The modern college student

· 10.26.08 ·

People often wonder how I scrape by without very much studying. I’m usually found on Twitter, Facebook, Wordpress, Google Reader, Digg… Microsoft Word rarely takes precedence, unless my paper’s due in T-15. Truth is, I gave up on studying for academia long time ago. Math went in 6th grade, when I got my first D (that’s life-crumbling for a 10-year-old). Science I did my best to plough on with, but honors chemistry pretty much confirmed I should never be honored for doing anything science-related. Ever. And nowadays, my Communication classes are highly undervalued on my part.

I know, I know, I know. I’m getting an education worth tens of thousands of dollars. I should appreciate that I have the opportunity… and I do. But there are academic studies — the ones that come laid out neatly on a syllabus, and then there are studies of the real world. I like to think of myself as a student studying the actual, ever-dynamic Communication field, not the research papers and theoretical analyses. People say that we’re not taking advantage of our university studies; I say pish posh — if you’re not taking advantage of the real-world studies, of the unlimited access you have to all that’s out there — that’s losing out more than I am. I like to think that I’m getting a better education than most because I’m in effect educating myself through the abundance of information on the internet. As career-obsessed as I can be at times — it’s not as if it’s the widely-accepted connotation of career I’m obsessed about. “Career” to me means more than financial security, more than lines on a resume. Most people are like, “Ew, workforce.” Me? I love work. (As evidenced by the fact that Serena and I have absolutely slaved away at making our little MMIAF/MDIAF project come to life.) I love to start my day with goals and a solid purpose… as long as I’m personally invested in those goals. I much preferred my eight-hour workdays to the nonstimulation of most of my Communication courses, and if I find something I want to do, I’ll throw my 100% in.

One of the great things about starting MMIAF is that I’ve been getting thoughtful fan mail (haha, kidding… in the professional world they call this “feedback”), whether it’s readers just commenting on the site, asking me to contribute to their blogs, or commending me on my thorough knowledge of (more like incurable addiction to) the social media space. And people from literally everywhere are sending in submissions or e-mails — the publisher of an Asian-Am magazine, my childhood neighbor, people from halfway around the world — strangers I would normally never have access or connection to otherwise. I’ve had several UCSD alumni drop an e-mail just because they stumbled across my page. The fact that people take the time to find me and reach out to me and say a few kind words? That’s testament to the power of social media. My friends and roommates think it’s silly I’ve let blogging manifest itself in my life in such a way, but even say, the five connections that I’ve made from embarking on this so-called silly path may in fact reward me tenfold in the future.

Anyway, I’ve been trying to do my laundry all day, but the washing machine is palpitating viciously and only goes for about five minutes before it turns off. It’s mildly disconcerting. You’d think someone who “understands half the things professionals don’t get” (says one digital marketing strategist… aww!) could do laundry. Alas. You’d be wrong.

Update: As a result of the feedback I received on this post, I decided to expand upon it a little bit (minus the MMIAF parts, which my non-blog audience probably wouldn’t understand) for my 10/31/08 column in the UCSD Guardian. Check it out here.


Related stuff:



Like the stuff I write? Aww, I like you too.
Subscribe in a reader or by e-mail.

Bookmark and Share
Link » · Comments

Viewing 6 Comments

 

Trackbacks

(Trackback URL)

close Reblog this comment
Powered by Disqus · Learn more
blog comments powered by Disqus