Minerva 的第二課：環境的重要

我用三句話來總結環境的重要。

讀台大的時候，心想：「這輩子最厲害的人都見過進 Meta 的，我怎麼可能？」
但是到了 Minerva 的時候就變成：「旁邊那的上課混吃等死的同學都進了，我怎麼不可能？」
現在的 Minerva 的學弟妹問我的時候就變成：「連我這種不三不四的都進了，你怎麼不可能？」

看起來雖然好笑，但不要小看環境的重要，去年我們班上 150 個人，光是收到 Meta 錄取信的就有將近十人。但是這篇文章，我想要跳脫單純社會成就的比較，把我所看見的台大環境和 Minerva 的環境以文化和困境做更細緻的對比。

台大的在大多數人的印象中，有更多個人主義的色彩，單打獨鬥，競爭多於合作，Minerva 則相反。Minerva 學校小、感情好、合作性強，畢竟競爭對手也不是自己人。為什麼去年會有這麼多人進 Meta 呢？只是因為前一年有兩位同學進了，所以大方把推薦碼分給全校。我在準備面試的時候也在 Linkedin 上私訊的陌生學長姐們。有人願意和我喬時間，還慷慨地在線上陪我練習的好多次，學校提倡社群 (Community) 互助遠多競爭 。另外，在各種思想和價值的大量衝擊下，同學的觀點有更多的灰色地帶，對於成就和個人願景有更寬廣的想像，不只是進有名的公司而已。像是，有同學會以政治、社會、環境的理論告訴你，為什麼去種田是最好貢獻社會的方法，然後他就真的去種田了。

相反的，台大的環境對成功則有鮮明的定義，是多數人想要前進的方向。大家力爭上游，但誠實來說，我真的不知道自己在爭些什麼。當時我只知道，在資源有限的情況下，想做什麼不重要，但先找到優質的資源再說。這同值性高的環境對於想要走不同的路線的人，是不容易的，畢竟一傅眾咻，必須逆流而上。

不過，Minerva 多元的價值和思想也帶來很多不穩定性和混亂。周遊於不同文化的國家、迥異思想的同學、革新的教育理念、熱情如火的教授，都是巨量的資源，而大部分的時候，我的困境是如何在不同的價值挑戰和資源做選擇，不要吃碗裡、看碗外，五分鐘熱度，因為什麼都很有趣，就把精力分散了，更不用論每隔一陣子，思想和價值就遭逢崩解危機，差點要死了。總結而言，兩個環境的困境不同，台大像是在貧脊的土壤裡找資源，但是 Minerva 則是在資源與資訊的混亂中求扎根。

我們常說：「Minerva 不是給優秀的人，而是給適合的人。」不是所有人都適合它過多的不穩定性和混亂，因為它可以是危險的。但是它的混亂帶給我很多修正和反思，而混亂帶來的豐富給了我不少呼吸的空間，也找到想要一起前進的人們。於是，四年下來，我更放心的成為一個重視學習遠多過功成名就的人。我很感謝能再這樣的環境長大，我深知它的空間和包容，是連美國的一流名校都不能賜與的。

猶記當初想要轉學 Minerva 的時候，台大教授告訴我「我」是什麼樣的人比環境還重要，因為即便台大資源或許沒有想像的多，上進的人是會去找資源的。今天我回頭來看台大教授說，雖然沒有錯，但是不同的環境能帶出非常不同的我，並讓我想像非常不同的自我版本。即便 Minerva 帶給我很多價值混亂，但在不斷地探問「我是誰，我想要成為什麼人」的辯論下，我每年都越來越喜歡自己，也更明白自己的路。

我學到，好的環境，能帶出最好的版本的我，適合長大。

十篇 Minerva 畢業系列 （持續更新中）
• Minerva 畢業
• Minerva 的第一課：專心致志遠勝聰明才智
• Minerva 的第二課：環境的重要
• Minerva 的第三課：科學下的謙卑

Second Lesson from Minerva: The importance of environments

I will summarize the importance of the environment in three sentences.

When I was studying at National Taiwan University, I thought to myself, “I could never be as amazing as the people who get into Meta in this lifetime.”

But when I got to Minerva, it became, “Even the classmates who were just goofing off in class have gotten in. How could I not?”

Now, when my juniors at Minerva ask me, it’s like, “Even someone like me, who’s neither here nor there, got in. How could you not?”

Although it may sound funny, don’t underestimate the importance of the environment. In our class last year, out of 150 people, nearly ten received acceptance letters from Meta.

Now, I want to move away from comparing recent achievements and make a more detailed comparison between the environments at National Taiwan University and Minerva. In most people’s impressions, NTU has more individualistic colors, more competition than collaboration, and a tendency to fight solo. Minerva, on the other hand, is the opposite. It’s a small school with strong camaraderie and a focus on collaboration. After all, competitors are not classmates. Why were there so many people who got into Meta last year? It was simply because two students got in the year before, so they generously shared referral codes with the whole school. While preparing for interviews, I messaged unfamiliar senior students on LinkedIn. Some were willing to spare their time and generously practiced with me online many times. The school promotes community support far more than competition. Furthermore, under the influence of various ideas and values, classmates have a broader perspective, more nuances in their viewpoints, and a wider imagination for achievements and personal visions, beyond just getting into prestigious companies. For example, there are classmates who will use political, societal, and environmental theories on why farming is the best way to contribute to society, and then they actually go into farming.

On the contrary, the environment at National Taiwan University (NTU) has a clear definition of success, which is the direction most people aspire to. Everyone strives to excel, but honestly, I had no idea what I was striving for. At that time, all I knew was that in a situation with limited resources, it didn’t matter what I wanted to do; I had to first find high-quality resources. This highly competitive environment made it challenging for those who wanted to pursue different paths. After all, going against the current requires great effort.

However, the diverse values and thoughts at Minerva also bring a lot of instability and chaos. Traveling to different countries with distinct cultures, encountering classmates with different ideologies, innovative educational concepts, and passionate professors — all of these are vast resources. Most of the time, my dilemma was how to make choices amidst the challenges of conflicting values and resources, without succumbing to short-lived interests or getting easily distracted by everything that seemed interesting. Not to mention that periodically, my thoughts and values faced moments of crisis and disintegration. I’m gotta die. In summary, the challenges in these two environments are different. NTU is like searching for resources in impoverished soil, while Minerva is about seeking roots amidst the chaos of information.

We often say, “Minerva is not for the excellent; it is for the suited.” Not everyone is suited to its excessive instability and chaos. However, the chaos has brought me a lot of corrections and reflections, and the richness it brings has provided me with breathing space. I have also found people with whom I want to progress together. As a result, over the four years, I have become more at ease with being someone who values learning more than achieving fame and success. I am grateful for growing up in such an environment and deeply feel the space and inclusiveness it offers, which even top-tier American universities cannot bestow.

I still remember when I wanted to transfer to Minerva, a professor at NTU told me that “who I am” is more important than the environment because ambitious individuals will seek out resources even if NTU may not have as many as imagined. Looking back at what the NTU professor said, although they were not wrong, different environments can bring out very different versions of myself and allow me to imagine different versions of who I can become. Even though Minerva has brought me a lot of value confusion, through the constant exploration of “who am I, and who do I want to be,” I have grown to love myself more each year and have a clearer understanding of my path.

Only within a nourishing environment, I can flourish on my path of growth.