Ah, good ol’ undergrad.
We definitely tend to romanticize our time in college, don’t we?
Those four-ish years were an intense and formative time in most people’s lives so it’s no real surprise that looking back we get a little wistful. Wasn’t it just a blast, that magically carefree space between childhood and adulthood? Wishing for that back is tempting. We miss the easy friendships-of-convenience, the abundant opportunities to explore new interests, the freedom and independence, the electric excitement at the big game, even the bittersweet end of a semester. Oddly, we often simply gloss over the education part of the collegiate experience.
Learning was the whole point though, right?
Yet we almost instantly forget the fact that mastering a new skill or subject is hard work. The strenuous mental labor involved in creating new synaptic pathways fades rapidly from the fond memories of our time in school.
Learning is a chore, not a walk in the park. Anyone who has tried taking up a new language or hobby as an adult can attest to that. Beginning a new skill tree is fun at the offset but the endeavor ultimately sucks. Because beginners suck. Neophytes have to start somewhere, and it’s usually at the bottom bracket. Months of grueling mediocrity come before mastery, if mastery is even achieved at all. The sweet taste of victory is built on a foundation of willpower and repetition. We don’t get to grin from the podium before gritting our teeth through countless drills and practices.
So, while I do genuinely enjoy learning, I’d be a sucker if I expected it to be effortless.
I’m a work in progress—and that progress can be slow. The grinding pace might feel very arduous when noticeable improvement is incremental. My goals seem impossibly far away some days and I get frustrated by my personal obstacles and my mercurial motivation. I sometimes forget everyone has those awkward in-between parts. The half-way-decent athlete, the almost-eloquent political aspirant; we are all going through stages of personal growth. No one is ever really done improving. I dream of becoming my ideal self, having my dream job, effortlessly writing the perfect prose. But in the meantime, I’ll admit that I can be a half-baked human bean sometimes. I won’t always know the answers or even how to find them. But not knowing is not an excuse, it’s an opportunity to ask questions.
My quest for wisdom and expertise—to scale the mountain of mastery, is a journey I am proud to be on. I hear the view from the top is awesome.
I’m not there yet, but I’m on my way.
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