learnings from a second year of college

it’s been a little while since i finished my second year of college (174 days to be precise). as we wrap up the calendar year, i figured it would be expedient to revisit my previous article and talk about my learning from a second year of college. let’s begin.

• theory is fun, in theory. there’s an infinite divide between the painfully optimistic realm of theory and the cold, hard-hitting truth of pragmatism. far too many times, i notice myself slipping into the hope of “what could be,” rather than grounding myself in the reality of only that which i know to be true. also, practicum is often far more fun than theory.
• this, too, shall pass. things come and go - the good things in your life, the skills you have, the people in your life. there’s a time for everything and giving up some things can be excruciatingly difficult. loss is hard, but you live and you learn. be kind. it’s far too easy to preliminarily make assumptions about that person that cut you off in traffic or that person who hurt you. everyone’s decisions are simply a function of their circumstances. it’s almost never personal (most of the time).
• value assertiveness. assertiveness is the combination of decisiveness and the confidence to stand behind the decisions you’ve made. we’re all opinionated to some degree. to be assertive is to be confident and people favor confident people.

this marks the end of my ramblings for the year. this current year has already started out unconventionally, so we’ll see if a revisit ever comes. maybe it will, maybe it won’t. either way, thanks for sticking around. au revoir.