Out of place
I'm living near DC now with two roommates in a tiny apartment. This is the life I have dreamed about and always wanted. Working for a group doing world-changing work in an urban environment. My coworkers are passionate and engaged. I get to make maps and write code. I don't have to have a panic attack every year if the project that I am on is going to get funded. I don't have to deal with the mess at my alma mater.
But, I feel out of place. I am one of, if not the youngest people in my office. Everyone seems to have one or two masters degrees and/or a Ph.D. Several people have been working on this project since Reagan was in the White House. I just feel really out of place. Most everyone comes from the public health universe and throws around jargon like crazy; I majored in Anthro and Philosophy with a side of Computer Science in my Junior and Senior years. The code that everyone writes is for Stata instead of my beloved Python. The highest math I ever took in my life was half a term of Calc 1 the fall after I graduated from college while I was job searching because I felt like I was getting nowhere; the people in my "pod" of cubes seem to be doing regressions like crazy. I'm not sure I know what a regression is.
To be fair, I feel out of place in this whole damn city. The workaholism is frightening. I am nowhere as driven as everyone seems to be. The DC "greeting" of puking out your resume is bizarre. My happy hour game is nowhere as on point. I am a large man in a city where people seem to run on the national mall to be seen.
Am I doing something wrong?