Friday, January 13, 2006

How the bleep did I Ever Graduate from College?

Honestly, you may be surprised to find out that I do not have the best work ethic in the world. I know, I know...shocking in light of how little time I spend on IM, this blog and other such sundry time-wasters throughout my day. But it's true. I am a procrastinator.

I started a new position at the start of the new year which is exciting and little daunting considering my inability to do anything when it's actually due...so this should be interesting.

My friend keeps freaking out every time I say that I don't have a high work ethic because then HOW DID I GRADUATE FROM COLLEGE and especially The University of Pennsylvania (cum laude)???? It must have been so much harder and required so much more work! (haha) Well, I'm going to let you all in on a little secret. Penn, Harvard, Yale, Stanford...they're all full of the same kinds of kids that you find at SLCC and ITT Tech. We just paid more money and get to wear SweatClothes and from our respective schools with an impressive crest logo that identifies us as having paid more money. When we emerge from our protective cacoons of ivy-encrusted 200 year old buildings, we're still goof-off, clock-watching people who wish we were independently wealthy and could write blogs all day long instead of working. I think the difference is that we have much higher expectations to live up to. My friends are editors at international magazines, doctors, federal prosecutors, photojournalists in Cairo, and if I don't get this effing Naturalist Guide Toolkit done, I'm going to end up serving them a slurpee the next time they come to Sundance. But I have often wondered if my editor friend is sitting at her desk IMing her doctor husband (oh wait, they would be using their Blackberry's) instead of proofing photos of Gwyneth Paltrow for the cover.

The point is that it shouldn't surprise you that I'm just like you...or maybe even that you're BETTER than me in this regard. In the end, I'll get the job done and I'll probably do a really good job at it, but not without some serious diversionary tactics.

10 comments:

Regirlfriend said...

Not only did you graduate, but you got into law school too!!! Don't underestimate yourself!

Tamara said...

NOT TRUE.

Sorry to put a damper on your dose of self-deprication NB, but you're absolutely wrong. There is a very big difference in people who went to those schools, and it's not just thousands more dollars.
You have a BRAIN and it was recognized then by college administrators. It's still recognized now by the rest of us. You are absolutely BRILLIANT in your thoughts, words, and actions. You have so many friends and admirers for so many reasons. No, it's not just your hotness and good fashion sense (we accept that the minimum wage outfit was just a temporary lack of self-worth), but it is your very soul that makes you so darn lovable!!!

You can't compare your current procrastination to your undergrad.

Maybe you just work better in a structured environment.

Adam said...

Uh Tamara, I agree that there's is a difference between SLCC and Penn, but it's not quite what you said. College admins don't look at an app and identify a great intellect (or maybe they do at those schools, I wouldn't know). This is evident from some of my classmates and the colleges they got into. I knew some people in high school that did superbly well in school and were admitted into prestigious universities, but you would only need 10 minutes of talking to them to realize that they aren't great intellects. I can think of one who was flighty and gullible but made it into a great school. Some people can just 'do' school right. It comes natural for them.

There are also those who do well in school because they are smart and motivated. Then there's people like myself that are smart (at least not dumb), but unmotivated. We get by with luck and a large dose of faking it.

NB was probably both smart and good at school. I can't say for sure, because I didn't know her then, but anyone that gets into law school is usually has at least those 2 qualities (and probably also has a good work ethic).

And NB, Blackberry's suck. I don't understand your fascination with them. IM > Blackberry.

Adam said...

I forgot to add, the fact that NB graduated and got into law school is evidence that she's not the dimwit type that I was complaining about.

Tamara said...

Hey, I'm not saying I disagree with you, Adam. But I believe in NB's case (as in many other people) the school administrators saw the greatness that we see in her. That's all.

I believe there's a difference in those schools (namely professors), but the biggest difference in any experience is what you bring to it and make of it. I went to a no-name school for undergrad and it was the best thing for me. Thank goodness Yale thought I wasn't good enough! :)

NB, you are worthy of greatness. You know that. Don't let these silly miscommunications on your comments pages let you think any differently, okay?

Anonymous said...

Today is Friday the 13th.

Anonymous said...

Hey NB, comin at ya from SC. This is your big bro Jimbob statin that your pedistool is way up there aint it.... Ya'll she is both intellegent and good at school but she gets it all from her blue collar, plumbin, red neck brother which helped to prep her teachers for the good child.....

Ninny Beth said...

hey hey Jimbob..I KNOW YOU!!!!! I was not a good child BTW. I was in detention more than you and Sean put together. I just kept it to myself. :) LOVE YOU!

Sara said...

I hope this all comes out how I want it to. I see Tamara's point, however, I think I totally get NB's comment. It is possible to be intelligent and dazzling to recruiters at top universities and do well there while being a consummate procrastinator. My family is full of them. Heck, my brother went to Willamette with me (not quite on the Ivy level, but still pretty strong), not study all semester at Organic Chemistry (known as the hardest class at university) and then ace the final with a weeks worth of study at the very end. He managed to pull stunts like this all the time and still got into one of the top medical schools.

All this aside, NB is one of my most favorite people to hear talk. The insights she bestows on the rest of us are fantastic!

Of course, I say all of this as I am sitting in my office prorastinating with my own work:-) Why do it at home killing my own time when I can do it at work?

Sara said...

I hope this all comes out how I want it to. I see Tamara's point, however, I think I totally get NB's comment. It is possible to be intelligent and dazzling to recruiters at top universities and do well there while being a consummate procrastinator. My family is full of them. Heck, my brother went to Willamette with me (not quite on the Ivy level, but still pretty strong), not study all semester at Organic Chemistry (known as the hardest class at university) and then ace the final with a weeks worth of study at the very end. He managed to pull stunts like this all the time and still got into one of the top medical schools.

All this aside, NB is one of my most favorite people to hear talk. The insights she bestows on the rest of us are fantastic!

Of course, I say all of this as I am sitting in my office prorastinating with my own work:-) Why do it at home killing my own time when I can do it at work?