Articulation, Aggregation, Application

Every now and then I experience a sort of realization about my life. A few months ago I posted about realizing I’m a college student, and I had a similar experience today.

Something I’ve always admired about my father is his ability to succinctly summarize his work on the spot when asked about it. His answer is always interesting and well-rounded, effectively describing both his work and the goals of the organization he works for.

As summer draws to a close and the school year looms, I have a week of vacation time, during which I’m traveling and visiting friends and family. Of course, this usually results in being asked, “How was your summer?” Thus, I find myself having to do exactly what my father did.

And you know what? I’m not so bad at it. I’ve surprised myself by how well I can describe the goals and structure of the organization where I interned, as well as detailing my own work. When I listen to myself, I actually sound vaguely intelligent.

Which reminds me of something a friend once told me: “You have a way of just taking words out of the air and putting them together and saying ‘there you go.’” I’m not saying whether or not she’s right, but I was very encouraged (and humbled) by her compliment.

Now if I could only do so well when people ask, “So what are you doing after college?”