Dear Carolina: Sorry I Underestimated You.

Dear Carolina,

I’m sorry for underestimating you.

See, when I came to Chapel Hill as a freshman, I wasn’t expecting to experience anything revolutionary. I’d done dual enrollment at Elon in high school and two summers abroad at a liberal arts university in Switzerland. Coming in with 46 credit hours, I thought I had a good handle on how to succeed in college. Go to class, read the book, do the homework, and it should all make sense. If not, there’s office hours or the internet.

And in a sense, I was right. It was a routine that served me well for all of my classes at UNC. Sure, there were a few classes that rocked my way of thinking and truly changed my perspective on a given subject matter. But for the most part, class was class.

What I failed to realize as a freshman is how much more Carolina demands of you than just coursework. Being smart doesn’t mean squat. Everyone’s smart. My peers that really stood out on campus did way more than just study – they were leaders of student organizations – some of them committing up to 30 hours a week for work that was unpaid and ungraded. They’re all passionate about some sort of social issue or service organization and commit time to helping those from Chapel Hill to China. They do research, work internships, and study abroad. And they still make time for a salsa dance or a capella organization that they do “just for fun.” And despite being perpetually slammed with classes and organizations, you’ll still see them regularly at the gym, at the bars on Thirsty Thursday, and tossing a Frisbee in the quad. And they still show up to class  looking impeccably put together.

These friends have been incredibly inspiring. But at the same time, they’ve spent the past four years absolutely wearing me out as I try to keep up. It’s never directly competitive – with different majors and different activities, it’s hard to make comparisons and determine who’s ahead. Instead, it’s more like expectations. You need to find something that you’re passionate about. You need to give back to your community and to those less fortunate. You need to live a well-rounded and balanced life and place value in your friendships. It’s the Carolina Way.

For me, this made for a huge learning curve. I didn’t know what I was passionate about or how I was going to make my mark at Carolina, much less recruit others to a cause, build a team, and manage execution as an organization. Yet I figured it out through my classmates. “How did you get involved in research?” “How much time are you putting into this?” “How do you hold peers in your organization accountable without being to bossy?” Essentially, I’ve spent the past four years badgering my friends with the same question: “How are you pulling all this off?” They’ve done amazing things. I wanted in on their secrets. I think that’s why I ended up working for Career Services; I wanted to make sure every ounce of effort they’ve put into their undergraduate experience is fully appreciated in their post-grad plans.

Looking back over the past four years of college, the most impactful lessons I’ve learned haven’t come from the classroom. All I remember from my freshman music class is that I skipped the entire month of February. And Western Civ? We talked about Caesar at some point. Instead, my biggest lessons have been learned in coffee shops, dining halls, and dorm rooms, over YoPo or on walks across campus. My fellow Tar Heels taught me how to appreciate diversity and how to look at differences in a constructive manner. They’ve shown me how to build momentum and get buy in behind a cause. They’ve taught how to most effectively show appreciation for great work and how to put my foot down if not, how to build someone’s confidence in themselves, and even how to do my own laundry. They’ve taught me about leadership, organization, communication, and drive. And most importantly, they’ve taught me how to live a balanced, fun, and fulfilling life. I’ve accomplished way more than I ever expected to in college, largely due to the friends of mine who have pushed me to do more.

So Carolina, I’m sorry I underestimated you. But at graduation today, know that I won’t take for granted my best teachers here at this university and that I’ll seek them out and thank them for making such a huge impression on my life over the past four years. And I’ll congratulate them on their graduation while I’m at it.