University is a learning experience for all. You learn more about yourself more than anything. I figured I’d talk about how I have changed through this incredible journey.
On many instances I found myself constantly feeling disappointed in myself. Often, I would find myself not being able to achieve what my peers had. They were instinctively smart and technically capable. I, on the other hand, had to invest more time and effort in a particular task than what was normally required. I end up wasting more time than necessary, understanding and mastering concepts and technical skills. Of course, no one’s really a master in anything; some just know more about a small topic within a much larger encyclopedia than somebody else. It’s relative.
I knew myself and I wasn’t going to fool myself into thinking I didn’t have flaws. I knew my flaws and how they limited my abilities. I understood how they affected me. Some, I knew I can’t change. For instance, some people have the ability to very quickly grasp a concept. Some can’t. I normally can but when I can’t, I tended to feel disappointed, which I knew was a very bad mindset to nurture.
To overcome challenges like this, I believed I needed a very special attitude. I needed to accept that I can’t just wake up one morning and turn into a knowledge-absorbing sponge. What I needed was acceptance and perseverance. Accept that I’m not like others when it comes to learning and applying knowledge and persevere through challenges relentlessly till I’ve achieved what I’ve set out to achieve.