I've learned a lot over the past four years, especially about what the limits of my abilities are. Now, I'd like to share a secret with you, about a day when my life fell apart, a day that I've been recovering from ever since and will continue to for some time. On November 11, 1993, I ran out of strength, there was nothing left inside of me that I could draw upon and make it to another day. I had been battling for a month, lost around thirty pounds and this was the day that I went to Rhode Island Hospital, diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.
This is a disturbing little disease, basically my immune system decided to attack my large intestine with some disgusting consequences. The psychological ones might be the worst, it is very easy to be ashamed of some of the symptoms and in a society where there is always someone to blame, I could only turn to myself. I ended up missing a term of school, but I wanted to come back, I needed to prove to myself that I could go on.
Well, here I am, I can honestly say I made it. My GPA before and after I got sick are more or less the same and I've been able to learn quite a lot. I've learned that it is always best to take an interest in the world around me. Newspeak has allowed me to pursue these interests to a great extent. Using the opportunity to write an article as an excuse, I've been to lectures, concerts and sporting events. The best part of being a member of the newspaper staff has been the people though.
I've had the chance to meet members of the faculty and administration, as well as students, which I might have missed if I wasn't ready to go out there and meet them. The members of the WPI community that I've had a chance to speak with have all been very helpful and very friendly. I've probably written over one hundred articles that would attest to the willingness of people to share knowledge of what they're doing and why it is important to them.
When I haven't been doing school work or Newspeak work, I've been hanging out with a great group of friends and been working to make sure that I'm happy. This may sound overly simple, but I've tried to make sure that something good happens to me every day. Whether its taking the time to go for a walk around campus or reading a book every week, I've tried to take time for myself. This is one of the things that I can thank my sickness for, I need to relax sometimes, to not rush around all the time.
Not that it is easy, there is a list of foods that I cannot eat, including alcohol, which can be a constant reminder that I am not healthy like most everyone else around me. Taking steroids and narcotics in the morning and evening is another reminder. But, then again, there is nothing I can do about it, this is one of my weaknesses and I have to deal with it. Even as it defines part of my life, I have tried not to let it run me.
Another limit that I have is one that I share with almost everybody. A professor pointed out to us last fall that we are all ignorant. We can't know everything there is to know about life or engineering or anything really, but this isn't a problem. We aren't expected to, instead we just need to be willing to keep our eyes open and willing to learn what we want to know. It is when we close our minds and refuse to ask questions that ignorance can be transformed into stupidity.
So those are the main lessons that I've gotten out of four years of study in chemical engineering. I can't do everything I want to and I don't really know all that much. I've had to learn to be patient and to look for the good things around me. From trying to smile as much as possible to looking for the rainbows that arc over Institute Road from time to time, every day at WPI has been good for me in one way or another. Perhaps my experience has been that much better than that of some of my classmates, but a lot of that has to do with perspective.
Seeing where you've let me bend your ear for this long, why not try and take my advice and enjoy yourself. Don't worry about the people who look at you funny when you're flying a kite on the Quad or walking in the rain, this is your life and you have to do what you want. This is how I've gotten my strength back, how I can look at each tomorrow and say that I'm sure it will be a good day.