When you think of an unordinary college student actually going places, what are they like?
Attends an IVY league school their parents helped them get into along with being a part of 60 clubs, VP of something, president of another, suspiciously nice and knows everyone, 6.90 GPA, Forbes 30 under 30 scholar and plays 6 sports?
Bad News: Continue to expect this at an even more exaggerated level
Good News: Continue to expect this at an even more exaggerated level
There is nothing you can do about high achievers. Maybe you are one of them or despise one in your class. Again the good news, you always have the choice to let that bother you or not and I will tell you why you SHOULDNâT strive to be one.
Hint: They donât get anywhere beyond college.
Hard to believe right?
So to answer this question, fair and square, there is truly no indicator because the sloppiest introverts could turn into Einstein or continue to keep being who they are. That doesnât mean they are a jerk or stupid, it means they are comfortable with their situation.
If you arenât, you have the power to change that. Anything is in your control, except once you start making excuses, then your luck deteriorates because, at that point, you are telling yourself you donât want to accomplish whatever it may be.
Since we learn subjects in an intricate, non-holistic, open-minded manner a lot of the time in school, that is part of the reason why schools have no incentive to make us all great. There is just too much bogus material to get through that teaching every student to become a billionaire is just not possible.
Thatâs where using your outside time comes into play. We have more breaks than physical, now Zoom time in class and if you become successful, it is 99% likely the cause of what you did when no one was watching, outside of the library. Similarly to being confident. If you donât feel the urge to talk about yourself, youâre actually more confident because there you feel no need to have a highlight reel and approval from others.
Donât bother âfaking it till you make itâ and attaining those certain credentials.
You get as much as you receive.
There is a much easier way to determine if you will get somewhere else.
Open Door
Since we invest our time, energy, sanity, sleep, happiness, and boatloads of money into the education system, there must be a way to maximize our chances to be different. I get it. Youâve tried to be cool as a teen through dying your hair, piercing your nose, part of a rock band, and meet the profesor during office hours, but you still canât seem to feel special or know where you are going.
At Gallatin, the DYI school at NYU, the students here have somewhat of an understanding of what they want to do. Not completely sure but are open to possibilities with an open mind, not like a close-minded fox. In this day in age, being a generalist is more vital than being a specialist. Having technical skills such as coding and Excel are certainly crucial to helping and propelling the firm towards success, but equally or even more important are those soft skills through communication, leadership experience, and relatability.
You could have all the skills but without communicating it effectively and working with a team, you are pointless. We just want to feel good in this world so never undermine your diverse experience because it is sure to come in handy in any scenario.
Work Ethic
Most of us think that the more we do, the more we will achieve and hold on to fame.
I disagree.
Quality > Quantity and the more concise your resume is, the more believable you are. If you tackle too many projects, I guarantee you you wonât do as a good job with the most meaningful.
If you are struggling with this, ask yourself, why do you feel the need to take on everything? Peer pressure, parents?
None of them are you so you better determine what is best for you, not dad or bf.
Your answer will determine your path:
- To prove to employers after I graduate in 4 years that I have the courage and experience to handle many things. Everyone seems to be doing something too.
Or
2. Want to dip my toes into various fields because Iâm unsure what I want to do. Gaining hands-on experience outside of the classroom will prepare me best for my career.
The older I got, the more I transitioned to this second sentiment. Iâm sure we all have said YES to everything that has come our way but for efficiency and productivity, you need to balance your life and work. Especially as a female, there is this stereotype that saying NO means you cannot handle it or are weak. Regardless of your age, if you are in middle school or college, we all have demanding schedules and want to enjoy life too. Say YES to things that are meaningful and make you joyful, say NO to those that are there to be written on a piece of paper and wonât expect anything out of them long term.
Messy Big Time
School is made for not making mistakes because grades and tests are centered around it all. As students, the last thing we want to hear from our parents and successful billionaires is that grades donât matter in the real world because it is true, but cannot be believable at this age.
Sure, none of those papers, grades, blah blah wonât matter once youâve graduated and gone through all of this nonsense, but at the moment, they are a sense of accomplishment and achievement if done right.
