What I've Learned in College

You hear a lot about the two kinds of people these days, so I won't claim that there are just two kinds. But I do think that the kids who graduate from college can be lumped into two broad categories: those who emerge from college having learned everything, and those who have learned how much they don't know.

The first group is easy to explain: they know it all, and to tell them any differently is futile.

I want to be in the second group, really, and I think I'm well on my way.

Don't get me wrong: you can learn a lot in college--and I have. Lots of good stuff about literature, and authors, and anthropology, and education, and psychology--some good stuff.


But I thank God that what I've learned most in college is just how much I don't know.

I wasn't always on this path, however; I have myself been on the way to becoming the know-it-all. One Sunday on Production Team at Elevation, the producer was trying to explain to me how to complete a task I had never done before--hooking up VGA (video) cables or something like that. To me, the task seemed fairly self-explanatory, so I ended up finishing her sentences, rather presumptiously. Here's an example of how the conversation would go:

Producer: Once you've plugged this end into the output box, the other end goes to the--
Me: TV!

That sort of thing happened a few times that same day, and at first I felt pretty good about myself. Then, the more I thought about it, the less of a good thing it seemed. After all, there is really so much I could learn about VGA cables if I were more teachable and less precocious.

Honestly, there's a lot more for all of us to learn; if we knew it all, we would be God. But, don't let anyone fool you: you're not God. So don't presume to know everything. Instead, find an older, wiser person to teach you, to be a mentor. Parents tend to be fairly wise, no kidding; teachers also may be, and pastors, and churches tend to be pretty well stocked with people older and wiser than us teenagers/young adults.

Be teachable, or you may end up laughable. Or worse.