February 04, 2025
I recently came across a line from the writer Anne Lamont in Oliver Burkeman’s book, Meditation for Mortals that struck a chord: “Try not to compare your insides to their outsides.” Burkeman points out (as have many others) that what you see happening on the surface is rarely the whole story. No one has it all together, all of the time. Everyone's lives ebb and flow. Everyone gets nervous, feels unsure of themselves, and wonders why such and so who no one ever really liked and isn’t that bright anyway and did you see their shoes, got the great internship.
SMPA can be a lot. It can feel like you’re a step (or four) behind classmates who seem to have the coolest internships, the best jobs, do great in classes, have actual lives, and even cool shoes. As abnormal politics continues to do abnormal things, it can be a challenge to get out of bed, let alone do what everyone else seems to be doing. I would love to tell you it’s different when you graduate, but in my experience, it isn’t.
One of the things I like most about SMPA is that at our best we encourage each other without dragging each other down. We know that personal worth isn’t defined by LinkedIn, that success and failure are fleeting, and that for all the “Only at GW” moments (which can be pretty cool) we’re all just people doing the best we can.
Keep working, keep pushing and encouraging each other. Keep sharing your accomplishments (and wearing great shoes). Keep leaning on each other for support and being someone your colleagues can lean on. And always remember that there's always more going on the inside than you see on the outside.