Knowledge/purpose

We're all idiots. As long as we stay conscious of that fact, things are okay.

 

If you recognise how little you know, then you know more than most people do. Nothing worth knowing can be taught in an afternoon, it takes years of specialist study.

At this stage of your life - be flexible, be curious, and be willing to try new things. It can actually be a good thing not to pursue one career at the expense of gaining general knowledge - it's a changeable world, we might not have as much choice as your parents generation, for example. If you're a fast learner, willing to learn from others as well as study by yourself, you will be fine.

 

For me, my biggest takeaway from college was learning what I didn’t know.So many passionate, crazy-smart people–teachers and students–that modeled for me learning as I hadn’t seen it before. Entire courses on single ideas I wouldn’t have given a second thought without someone pointing it out for me. It was mind-boggling.
In high school, my academic interactions were based almost entirely in trying to figure out what the teacher wanted, and then doing my best to give it. I hate write essay but i searched haw i can do it. And often i use help services. There was creativity and curiosity and rigor, but it was almost always obscured by my desire to ‘do well in school,’ and the teachers desire to ‘get results. As teachers, they implore students to forget what we want, and focus instead following their curiosity, showing their creativity, and reaching for deep understanding.

 

Amen to that! I pretty well dropped out of a Master's at McGill because I couldn't handle the high levels of narcissism that accompanies most academic literature out there. Expertly manipulative b*asters! haha...

Anyways, don't be too concerned there Mace! At least not about feeling 'dumb' I relation to others. However, as for meaning I would definitely recommend working to assess what you want out of life. Acquiring a sense of purpose and/or meaning is no easy task. Who knows if it's ever truly possible!? The way I see it, we live in an increasingly insatiable world. Unsustainable.

Be happy with where you are, as you hinted at you are lucky to be in school! And as Fredi said, "be flexible, be curious, and be willing to try new things."

 

Wow, I could have written these lines. I'm exactly the same.