There is the Real World, and there is the School World.Unless you are home schooled, you went to school from about age 5 to either somewhere inbetween the years of 18 and 21…or longer.
But eventually, you have to leave the School World. No one wants to tell you about leaving the School World. Because that is when you enter the Real World. And it is a whole ‘nother place.
There’s all sorts of media that romanticize those years in school. High school movies, College movies, High School TV shows, College TV shows. It seems like the creators of these shows want to recreate a world of their ideal vision of those years, probably because their own high school years totally sucked.
I recently saw a lecture from someone who was happy to be out of school. They hated school their whole life. I was shocked at what they had to say about schools. Schools are evil.
I am happy that I went to school. I am so appreciative that I went to college. I wish I could have found a college degree that fit my unique perspective of the world, but I didn’t…so I never technically graduated. Going to college was a milestone of my life even though I did not walk across a stage and be handed a piece of paper. I liked school….or….. maybe not.
Maybe it wasn’t that I liked school…perhaps it is something deeper.
I Don’t Love School.
I love something deeper
I Love Learning.
I always thought that I loved school. But it wasn’t the school, or the experiences in school. The moments I liked best were the times when I was learning something. I hated dealing with certain teachers, and I wasn’t always liked by my fellow classmates. My favorite moments were those treasured moments when I was learning something new.
In fact, when I had to leave the University, I was sad. I always enjoyed learning, and I actually liked lectures and classes. And when I got thrown into the Real World, I was sad because I thought those days of learning were over.
Sure, I figured I’d learn new things along the way, but it would be meaningless trivia, or random bits of pop culture. I never thought I’d really learn anything new.
Boy - was I in for a big surprise!!
In 2002, I had left school. I thought fun party time was over for me. Time for the work world. But now I see that the year was just the beginning, because I was about to fall in love with learning again.
One day I started going to the library. I started casually looking at any books that interested me. I started to remember that I used to check out random books on a variety of subjects back before high school. I would pick out all sorts of books. And now that I am an adult, I felt like I was interested in many more topics than ever before! All of the sudden I was checking out stacks of books, and having so much fun learning all sorts of things!
A few years later I found raw food, and that became a whirlwind of books, videos, podcasts, ebooks, blogs, websites, raw gurus, and a whole lot more. For the first time in my life, I learned a large amount of knowledge about one particular topic. Finally, I learned a lot about something, instead of learning a little about everything.
And now that I have finally found one thing that I am really good at, I have started to explore some of my other interests. I’m interested in blogs, which is why I created this personal blog. I’m also passionate about personal development aka personal growth aka self-help aka self-improvement. Whatever you want to call it, personal development has been something I have been studying since 2004; it’s been something that I have studied on the sidelines.
And after reading countless books…probably about 50 or so in the past 5 years that could be considered in the personal development category, I see now that the Real World is filled with opportunities for learning. It is still possible to learn and grow, and to better ones self.
Learning doesn’t have to finish when you graduate high school or college. It is never ending.
High school and college are not the end of the line. There is more. So much more.
Learning is Forever.
Once you realize that, the world is at your fingertips.
You can learn whatever your heart desires.
Even underwater basketweaving, or iPhone hacks, or making your own movie.
So, I’m wondering… What do you want to learn today?
XOXO,
~ Heidi