During my time at Princeton, I was often enrolled in five to six of the most challenging classes I could find, was on two to three sports teams, had some iteration of a job, and was working on starting one or more companies of my own, amongst many other things. While I was off trying to tackle the world one day at a time, many of my classmates were manipulating their schedules, taking cookie-cutter classes to make sure that they got all As – even if that meant forgoing the opportunity to take some of the most challenging and interesting classes at one of the top universities in the world. Could I have done that? Absolutely. But I never have been and never will be that girl.
I’m not the girl who takes the easy way out. I’m the girl who takes risks through challenging myself to step outside of my comfort zone one day after another. I’m the girl who took advanced linear algebra with the math majors just because I wanted to learn it. I’m the girl who walked-on to the varsity diving team without ever having prior exposure to the sport. I’m the girl who took countless acting classes because I had the opportunity to work with some of the most talented directors I would ever have the experience to work with.
I had the unique opportunity to spend four years attending what is arguably one of the top universities in the world, and I was determined to take full advantage of it. When presented with the experience of a lifetime, there was no way that I was going to allow myself to manipulate my schedule or to try to limit myself to taking only the classes that would highlight my strengths. I live in the moment, and I constantly challenge myself to explore the areas of thought that I know the least about, and to take full advantage of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.
When again in my life will I have the chance to study the role of passion in literature, or to study violent politics with some of the best minds in the field? While undergraduate life is a time to build upon your current skill set, it is also a time to expose your mind to new topics, even if it means that you may not always come out on top. In addition to pursuing the various topics that I am incredibly passionate about, I often instinctively pursue opportunities in the areas that I know the least about, as I feel that this is where the learning curve will be the steepest. Rather than going through my entire life trying to evade my weaknesses, I am constantly searching for ways to fill in my knowledge gaps and to build upon my current skill set, not just vertically but horizontally as well.
I love life, and I love taking risks. I am an inherently curious person and I want to learn as much about the world as possible. I can’t help it – it’s in my blood. For many people, having four years at a top-tier university is the dream of a lifetime; so rather than letting four years pass you by, fully commit to living out the dream that you worked so hard to achieve. The undergraduate experience is a unique time in a young person’s life – it is a time when you are not only learning about yourself, exploring your own interests and passions, but also learning about how to piece together the many aspects of the world around you.
Many students find themselves dressed in their cap and gown on graduation day, wishing that they had taken that class that they were too nervous to take, or that they stayed late after class to talk to that professor that they always admired. After you walk out of the gates on graduation day with your diploma in hand, there is no getting that time back. You have one opportunity to spend four years of your life selfishly focusing on exploring the questions that have always peaked your curiosity, and learning about yourself and the world around you. So rather than playing it safe and trying to conform to the consensus opinion – take risks. Take classes in subjects that you know the least about, build relationships with the professors whom you’ve always admired, learn to master a new sport, talk to people outside of your normal social circles, and push yourself a little bit further each and every day. Let your inner curiosity and deeper passions drive your everyday actions – I know I did, and there isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not eternally grateful that I had the unique opportunity to spend four years of my life, pushing myself to new physical and intellectual limits at one of the top universities in the world.