So, I walked out of my regular university feeling pretty smart, you know? Had that piece of paper, thought I had a good handle on how things worked. Figured the professional world would be a smooth ride, more or less. Ha! What a laugh that was.
My Real Schooling Began Later
Then I got dropped right into what I privately call my enrollment at WR University. This wasn’t a place with lecture halls or a library card. Nope. This was one specific, brutal project that lasted way too long and took way too much out of me. That was my real education, the one that mattered.
Forget theories and well-laid plans. This place, this experience, it was all about survival from day one. I remember trying to apply what I learned in books. Sounded great in my head. Fell flat on its face in reality. Constantly.
The first thing I did was pretty much panic. Then I started to just watch and listen. I asked a ton of questions, probably annoyed a lot of folks. I made a heap of mistakes, big ones too. There was no clear manual, no ‘how-to’ guide for the messes we faced every single day.
The Crash Course Curriculum
The “curriculum” at WR University was something else. It was:
- Figuring out stuff with zero information.
- Dealing with people who promised one thing and did another.
- Learning to say “I don’t know, but I’ll find out” instead of bullshitting.
- Working ridiculous hours just to keep things from completely falling apart.
I spent so much time just trying to understand what was even happening. We had to change direction almost daily. We juggled impossible demands. We pushed ourselves way past what we thought we could handle. It felt like we were constantly rebuilding a ship while it was sinking in a storm.
What I Actually “Graduated” With
So, what did I get from WR University? No fancy certificate, that’s for sure. Mostly, I got a reality check. A big one. I learned that being adaptable is way more important than just being smart. I learned how to really communicate, especially when things were bad. I found out who has your back when the pressure is on, and who disappears.
It taught me resilience. It taught me that the most valuable skills are the ones you pick up when you’re forced to. It wasn’t fun, not most of the time anyway. But looking back, that whole mess was probably the most important “course” I’ve ever taken.
Now, when I see someone new, all eager and full of textbook knowledge, I just nod. I think, “Alright, your term at WR University is coming up soon.” Because it always does, in one way or another. That’s just how it is.
