Nicholas Mitchell: Independence is His Best Friend

April 12, 2019 — Freshman Nicholas Mitchell is a very independent person. He would rather be alone than be anywhere else with people. He works very well when he isn’t with others, though he is willing to.

Nick’s best example of alone time is when he is reading his books, whether fiction or nonfiction he loves to read. “When I’m reading my books that’s when I’m at my best, reading is sort of an escape from everyone.” But that is not his only motivation to work alone. A project mishap that happened in mathematics, a group project to be specific, caused him to have the strong feelings he does about being on his own. Everyone had to contribute to making the project the best it can be, but things didn’t go as planned. The people in the group just sat there doing literally nothing on their phones even though the project was due that day. Nick joined in at first until he came to his senses. “I realized at the last minute that I had to do the work—I did everything and carried everyone in the group.” He did everything, completing the group project without any help. This is when he realized that he doesn’t like when people depend on him and would rather depend on himself to complete any work he is assigned.

He is willing and can work with others, but what he craves and would rather do is be alone in things. “Being able to work on my own not affiliated with anyone or anything is the best part of my day.”