User:Gav
My Mum told me, "It's like horses, Gav - you have to learn to ride the one you've got." I doubt she ever sat on one, but top advice. All that stress trying to be things I wasn't, and I'm still exactly the same as when I was 8.
When I was at school we had to sit according to our marks. The girls were always at the top of the class, with their well-behaved hair and excellent underlining skills. They would remember to bring their protractor and even knew what it was for. Meanwhile, my friend Paulie and I, with our frizzy hair and mucky jumpers, were busy at the bottom of the class, finding things funny.
To survive the relentless classroom and exam humiliation, I was stuck having to work out all the stuff that I was apparently incapable of just remembering. Paulie was properly bright, but for me it was mostly exhausting and unsuccessful. It turned out though that all that practice putting my finger on what I didn't understand was very useful. In the end, it was me and Paulie who came top in the common entrance exams and won scholarships.
Later on, I did a PhD. The goal at that time was "original research". At first that is quite daunting, but you soon come to realise that it's hard not to be original. The world is stuffed with unanswered questions and misunderstood things and your point of view is always unique. All you need is enough confidence to listen to yourself.
You never stop learning. When I was working in research, there was a mystical guy in the office down the hall from me. I used to go in for a chat whenever I got stuck on something. One day he said, "Stop asking why, ask how instead. At least then you might find an answer." So true.
