When in grade school, learning about new things was easy to do, especially in elementary school. The teachers decided what to teach and, at that age, I was just in awe of everything I was learning. Nothing bored me. Once I got into 5th grade, I was put in the gifted program. That brought on a new aspect of learning. We had to do these projects that were based on a singular topic. We had freedom to choose from a variety of topics. I really liked that and it helped me learn about things that I may not have learned in a normal classroom setting.
Once I entered junior high and high school, I was able to have some freedom in choosing courses I wanted to take. I wanted variety so by the time I graduated high school, I had taken theater, home economics, current events, Spanish, a lot of different art classes, and journalism. I thought I left my grade school days extremely fulfilled and ready to broaden my horizons even more when going to college.
Yea, that didn't work out as well as I had hoped. My learning took a backseat to other things. I almost flunked out of my first semester in college. Part of it was because I was so excited to be on my own, away from my family. The other reason is that at the time I was living in St. Louis... so many things tempted me away from studying. I needed to go into college with the mindset that I loved to learn and that I was paying to get that kind of education. Nothing shows a bigger waste of time and money than failing courses.
In recent years, I have used Google and Wikipedia a lot to help educate myself on things. When I saw a group on Facebook called "Save MO Strip Clubs," I had to research what that was all about. What I didn't expect was to be actively following Senate Bill 586 for several months, but I am glad I did. I did the same thing when I wrote my "Earthquake Insurance" blog. It's good to educate yourself on things like this, not only to be prepared for what happens around you, but to also be able to contribute your own thoughts and beliefs when discussing such topics.
I also have used my learning skills with significant others. When I am with a guy and they are interested in something that I am not familiar with, I don't just automatically dismiss it as something I wont ever like. I ask them a lot of questions about the activity or hobby. I also get online and look up things. For example, I dated a guy years ago that listened to a lot of Insane Clown Posse and he called himself a juggalo. Since I knew nothing about it, I asked a lot of questions. He had me listen to some of ICP's music. I admit, there are a couple of their songs that are decent, but other than that I have no real interest in ICP or the juggalo world. But at least I tried to understand what he liked. Even when my ex-husband Brian was getting into motorcycles and doing stunts, I tried to see what he saw in them. That one just didn't work out because he refused to get me involved in that part of his life. Oh well.
I don't think I will ever stop learning about things. There's just so much out there that I don't know about and I want to experience as much of it as I can. When I get old and reflect on what I did with my life, I want to be able to say I did myself proud. So far so good!!!
This makes me smile. People who love to learn (me on the other hand.. I'm easily bored) are the best teachers. My husband is like an open book of infinite knowledge. Almost every day he blows me away with some fact or tid bit. He's always reading articles on the internet and in books. Sometimes he says something and I'm like 'Where the Hell did you pick that up at?'
ReplyDeleteI guess in part because he knows things and says/explains them to me I learn something new every day as well. Sometimes I even internet research too. :-)
I can relate. I love the "Eureka" feeling when something new occurs to me. I also like to learn things important to those I'm with. I dated a lady whose favourite song was Crash Into Me by Dave Matthews. As a result, I've obtained copies of almost all of Dave Matthews' albums and become a fan.
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