And apparently they want me to go there or something, because I'm now enrolled as an Alumni Memorial Scholar :)
Being such a scholar is the highest honor awarded to students admitted to Colgate, and it basically means I have access to meetings with faculty, visiting scholars and like-minded students, and all my financial aid is in the form of grants-- no loans!
I'm ridiculously excited.
Can hubski take credit for helping your obvious genius emerge? just kidding, young genius. Credit goes to YOUR MOM!!! and to you. You've been working hard and putting up with all the crap at your school - like the time they disallowed access to the toilets!!?? (was that you or nowaypablo I forget.
You guys can take all the credit you want. You're pretty much my favorite people. And yeah, the toilets were me. Fortunately that was resolved; now my constituents have new policies to complain about (harsher punishments for tardies, which I maintain are perfectly reasonable).
I agree, perfectly reasonable. But I may not be the most reasonable person to ask :) I am pathologically early.harsher punishments for tardies, which I maintain are perfectly reasonable
If there is one thing I cannot stand in an employee, a co-worker, a family member or friend, it's when they are late to a meeting or event. Nothing tells the person you are meeting with you "don't care" about them more than being late. Someone took the time to prepare for something, to get there on time, but you're a half hour late?? Fuck you. ....Care. Plan. Get there.
I was talking to my mom about this the other day, and she told me about a woman she knew that once, when asked why she was always 15+ min early to everything, explained that being late was basically disrespecting whomever you're meeting, signalling that their time is less important than yours. So she made sure that she and her family were never late.
Your mom was wise to share this with you, it's an extremely important attribute to have in life. Anyone that says otherwise or thinks otherwise is wrong. It absolutely tells someone that your time is more valuable than theirs. Even if you are a busier person, with more on your plate, you show great composure and thoughtfulness by being on time or early. Also, I consider being "on time" for a reservation at a restaurant the same thing. This is a business that depends on being able to "turn tables" in a timely manor and you are going to be 30 minutes late... fuck you. :) Don't be that guy.
Since you have gotten an insane amount of Congratulations, I'm going to attempt to be different. But first...CONGRATULATIONS! I'm really, really happy for you! Yaaay! Now..to be different. We have a trend on Hubski of people dropping out / thinking about dropping out of college of college. I dropped out. thenewgreen dropped out.. BLOB_CASLTE.
and more. I know I've missed heaps of posts and comments. DON'T DROP OUT. One of the reasons I think a lot of Hubskiers have dropped out or contemplate dropping out is because we are too damn smart for our own good. We look at the world, we see the world, we know the world, we are innately curious about the world, we are constantly trying to figure out our place in the world and be better and all sorts of stuff. We are acutely aware of money wasters and time wasters and resent that waste. These personality traits are not always the most conducive to a college learning environment, especially when coupled with the insanely high cost of college today. My recommendation is to put 150% effort into everything you do there. The classes, the social life, the clubs, etc. Experience new things. Step outside your comfort zone. Try not to always be over-analytical and self conscious and hesitant. But, be very careful to not overwhelm yourself with the number of activities and classes you take part in. It's really about quality, not quantity. You can easily make yourself crazy if you take on too much and you will end up getting far less out of the experience, and be overly stressed the entire time there. Choose wisely what you do, and dedicate yourself fully to it. There are going to be some shit classes with a shit professors with a shit group of peers, but try to learn something from the experience and situation. You really do only get as much as you put in. One of the reasons I dropped out was because I was getting far more out of my experiences working outside of class than I was with class. I found some of my classes to be a monstrous waste of time which only caused those classes to be an even greater waste of time. However, when I began taking classes a couple years ago at the local community college, I got so much more out of it. This time around, I was there to learn rather than get a grade or do what I was supposed to be doing. I put so much more energy and effort into it and my entire attitude was remarkably different. While I haven't yet regretted my decision to drop out, I do regret not putting the same amount of effort I put into the $20/semester community college class as I did to the $500/hour NYU tuition. Lastly, don't attend college wishing you were older or counting down to graduation and entering the real world. Seriously. I've always counted the days until I was older and lied about being older and done things that I should have waited to do until I was actually older. I wish so often that I was back in college full time and I had enjoyed and appreciated that period of my life more. It's such a cliche thing to say, but you have all your life to be older. You only have a select period of time to be a broke college kid and eat ramen and eggs 3x a day while meeting new people every day, learning new things every day, and getting horribly shitcanned. Oh yeah...that too. Enjoy getting shittcanned at least once. At some point you won't be able to do it anymore because the hangovers are so monstrous. Plus, falling asleep on the bathroom floor after puking up those 6 shots of Jager is not social acceptable after college. ;) / insom's life advice
I'm still confused about how you pulled all this off at 15, that's pretty neat. But I had one thing to add to insom's solid post. Like it looks you're going to, I went to college essentially for free. The mindset you need to have is: every time there's an awesome opportunity that might seem expensive and ridiculous (studying abroad, maybe, or spending your weekends doing awesome shit, or even having a really nice steak occasionally), remind yourself that you pulled a fast one on the world and avoided going 100k into debt and you've earned the occasional extravagance. It took me too long to realize -- within reason, why the hell not?
My wife wants to know, what did your parents do right? I let her know that it's because you're on Hubski, but she doesn't buy it :)
I could get them to answer personally if you want, but from where I'm standing the most important thing was the support. I was kind of a "problem child" insofar as I was always bored with school, never particularly happy, etc., but they always did everything they could to help and support me. Also music. Music was crucial.
