Sunday, August 1, 2010

On my mind...

Where to start...

This is the last week of regular classes, and then exams start on the 12th. I am very ready to be done with Biology, but it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. I am glad that I only had to deal with it for a month, although that's a lot of learning crammed into a short period of time, which tends to add to the difficulty level. Both of my professor's are extremely intelligent, it's obvious in the way they speak. They are very different, seeing as how one is like 27 and the other is probably in his 40's, but you can tell they are both very smart. My lab professor, the older one, is quite funny and very soft spoken. Combine that with his accent and he is very hard to understand sometimes. He said something the other day though, that really made me think. He said there are no smart or dumb people in the world, only prepared and unprepared. He was telling us that there is a certain way the brain learns things, and that like anything else, you have to train it. He said focus is the most important part of learning, and that once you can train your brain to really focus, you can learn even the most difficult things very quickly. I'm paraphrasing here, his explanation was much more detailed and made a lot of sense. The problem is learning how to really focus. I have a hard time with that, and I'm not sure how you go about training yourself to really focus, but I'm going to see if I can figure it out.

I heard a quote the other day that I really liked. It said something like, the most successful people are not always the most talented, but the most passionate. Again, I'm paraphrasing. So I guess the key is to figure out what you're passionate about and make that your career. It's harder than it sounds. I think I know what I really and truly am passionate about and what I want to do with the rest of my life, but I keep talking myself out of it. Whether it's fear of failure, or a lack of belief in myself, I'm not sure, but something keeps holding me back. I think in the end, it's going to be pointless to go to school and end up back in a job I don't have any heart for. If that's the end game, I might as well just bail on the school thing and get into a job I hate now. It would just save me the increasing financial aid debt. It would be amazing to wake up everyday and go to a job that you love, to get to be a part of something everyday that makes a real difference, something that you really believe in. I have some ideas, and I know the path that I have to take to make these things a reality. For now, I'm going to keep them to myself, but I think it's time to stop lying to myself and start down the path I really want to be on. It's not going to be easy, but the best things never are. So I'll leave you with my new motto, and new favorite quote...

"Nothing is impossible. The word itself says "I'm possible". -Audrey Hepburn