People assuming you’re a genius—until you mess up.
PEOPLE ASSUMING YOU’RE A GENIUS—UNTIL YOU MESS UP.
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Remember that glow of an acceptance letter? The pride in seeing your institution’s name on your resume? It’s a powerful credential, often opening doors and, let's be honest, setting some seriously high expectations. People hear "Ivy" and immediately picture an infallible intellect, a guaranteed success story. They assume you have all the answers, always.
This creates a peculiar pressure as you transition from the lecture hall to the boardroom, from the library to the real world. You've been trained to excel, to solve complex problems, but suddenly, the problems aren't textbook perfect. And then it happens. You make a mistake. A big one, perhaps. Or even a small, human error.
The silence is deafening. Or worse, the raised eyebrows. The unspoken question: "But you went to that school, didn't you?" That's when the "genius" facade cracks, and suddenly you're just... human. It's a humbling, sometimes terrifying, moment. It forces you to confront the reality that intelligence is not immunity from error, and a prestigious degree doesn't make you omniscient.
This weird transition wasn't in any orientation packet. The truth is, everyone messes up. The challenge for us, with the weight of expectation, is to learn from it, admit it, and move forward without letting the shattered illusion define us. You’re still brilliant, even when you’re beautifully flawed.