That is one benefit to being an undergraduate here: I have no hard commitments and no can’t-miss events. I can explore and if I miss something, that’s not the end of the world. The event does have its own app which shows all of the events, their time and their location, which makes things much easier to plan.
The journey to Denver was long, but not terrible, just taxing. I made the mistake of sitting next to a family with a baby who possessed an impressive set of lungs and was not afraid to use them. The ride to the hotel from the airport took over an hour through heavy traffic, and by the time I got to my room I was ready to lay low and call it a night. I decided to fight the urge to sleep and spend some time planning for tomorrow and writing this post.
I’ll be back tomorrow to record how my first day of the conference goes.