Date: 2007-11-12
To: More Thoughts
Miles today: 0.0

After riding the wave of success though high school, after getting into college, I shut down. I was tired of fulfilling requirements. I was tired of cramming for tests. It felt as if getting into college, which in a private college prep school is the number one objective, was a pinnacle achievement. I thought that my ¢preparation¢ for college would allow me to ride through college like I rode through high school. Oh how wrong I was. In the fall of 2004, I arrived at Cornell University as an engineering major. Coming from a small town & small high school, I was not used to there being 13,000 undergrads on campus. I was not used to being just a number, especially not the best number. To put it conservatively, there are a lot of smart people at Cornell, especially engineers. Cornell is a research university, and essentially all professors are involved in their own research, trying to make the world a better place. Cornell is a great university, but it wasn¢t the right place for me. Nevertheless, I thought I could fight through it. I would return every semester, trying to convince myself that I could do better. Trying to convince myself that I was learning something useful. Trying to convince myself that I didn¢t need a drastic change. At Cornell, tests are hard. Professors intentionally make tests difficult. I have taken tests where the average score is a 55%. Although they are scaled so that everyone doesn¢t fail, its not exactly a confidence booster to get a 55% on a test back and be pleased with it. I¢ve heard a professor announce to his class that the class average was a 40%, and not to feel bad, because the class hasn¢t had an average above 50% in 10 years. Im sorry but I don¢t see the point. Congratulations, you know 40% of the material! Have fun at your first job! Ok, no more rants about Cornell. The point is that I lost motivation. I could not bring myself to do a 4 problem howework set that I knew would take me 8 hours. I couldnt effectively study, knowing that I was competing with people a lot smarter than me, and apparently more motivated than me. Also, I am not one to ask for help. I never have been. So, I wouldn¢t do the work on my own, I wouldn¢t ask for help, so my grades started declining¢¦rapidly. I spent 3 years at Cornell, All of them in a downward spiral, and about 2.5 years worth of Cornell Engineering credits to show for it. They don¢t call Cornell ¢the easiest Ivy to get into, and the hardest to get out of.¢ for nothing. Since the first semester of my freshman year, I remember the seed being planted for an AT thru hike. I can¢t give you a date, but I recall searching the net and reading journals about these amazing people FOLLOWING THEIR PASSION. I wanted to join them. It¢s funny how I have wanted to thru since I went to Cornell. My heart was immediately telling me that it wanted a change. I just didn¢t listen. Well I¢m listening now. And I¢m doing something about it.After my third year at Cornell, they sent a letter notifying me that I was no longer enrolled in Cornell¢s College of Engineering. Fine by me. The truth is that there was no way I was going back to Cornell even if they had allowed me back. I had talked with my parents before that letter came, explaining to them the rationale for my grades, and how I wanted to take some time off from school. They agreed with me (thank you!) and we figured out what the next step was. I told them about the AT (I had hinted several times before this), and was contemplating a SOBO 07 hike. The problem was that I was broke. So that was out of the question. Next possible hike...NOBO 08!!! So there we have it. I will leave early March, hopefully finish by mid august, and finish up my degree at the University of New Hampshire after my hike. The parental units agreed that this was a fair plan, with the prerequisite that I get a job until then in an engineering field to gain some ¢real life¢ experience. So here I am, testing repeaters (big cylinders that reamplify fiber optic signals across the pacific for the 2008 China Olympics) for Tyco International full time. So, if you happen to be watching the Olympics on TV next summer, and the signal suddenly goes out, you can blame me! Anyways, I¢ve been saving money for my hike, buying a car, and taking one engineering class at UNH during the morning. (I work night shift) Boy have things changed. I like my job; I like my UNH class, and I REALLY look forward to hitting the trail on weekends and especially in March. By the way, I may be one of those people with a lot of prep entries. I essentially summarized my life in 2 entries, but writing them is almost as addicting as McDonald¢s plain double cheeseburgers after a hike. OK, class dismissed. Tomorrow we will discuss a bit of my philosophy with regard to hiking the trail. That's all folks,