I know we have a lot of college readers, this post is for you. As college is about to start, you’re going to find yourself having conversations VERY similar to this

Waldo: Hi my name is Waldo.
Classmate: Really? My name is Waldo too!
Waldo: Wow that’s odd, but I’m really smart at math.
Classmate: Me too, I was the smartest person in my high school.
Waldo: Oh… wow… Well, nobody knows more about planes than me!
Classmate: I don’t know, I know a lot too.

This conversation repeated itself over and over again throughout my first semester. Everyone I met was brilliant at math, was the smartest person at their school and loved space and air planes as much as me. At first it was exciting, but after a few weeks of tough classes I began to doubt myself. It seemed that no one was having trouble but me, and that somewhere in the transition from high school to college I had lost my identity.

Where’s Waldo books were always about finding the person who stood out from the crowd. If you’re reading this, I can just about guarantee that you stood out too. You probably have a knack for science, perhaps math comes to you a little more easily than for others. Tearing apart machines and putting them back together is fun, and you have a good eye for detail.

(Ed. Note: In editing this for Craig I discovered that Where’s Waldo is actually known as Where’s Wally in most of the Western world, and is only known as Where’s Waldo in the US and Canada. The metaphysical ramifications of this are staggering. If his name is actually Wally, and we spent our childhoods finding Waldo, then we really never found either of them, did we?)

The final Waldo book contained a “Land of Waldos” page were all of a sudden Waldo didn’t stand out from the crowd anymore. If this hasn’t happened in your college career, just wait, it will. You’re going to find that everyone around suddenly has defined their individuality the same way you have, math, science, and machines. All the things that made you so special before won’t seem to matter all that much.

It’s important to remember that you are still unique, you have final just found the place where you belong.

Here’s a couple of tips for regaining your individuality:

• Take up a hobby (partying doesn’t count) Find something non-technical on campus and get involved.
• Exercise. Working out will force your body to release endorphins making you feel better. It also helps to shut your mind off every once in a while.
• Take non-technical courses. Forget about statics and dynamics for a few hours, it’s been shown that liberal arts classes can improve creativity.
• Talk to your peers, they may seem like you on the surface, but dig a little deeper to find out what separates you.

In a few semesters you will look around and find half the people you knew as a freshman will have transferred somewhere else or to an easier degree, those that remain will be some of the best friends of your life.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 26th, 2010 at 2:00 pm and is filed under Craig the Rocket Scientist. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.