Learning to learn

While this semester may very well be the hardest I’ve worked in my life, my current grades can hardly speak on my behalf. Regardless of the effort I put in, it all seems so worthless. And even when I did my problem sets and weekly assignments, my grip on the material seemed to fade away just in time for the next midterm. What was I doing wrong?

It only took me until now to realize it, but I never learned how to learn. Blowing through my pre-collegiate studies with nothing more than a single f--- given is likely the primary causal factor for my current predicament. While everyone surrounding me seemed to be so successful, I lagged behind in just about every aspect. I’ve been approaching the situation as if it was entirely a fault of my own, but now I’m starting to see it in a new light.

Why is it that we accumulate a massive amount of debt and endure severe mental trauma over four years just to get a diploma? For most, it’s not just the Duke name that takes you places. It’s Duke that takes you places.

It may be hard to believe for some, but the reality is that everyone that sets foot on this campus is a genius in their own secretly amazing way. The truth of the matter is, each one of us will make an impact on the world, big or small, whether we want to or not—and that’s pretty awesome.

As our understanding of the world grows in complexity, so will the way we communicate and interact with one other. The Jonas Brothers propose that little will have changed in the year 3000, but I must beg to differ. Our understanding of the world will likely have progressed a sizeable degree, and if the recent emergence of social media makes us feel more connected than ever before, imagine what it will be like in just a decade!

There’s a reason why research is conducted in teams: surgeons don’t work alone, and people don’t self-diagnose themselves. Einstein may have been the s--- back in the day, but people simply don’t pull revolutionary ideas out of their a-- like they used to. The fact that the celebrities we’re supposed to revere are interminably pooped on by society and relentlessly ripped a new one by the tabloids shows just how supportive modern society deems such an existence.

Duke does a really good job of making every class its own microcosm of hell on earth. But the point is not to destroy your hopes and dreams—it’s honestly just to make them a reality. It took approximately three semesters of hardship to figure it out, but I simply can’t do it all on my own. There is no question that the undergraduates and professors here will be instrumental in shaping my future, and to devalue such relationships is an absolute mistake.

The importance of people in my life, both academically and emotionally, is something I grow more conscious of every day. Just the other day I planned to meet with a really cool and insightful professor, but I completely blew it. I let the opportunity fall through my fingers, and I want to pound my head on the wall just thinking about it. It’s hard to face the disappointment I felt in myself, let alone cope with the fact that I let another incredible person down.