Comments on: Are we less interesting after college?

By: What Is “interesting” Anyways? College Was. | Living In Place

What Is “interesting” Anyways? College Was. | Living In Place — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:31:08 +0000

[...] night, @ElleLaMode responded with some ideas of her own. You should check out her perspective over here. career, gen y, personal growth, travel art, college, creative, GenY, interestingness, [...]

By: EllenNordahl

EllenNordahl — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 08:15:02 +0000

Well darling, we'll accrue a lot of new interesting stories to share on our surf trip to Bali!!

By: katethegr8

katethegr8 — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 23:26:13 +0000

I think I was more interesting in college because I was always sharing what I learned in class and then getting hydrated at some pub and accuring numerous “stories” much like of the movie the hangover. Not that the latter made me interesting, but it gave us something to laugh about. And now, without class I don't have much to share other than blunders of my corp grinder job. Most of my pals aside from you, Ellen weren't in anything related to my degree. So in conversation with our communication, education, and english major friends we had a lot of interesting topics to chat about. I feel like now more than ever, I have less time to do what I want. And I totally agree with the blank slate comment…now every jan/ sept is just another sales month for me…hitting numbers, carrot (your job) on a stick type of world once we're out of the glorious bubble of college.

By: EllenNordahl

EllenNordahl — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 07:59:41 +0000

Ruth, I can't tell you how much I enjoyed reading your response! You hit the nail on the head with your comment about how wonderful it is to start with a blank slate – it's an incredible feeling to know that you really only have 16 weeks to make the most out of whatever your classes throw at you. Thanks for reading, and for sharing your story!

By: ruthalkons

ruthalkons — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:01:51 +0000

There's nothing I loved more than scheduling classes for a new term. Needing a history class, I took “History of Africa Since 1800″ which has informed my understanding of development issues and helped in my travels to Kenya and North Africa. A class called “Engineering Ethics” had as its only grade a case study presented at the end of the course (I analyzed Yucca Mountain), where class time was spent developing our analysis methods. The other classes that really turned my world around were “The Modernist Tradition”, a literature class on the modernist period (Conrad, Faulkner, E.M. Forester, Nabokov) and the World Music class I took while on Semester At Sea. I often ask people what classes most inpired them in school and why.
In college, I was thrown into completely new worlds each term, fresh projects, new contacts, opening up different parts of my brain. Each term builds like a whirlwind to finals week when you don't sleep and those 5 classes consume everything you have. Then, you get a few weeks off – a few days to sleep, clean your apartment, see the parents for a week, and still have time to travel to the beach or mountains or a new national park. Now I am limited to 3 weeks off a year TOTAL, and with that time I've got to do all the holiday stuff, spend time with my family in Philadelphia, travel to Pittsburgh to visit the in-laws, work on my house, and still try to fit in some travel.
But what I miss most about college is the blank slate you get at the beginning of each term. In the working world, projects drag on. Eighteen months after you've turned in the initial report, you're still responding to questions from the government or the public about the same document. There is no “done”.
I'm a consultant engineer, so I do work on different projects with diverse clients – a good job for being “broad”. But especially in the tight economy, managers want to utilize the quickest people for each component of the project, meaning those who focus on that component. So repetition is rewarded more than is prudent in cases. For me, narrowness leads to a dull brain.
I agree that travel expands you, but you must engage when you travel. I don't think packaged tours where you talk only with Americans or staying in all-inclusive resorts leads to much personal growth. If you cannot live abroad, it is best to work or study abroad in some capacity – even short trips for volunteer projects can tell you a lot more about a place and its people than a packaged tour.

By: EllenNordahl

EllenNordahl — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 02:58:26 +0000

Gwen- Thanks for reading, and for sharing your thoughts. A lot of the most interesting experiences I've had in my life thus far have been while I was traveling – and not around the world, or even around the country, but while on a weekend trip with friends or just exploring a nearby city. I think whatever we do to explore the unknown keeps things interesting.

Ed – Interesting point about being less fearful. Graduating college and realizing that whatever happens next is entirely up to you can overwhelming and anxiety provoking, or it can be tremendously exciting. Thanks for sharing your insight!!

By: Gwen Bell

Gwen Bell — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 19:13:50 +0000

Travel. It's the best way to stay fresh and open to new ideas and unexpected situations. It stretches you and asks you to continue learning. It also makes it more likely you'll pick up that magazine or book in the airport that, like your favorite professor, challenges everything you thought to be true.

As does an ongoing meditation practice. One is externally oriented, the other, internally. We need both to be balanced.

And you know what, there might be a bit of rose-colored glasses with "those college years were interesting." I remember plenty of folks in grade school and college who were less than interesting (trust the feeling was mutual).

What we put our focus on is what matters - and who we become - at any age.

By: edcabellon

edcabellon — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 19:10:56 +0000

As a college administrator, there is a reason you're more interesting in college: You have less fear. Every fall, I see bright eyed, fearless college students come in and are willing to try anything, mainly because they still have their parents, college advisors, and professors willing to dust them off and give them their “teachable moment”. Once you've graduated, and are on your own, you're a little more fearful and thus, less willing to do different things, especially once you've established a routine.

My advice to recent college grads? Never lose that curiosity and drive that got you to where you are today. Become a lifelong learner and know that life is journey, not a destination. Put fear aside and just do it, whatever “it” is!

By: EllenNordahl

EllenNordahl — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:44:48 +0000

Not too bold at all! I think it's fantastic that you are able to explore new interests and find creative outlets without being prompted by someone else. My main point was that often after we graduate, we tend to narrow our focus. And, just because we're exposed to diverse content in college doesn't necessarily mean that we ever apply or share that knowledge with other people – it's hard to be interesting to others if you keep all your thoughts to yourself.

By: EllenNordahl

EllenNordahl — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:39:28 +0000

Writing is such an important skill in business, but it seems to get overlooked in a lot of curriculum. It's a pleasant surprise when a class you expect to be really mundane turns out to be a great experience. Thanks for reading and sharing!