Freeb!rds, the standard destination of Isla Vista.
Nothing make you feel more like a slacker then sitting a table with friends at a departmental awards ceremony and being the only one to not get highest academic honors, just normal academic honors.
This is of course a recurring problem that I have faced throughout my college career. I happen to hang out with science majors (physics mostly) who are the very top of the class, consequently I use them as a benchmark for what is to be considered normal. I feel like a slacker since I have no papers published, only one year of basic research, don’t know complex mathematical techniques and have not spent summers working in labs.
The only reference I have to what the average student does is the guys I live with. If I did not live with seven random people (always a roll of the dice) then I would assume that everyone has the same standards and dedication as physics majors. Still it is hard to undo perceptions of normal built up over the last four years.