You prove and impress yourself with your hard work, establishing good work ethic, diligence, patience and determination through a good grade.
Nothing else at this age makes us feel this way, except building a fort on Minecraft.
Preparing for a test can be seen as trial and error. You are taking the time to care about your future.
By no means am I saying that school doesnât teach you necessary skills, but they are very on a basic level, 95% rest is BS.
The meat of what will really help you in life is outside experience. Taking advantage of your winter breaks to gain an internship, start a company, strengthen your skills and be curious. You donât have to go anywhere. Donât except your company to go through the IPO process a month later. All you are doing is experimenting because the older you get, the less opportunity you have to do so. Ask questions, be comfortable being alone and looking outwards, not inwards.
No one becomes successful from acing school.
You become successful when you believe in yourself.
Grain of Salt
If you see a hunched back, sleepy, drunk, sloppy, gross college teen the first things that come to mind are a failure. We perceive people based on their external features and how they look, disregarding how they spend the rest of their time or who they really are.
And we canât prevent judgement either. Our worst weakness since we loose out on a lot by doing so.
Besides the classic phrase, ânever judge a book by itâs coverâ you really cannot. Personally as someone who believes in stealth wealth, living a frugale, minimalistic and simple life, never trying to impress people with my wealth and downplaying my accomplsihements and all about me, me, me, I find that Iâve gotten farther mentally, emotionally and professionally.
I donât tell anyone that I wake up at 5am to workout, yes even on the weekends and holidays, intermittent fast for 16 hours per day and my goal of reading 3 articles per day because that helps me, no one else.
It is so hard not to judge and put a label on someone for what they do. Looks means nothing unless you are living in their shoes and can confirm they look the way they live their life.
Whatâs interesting is that all of these teens we deem as âuseless, sloppy and tiredâ tend to become the more charismatic, friendly and outgoing people because they have better things to worry about then what they look like.
How you spend your time and focus on has a direct correlation of what you will achieve. For me there are certain things such as spending time on what Iâm wearing and eating that I cannot afford to waste on. My friends disagree but they still like me for my differences.
I eat at the same time, every day with the same food. If I got bored with it, I would change it but I look forward to it everyday. Same thing with my outfits. I usually wear the same white shirt, in 12 different pairs, always with my hair up. It makes me more productive, better, happier.
You Do You to Get Things Done.
So with these teens, in particular as I think back to the scrappiest colleagues Iâve met, they are truly the opposite. They are at ease with school, even when times get tough, and frankly, Iâm jealous they are so calm.
I donât care what grades they get, whether they are Cs or As, but that mentality takes years to develop and still may not be achieved.
Having a sense of calm, tranquility, not over rationalizing or sensitive will get you farther than you think. You donât have to be the smartest in the room nor do you want to be, you just have to be able to deal with a lot that most people fake themselves into thinking they can do.
You Donât Care What You Do
You donât strive to be the president of the UN, you are the member of a club that you contribute to and enjoy being a part of after school. That is enough. Dinât expect to have so much on your plate because it isnât worth it in the long run. Who are you trying to impress? Less is more. Find what makes you happy not for others.
The more you put yourself out there for real, the more you get.
The more you put yourself in situations that are for others, the less you get.
Put Real Life First
Education is important. It is the best investment you can give yourself but as equally important are a few things that cannot stand before them:
-Family
-Relationships/Connections
-Personal appreciation and love
-Financial, mental and physical health
As a teen, these are the years for experimentation. College kids want to feel included and cool so they take on the worst money draining, health suicidal experiments just cause. These are your prime years for growth. Until a few years from now, you will have to sustain yourself and introduce yourself to reality.
Take advantage of putting things that school doesnât teach you first: how to pay off your credit card in full and start building credit, how to manage your student loans, establish connections with mentors and teachers to help propel your career, get off of drugs and alcohol and learn to love less = more.
Life isnât complicated if you donât want it to be. Everything is attainable that you set your mind to and whatever you donât want to do, please donât. You only have a set amount of time to enjoy life and filling it up with nonsense clubs and activities to please HR at a company is a tell-tale sign that company isnât right for you in the first place.