Yay! You got into USC! Getting accepted to study at such a prestigious institution should be glorious, right? Well, that's not always the case. It's so easy to feel so small when you go to a school so big.
Did you know that USC has around 44,000 students and faculty? And, even on a normal day, you are consistently surrounded by a crowd of people rushing to places. It makes you wonder whether you actually belong at this university where things are always very happening.
There are people launching their own start-ups, copping an internship at one of the Big Four firms, going on tour with their own band, or worse, already verified on Instagram. When you're constantly surrounded by greatness, you start to wonder whether you are actually even a part of the crowd, or if the admission office made a mistake and sent you the wrong email on April 1st. Am I the only one who's felt that way before?
If you share even a little bit of my sentiment, I am here to tell you what I tell myself. I am here to remind you that you earned your place at this institution to be surrounded by these kinds of high-achieving people because you, yourself, are one of them. Just because your achievements aren't stacking up compared to someone else's, that does not mean you're a failure. Just because your accomplishments aren't as big and bold as someone else's, it does not mean you're behind.
We are all unique individuals who are privileged (and smart!) enough to go to USC. As cliché as it may sound, it is your uniqueness that makes you who you are. It is the fact that you aren't like everyone else out there that makes you who you are. And with good intentions, your unique self will be that difference we need in the world.
Use the determination and drive that surrounds you as motivation to achieve your dreams and more. Break out of feeling small and feeling like not enough, and instead breathe in the inspiration that surrounds you on the Thronton lawn or the determination in Fertitta Hall or the diligence in Viterbi, and use it to improve upon yourself.
To Victory, fight on!
