The (Insomnia) Blog #1

Winston Churchill once said "Continuous effort- not strength or intelligence- is the the key to unlocking our potential." Coming into the recently ranked #1 civil engineering school, let alone a top public university, was enough to make me shake in my shoes. I've always been a self-made kid; I was never the one who could skip studying yet still pass a test; I wasn't born with an innate ability to write or solve calculus problems. I've simply always just been "average" (compared to other engineers) at alot of things. Needless to say, I was afraid that the course load of being an engineer would simply put too much pressure on me. However, similar to what Churchill was explaining, I have the ability to overcome any obstacle through hard work and focus. I turned 19 years old exactly twenty minutes ago. I could have enjoyed the perks of being 19 at UIUC by going out to the bars, but instead I stayed in to study for a chem quiz and work on (and by "work on" I mean struggle through) Taylor polynomials. Being a successful anything-especially an engineer- is about sacrificing the good things in life. It's this sense of focus and determination that I've inherited that will help propel me in any direction I care to go.

I have no clue where I'll be in ten years. Although that could be a little disheartening to most college students, it doesn't really bother me because I know, as an engineer, that the possibilities are endless and that there ultimately will be a destination. However, trying to determine where I'll be is like trying to determine what I'm going to have for dinner next week. A better plan, though, is to make some stepping stones for along the way in the form of newly acquired skills. A reasonable task for now could be three skills in one year. I'll start off with the desire to master something(s). I touched on the fact that I've always just been average at alot of things. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, but I feel that I could be much more useful in a group setting if I had at least one specialized skill. At this point, I don't have anything in mind, so a nice goal could be to choose an area by October or November and to master it by winter break. A second skill I'd like to develop is the ability to easily approach someone to ask for help. Everyone starts off somewhere, but the ones who truly succeed are the ones who take advantage of the resources around them. I can start by taking advantage of T.A and professor office hours and creating a strong web of friends to pose questions to. Lastly, and although it's not necessarily a skill, I'd like to find a long-term passion somewhere. I found a possible one in EWOB (Engineers With Out Borders), but I'd also like to keep my options open. UIUC has so many opportunities to grow, so I'd like to capitalize on those as well.

As for the "missing basics" that Professor Goldberg discussed, I truly don't see them as difficult obstacles to leap. Sure, learning to ask more questions and visualize more is difficult, but like the team work course at iLaunch, most of the things can be accomplished simply by taking one's time and planning every move. Most of the missing basics are simply "awkward" for the more left-brained engineers but unlike a difficult math problem, all of us have the ability to actually fulfill these missing basics. In order to incorporate these "missing basics" into our engineering lives, we simply must constantly practice them. There is not one of those basics that can't (hurray for using bold) be practiced. Personally, I plan on practicing these basics by taking a variety of classes that I enjoy and that challenge the right side of my brain such as philosophy, psychology, or any other interesting elective. We're here for four years, so why not take advantage of the classes offered in order to broaden our intellectual horizons?

It's 1am and I have 9am class so I should probably sleep. Hurray for my first blog post (like ever). I'm pretty sure if I get addicted, the next step is a Twitter (the lowest of lows). Goodnight.

Andrew