(Almost) everyone you meet will tell you that you learn best from your mistakes. I agree, but I’d also like to rephrase it: you learn best from your experiments. Mistakes carry a negative connotation and imply that you’ve made the wrong decision. What I’ve realized from my year at Georgetown and in Flourishing is that there is no such thing as correct or incorrect. Life is not an algebraic problem with a concrete solution. Heck, math itself isn’t even as definitive as it pretends to be! Everything is built on experiment: someone out there had the courage to try something and to figure out if it worked. If yes, then congratulations! If no, well, then you adapt and you make the necessary changes. Having a positive, proactive perspective is challenging. In fact, I was once the complete opposite.
One year ago around this exact season of spring, I still didn’t know where I wanted to go to college. It seemed to be an easy choice for all my other friends, but I was baffled. To me, I was essentially deciding who I was and who I wanted to be. As you can most likely tell, I eventually chose Georgetown. Why? Because it was an experiment! An opportunity to go somewhere new! Though I wish I could say it all worked out, I’ve learned to be honest with myself and with the people around me, which is why I’m choosing to share my story here: since coming to Georgetown, I experienced sexual assault. I left campus without telling anyone and left cryptic goodbyes on my social media. Afterward, my friends alerted the police and I was admitted into an inpatient psychiatric ward, where I was even more scared and alone than I originally was. It was easy to blame it all on the institution of Georgetown, but truthfully, this place has taught me more than I could have ever imagined. More importantly, it made me aware of my emotions and, in turn, better able to manage them. I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am today without the people I’ve met, the struggles I’ve overcome, and the triumphs I’ve celebrated.
Flourishing is how my adventure ends at Georgetown (and not just because it’s my last final!). It’s one of the greatest takeaways of my time here. It’s why I’m a little wistful about leaving Georgetown but also why I’m confident that it’s the right choice. It gave me inspiration when I needed it most and that’s what I hope to offer others with this domain.
The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows defines “liberosis” as the desire to care less about things. Caring less is not about tossing aside your responsibilities. It’s about knowing which ones to prioritize. Moreover, it’s about recognizing that life is so much more than the little bumps in the road. So I say go forth and treat life like the experiment that it is.
i like it.