Eduardo Villanueva

TN21

What I have learned

In this talk, I learned more about Sustainable Development Goals and other technical stuff. But
what I would like to tackle in this reflection are the life lessons that I have learnt as well as realizations.

I have always been static and thinking that my goals will come true soon. I was always in a state
of inaction. Until one of the speakers made us think about where do we think we will be 5 years from
now. This made me rethought about my goal, whether I’m taking action to walk towards the path of my
goal or not. It crossed my mind that if I do not move actively and just wait to graduate, I would not
progress towards that goal.

I also realized that it is important to master your vision, understanding, clarity, and adaptability.
In this way, we will learn more about yourself and your limits. We will connect more with our goals and
we will be able to do it not just for the sake of it, but because we want to change ourselves. As the way
it was said, challenges make life more interesting and overcoming them makes it more meaningful.

I also learnt that things that already seem good can be made even better. Just because it works,
doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t improve it. Constant improvement is important in order to make our
lives more easier and efficient.

Taking responsibility is important, even for younger people. One speaker talked about how
young people can take responsibilities of themselves. It is by focusing on their improvement. We should
build self-development habits and make it our lifestyle. We should learn to be a leader as leaders incite
change, if you are not a leader you will have a hard time changing by yourself.

One of the most important realizations that I had is that work is just like going to school, but
you’re the one getting paid. I have always been lazy about work thinking that its just extra effort and
that it will come one day despite really wanting to become rich. With the perspective stated by the
speaker, I have come into realization that work is not really that hassle if you just think about it as going
to school.

The mindset that I am always wrong how can I be more wrong, I realized is crucial to self-
development. I have always thought that I am better than most and that became one of the reasons
why I was motivated to do nothing. It is important to approach things like you don’t know them.

One of the speakers made me think about the future of this country, is it better for me to stay in
this country or work abroad? I never thought about that before and just thought that I would freelance
so I can work anywhere. But the speaker made me realize that where you are working from even if you
are freelancing is important. I decided that I would go abroad sooner or later.
 One of the speakers gave a trivia that 1% of the population own half of the world’s money. And
that made me think deeply. Because it means that those that become rich probably has different goals
than becoming rich that’s why there is such an inequality. Most people will stop at trying to get more
money once they have enough, but those at the top wants something different. And that’s probably the
best way to become rich.

One of the later speakers also mentioned that if my goal in life is to be healthy and happy, it is
now that I have to take action. Which made me remember that I must break the pattern today or the
loop will repeat tomorrow.

Overall, I gained a lot of insights, more than I can put into words. Aside from technical
knowledge that I have learned, It is the life lessons that really matter. I am really grateful for the events
that is provided by the university and hope that there are more to come.