August 30th

Today was my third day of college classes. In those first three days, I have learned an incredible deal, not necessarily in the fields I'm studying, but rather in general about my academic future.

First of all, the schedule is very strange to me. I knew that I would not go to class non-stop from 8 to 3 like I used to, but I was not familiar with the way things work. I have an hour long class early in the day, and hour and a half break, and then another hour of class, before finishing with the rest of lunch and the afternoon and evening to myself. Having the chance to have such large gaps gives me plenty of time to decompress from the stress of the last before advancing to the next class.

Another element of college that I never considered was the academic pursuits of many of my instructors. I have several teachers and professors who are students themselves, working on doctoral programs and dissertations. I expected to get to college and have ancient, worldly people talking at me. Instead, I have experts in their fields, who are young enough to be up-to-speed on the cutting edge advancements in their lines of work, who are able to share their own academic experiences (because they were recent enough that they still remember).

One of my instructors gave me an excellent piece of advice when I went to visit him during his office hours. He said that a writer had said that anyone who dedicates 10,000 hours to a field of study, whether it be athletic, academic, or intellectual, will surpass the natural talent of a prodigy and become a true master. This individual had long since passed his 10,000 hours in his field, and could attest to the expertise that come with it. This was his way of telling me also that studying "what sounds cool" will not lead to success necessarily, but rather throwing one's self wholly and completely into a field will lead to the greatest success.

I don't necessarily know what I am going to dedicate 10,000 hours to. I have a pretty good idea, but even I am open to the chance of changing my mind. What I am committed to, though, is working hard enough in college to succeed at the classes I'm taking, because I am privileged enough to attend a University that offers such a wide variety of classes at such a high level.