Over the last twelve years, I’ve gone from rote learning in an Eastern education, to a fast-track Western education, to mentorship as an intern, to self-direction in a startup incubator.
They announced the 2013 Thiel Fellows this week, one of whom is yours truly. The Thiel Fellowship is an annual $100k award for twenty teenagers to stop school and start something.
That’s not to say school is worthless.
Switching schools, and switching countries, has exposed me to many teaching philosophies and cultures. I’ve learned things more valuable than anything found in one curriculum alone. Leaving school behind, I must remember those lessons.
My academic life has ended, and this post is its eulogy.