She would like you to elaborate on the "music" aspect. TIA.
I play music. I listen to music. I write music (occasionally). This is all my parents' fault - my mom's a choir director and my dad plays a few folk instruments, so there was always music around. Eventually it got in my bones. I took piano from grades 1-6 (and jazz piano in 7) and drums basically since sophomore year. And having such an innate creative outlet was huge--I fuckin love music.
(I'm very late to this post, so... ::blush::) First off, congratulations! It's only thing to be accepted to a great university. It's another to be recognized in the way you are -- someone they're wiling to give heaps of money and opportunities to! ;) What do you want to study? I saw insomnia's post and wanted to toss a little more advice your way. I've been on both sides of university life -- twice as student, now as a college prof (okay, it's not my 'formal' title, but the kids call me professor), so I hope all the things I've learned the hard way, you don't have to. - I agree with insomnia 100 percent: do not wish for time to fly. You will have plenty of time to be a working adult with all the un-fun crap that comes with it. It's not a lie -- college is the best time of your life. You have the freedom of an adult, with the safety net of your parents (and as I later learned, all your professors who really do want you to succeed). - I do not know how Colgate structures its academics, but try, TRY to avoid taking more than 4-5 courses a semester. Don't cram everything in. I'm guessing if you were regarded as a scholar by the university, you are probably walking in with some credits from AP classes. Don't use those credits to speed up your experience (i.e. "I graduated in 3 years!"). Slow it down. Figure out exactly how long it will take you to walk with graduating class, maybe even a year later (if you have that luxury). At the university I teach, because there is a flat rate for each semester, students can take up to 20 credit hours (6-7 classes). They're bogged down with so many activities the quality of everything -- not just academics -- suffers. How can you actually dedicate time to learning something when you're just trying to balance everything? But beyond that, this is your time to grow as a person. Take all the time humanly (and financially) possible. - I also don't know how your scholarship is structured, what requirements you need to meet to keep it all four years. (I'm going to assume, at minimum, a certain GPA.) Don't go in looking to graduate with a 4.0. Aim for a 3.75, maybe even a 3.5 (or :: gasp :: a 3.25 if you're permitted.) As best you can, stop thinking about grades. Obviously, in some cases, the best grade is necessary. And maybe you want to go on to graduate school, so yes, good grades matter. But you are going to college to learn not get grades. Think about it: what does it mean if you get an A in a class, but don't remember much from it? What does it mean to undertake a challenging course and walk away with a hard-earned B? It is okay if you're not perfect. No one is. Heck, it's even okay to fail (maybe a quiz, experiment, test -- not a class!). If you're taking classes that come easy to you, find something which will scare you, humble you, make you work hard. Maybe you'll never use the material in life, but the process of getting out of a comfort zone will be invaluable. - Find your mentor or a like-minded professor to geek out with as soon as you can. Those were some of the best times I had in college, just chatting about ideas or working on projects with professors whose area of expertise I loved. And I love it being on the other side now. Again, it's nothing to do with grades -- just a real, enthusiastic love for learning. - Don't procrastinate. Period. Just don't. It took me until my Master's degree (and this after working 10 years full-time) to realize getting things done one, two days early is such an incredible relief. I kept asking myself, "Why did I not realize this before?" So when your professor gives you a syllabus with everything outlined, take advantage of it! - I've had to give this advice to too many students: prepare yourself. I've known of very few who go through college and do not experience something horrible in their personal life. Deaths, suicides, addictions, major medical and/or mental health issues, serious problems with family (maybe friends). I think at your age, there is a sense of invincibility -- we all had it -- and it is only a matter of time before reality checks in. Here's the good news: when very bad things happen, the people around you will go above and beyond to help. Most students do not realize how many nets in place to help you. Advisors, counselors, medical professionals. You just need to let them know. Don't wait. Be honest and upfront. As a student, when I ran into problems and informed my professors, the first response was always, "what can I do to help?" I pay forward that courtesy to my students. Many of my colleagues do, too. If you are in need of help, it is 100 percent okay to ask for it. - Finally, HAVE FUN. Find an activity you enjoy (if you end up not enjoying it, find something new; just don't overload on activities!). Do the college thing. (You know ... drink a little ... RESPONSIBLY!). Go on a road trip with friends. Reward yourself after putting in a hard night of studying. Discover who you are, or who you want to be. Learn everything you can about the world and gain the appetite to go out an explore it. :) The very best of luck, galen. :)
YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!!!!!!! GET IT GALEN, GET IT ON THAT BILL GATES GAAAAAAAAME
Hell yes! Nice work galen, way to create these opportunities for yourself. Contratulations!
The work that you did, the person that you are, is what inspired others to put the work in on your behalf. Nobody bets on a crappy, lazy, ungrateful mare. Good on ya!
Well, don't feel too fuzzy. Now you've got to go kick ass.
tng, jeezuz, six men died to save Private Ryan (he didn't even ask for it) -- and now he has to go justify their sacrifice. That's a hell of a load to dump on Private Galen. He can kick ass or crash and burn. It's still his life. I think the 4th commandment more or less covers it and the word "honor" is negotiable. On the other hand, in every case, kicking ass is better than crashing and burning I should get up off mine and go kick some.
Hey, thanks for the pep talk tng! I totally agree with you though about showing up on time. :-)
There will be no shortage of people in his life that either directly, or by example show him that it's "okay" to just crash and burn, I'll not be one of them. Go get it! He's been given and earned an amazing opportunity and there's nothing wrong with feeling like you should "earn it." Edited for original intent.