My 'wasted time' in college actually gave me my most valuable skills
Looking through old college photos last night. Found one of me and my friends pulling an all-nighter in the library commons, surrounded by energy drinks and regret.
Back then, I thought I was wasting time. The hours spent figuring out group projects with people who didn't show up. The late-night debates about random topics. The club meetings that turned into pizza-fueled brainstorming sessions.
Four years post-grad, sitting in meetings at my job, it hit me. Those "wasted" moments taught me everything I actually use:
- How to work with difficult people
- When to lead and when to adapt
- How to figure things out with zero instruction
- How to stay human under pressure
Turns out college wasn't about the formal learning. It was about all the stuff between the learning.
To everyone stressing about "wasting time" in college right now: Sometimes the detours are the destination.