“you’re not always going to be the best, there’s always going to be someone better than you in something”

It’s a pretty overdue awakening. Although I think it’s something most people realize time and time again—it’s especially emphasized when you first came to Penn. It’s pretty much like “yeah,IwassmartinhighschoolandIdidn’treallytrythathard” but then you come here and you wtf everyday. 

Especially in light of OCR, it can be a bit disillusioning to see the “Not Invited” on PennLink. 

But actually, for me, I think the most enlightening was taking my CIS class. Because truthfully, it doesn’t come innate to me and I struggle, but this struggle makes me want to try harder. It also makes me realize that there are people who are SO talented, you can’t help but be wow-ed by them. There are people here who code like no other, understand the hard sciences in such a deep way, natural leaders with that charisma, and so much more. 

Penn, for all its unnecessary(?) stress, is a great place to come to be inspired and be humbled.