Renaissance People

      I just got back from an extracurricular consulting event today and, oh boy, the marketing boys have truly done it again. Some days, if I hear another skinny khaki pants-wearing, glasses-wearing guy present about how AI integration will enhance CRM, leading to greater ROI, I might retire before I’ve even started and become a fern conservationist. Just kidding—I love what I’m doing at school; I just really can’t cope with the skinny khakis. It’s 2024, and we have so many other pants options. Go to the Gap, buy yourself a pair of $40 relaxed-fit pants, and let the ROI speak for itself.     

"That’s so me," says your mom when she finds that lime green polka-dotted blouse at TJ Maxx. Well, I don't just respect your mom’s tasteful selection; I also get her. I had a similar experience last month when scrolling through my YouTube recommendations and finding a video from Adama Lorna. I typically relegate my YouTube video-watching to existential video essays, history videos, and trash political content, but this unexpectedly insightful self-help YouTuber perfectly described how I had been feeling about my interests recently. She calls herself, and others like her, Renaissance people.

For those unfamiliar, Leonardo Da Vinci was the archetypal Renaissance figure, meaning he engaged with many different disciplines throughout his lifetime. Our workaday world today is not built for Renaissance people, and as Lorna points out, it is necessary to accept a level of inadequacy across all subjects of interest to sustain this lifestyle. As someone with a superiority complex but also imposter syndrome, yeah, this hit. It’s refreshing to think that maybe I just have to be "good enough." I’ll try hard, I’ll earn a living, and then when I come home, I’ll have enough, and I’ll be satisfied. It’s easy to get lost in comparison, and it’s difficult to realize there’s room for our contentment.  

      I worked at a summer camp last year. The camp director drilled into us before opening week the phrase "we do hard things." The philosophy behind the phrase was to speak it to believe it. I’ve never been one for daily affirmations, but sometimes I, like everyone else, need a proverbial hit of clarity. So I’ll repeat, for me and you: we do hard things. It’s easy to get lost in comparison, and it’s difficult to realize there’s room for our contentment.