Nov. 2020: Relationships
Starting September 2020, I will be writing a series about a different monthly theme. The goal is to walk you through a weekly process to help alleviate concerns surrounding the topic of the month. November’s theme is relationships, and this blog post explains why, in general, engineers relate to other engineers.
Your Bubble
Have you wondered why your closest friends are also in an engineering discipline? Obviously, when you study alongside your classmates and see the same faces daily, you tend to form relationships. And this is true beyond your classmates. There are assistants, professors, and graduate students you cross paths with.
The engineering disciplines have a lot in common. They seem to attract a certain type of person. Notice I state ‘seem’, this is not always the case. Whether most engineers are introverts or socially awkward is neither here nor there.
More importantly, the common denominator that all engineering students share, the one item that gels them together so easily is their engineering major. It is as though when you meet other engineering students, an instant respect is gained, and you can’t wait to share your experiences with each other. Hence, engineers relate to other engineers.
Diverse Minds
Of course, there is nothing wrong with sharing this commonality among fellow engineering students. In fact, you need to be able to lean on each other for help and support, because nobody can make it through engineering on their own. Another reason why engineers relate to other engineers.
However, where do you draw the line? What I mean is, might it be possible to spend too much time with like-minded individuals, so much so that you forget there are massive groups of people who not like-minded? Do you ever think to go out of your way to make frineds with people who are specifically not engineers?
Perhaps it sounds like a silly question. But think about how easily engineers relate to other engineers. Then, think about how it feels to initiate friendships with non-engineering students. If it feels scary or wasteful, perhaps this is the perfect opportunity for you to do just that.
Relationships with like-minded people are easy. It’s not always so easy to form relationships with those outside of your world.
Helpful Hint #1 It can be difficult and uncomfortable to spend time with those who are different from you.
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