On My First Day Of College

Today was my first day attending classes at CU Boulder.

The first thing I want to say is, college is awesome. The second thing I want to say is, holy shit, college is awesome. It's the best place I've ever been, and nowhere else even comes close. I'm not exaggerating when I say that today I became so excited I got the chills, a sensation that occurred multiple times in all of my four classes. I feel like I belong here, like all my life has been leading up to this point and now here it is, and I don't ever want to leave it. All I feel is excitement and happiness. I'm shaking as I type this now. It's amazing.

The people are great. I'm surrounded by students and professors who are smarter, stronger, better-spoken, harder-working, more skillful, more creative, more thoughtful, and more attractive than I am, and I love it. I'm sure I'll emerge from their presence a better person, growing and learning the entire way. All of my professors emulate knowledge and experience and an eagerness to help me become as knowledgeable and experienced as they are. Bring it on.

I feel like the things I'm learning matter. I mean, I felt that way during high school too, but I feel it even more strongly now. Before today, I felt the importance of what I was learning in an abstract way, like "This will be important in the future, so learn it to build a strong foundation."(I also just like learning, so there was that.) But now, I feel like the things I'm learning matter on a pragmatic level as well, like "The math and science you're learning right now will make you money. Someone is going to pay you a high amount of money just to know this." That thought fills me with an almost overwhelming joy.

The environment is fantastic. I love the idea of a university, a place where people come together to share ideas and push the boundaries of human knowledge, a place where that knowledge is considered sacrosanct, a place where learning and discovery bloom and flourish. In fact, I love this idea so much, I've structured my entire life around never having to leave. And it gets better -- not only is a university a beautiful idea, it is real and I am living in one right now. I am a witness to the idea and I can tell you yes, it's even better in practice than it is on paper.

I am so lucky to be here.

-Me