Not to seem too preachy here, but I really believe this. Life-long
learning is important, and better than vegging in front of the TV
(except during football season).
Here is the scoop on one of the few lessons (ha!) I have learned on my
own in 35 years. After I got out of college, I spent two years putzing
around trying to find jobs, apartments, etc. It occurred to me one day
that I had largely turned off my brain after college, and I did not
really like that. Granted, I read more then (I lived for a year with no
TV), and I went to a few plays, but I had not tried anything really new. I
decided to change that. (To be totally honest, I was spurred on by the
fact that Meredith was going to Romania for a year and my social life
was going to dry up). So that was when I signed up for ceili (Irish
social) dancing, which I still do from time to time today. Ceili
dancing was one of the first things I did when I moved to Chicago – I
moved on a Wednesday, and by Friday I was dancing at the Irish-American Heritage Center. I had happily proclaimed that I would find a place to dance before I found a job, and I am still pleased by that.
Since the initial dancing stuff, I have taken a year of voice lessons
in Ohio, taken guitar lessons, improv lessons, Irish song lessons,
Irish dance lessons (soft shoe), and (briefly) mandolin lessons at the Old Town School of Folk Music (oh, how I miss that place!).
Once we moved back to Ohio, I tried my hand at folk harp lessons for
awhile (until Meredith lost her job in 2002). I took more Irish dancing
lessons for a year (hard shoe still proves to be too hard for me).
A few years ago, I started buying the literature lectures on CD from the Teaching Company
(which I highly recommend), to the point where Mer and I own lectures
on Shakespeare, C.S. Lewis, and ALL of American literature.
Most recently, I bought the Rosetta Stone
version of Italian, which I hope to learn over the next few years (Mer
already speaks Italian, so it should be fun. As a language guru, she is
also fascinated by the method that Rosetta Stone uses to teach language).
My goal here is to encourage those poor college-aged folk who read this
blog to remember this in a few years after you get out. Find new things
that interest you and learn about them. It also helps to get around
people who like to keep learning (Shannon reads about lots of different
things, Rev. Transit is on a Scotch-Irish kick, Spooooon/Orange
Templar/Orange JoJo is HUGE into all things Templar, and Mer loves all
thing language and excelled in her Masters studies which she completed
last year). Lastly, if you can, get a job in education (at a college or
high school). One of the great blessings in my life is that I have spent
the last 10 years in one school or another. It helps to be around lots
of people who are learning.
life-long learning. i do this with books. cheaper for me. but i agree whole-heartedly with the post.
no disturbing my kitty would mean sleeping all night long with her on my stomach. can’t stay in one position that long.
she may complain when i move her, but she’ll miss me when i’m gone. =)
*sob* I wanted mentioned for reading, because I do that too! Honest.
Yeah, Mu, Marcus still talks about how happy he was that you were more interested in dancing in Chicago than you were in finding a job.
But enough about you (on your blog). I’ve been reading a lot, lot more since I graduated from college. Something about “assigned reading” that turned me off. And a turning point for me was reading Ulysses by myself the year after I graduated. Everything after that seemed so easy.
Oh, and Mu, now the Xanga ads are music lessons and Irish dance ringtones.
I’ve always wanted to learn how to play a folk harp. Currently, though, I’m pretending to work on the mandolin and violin. Wise words you offer… Like my mom always says, “I’ll stop learning when I’m dead.”
learning, i do that. however, i probably wouldn’t teach, unless it were sacrifice rituals. i dont know any schools that teach that though.
We were at OTS last night and I spotted a stringed instrument that I couldn’t identify, which makes me pretty certain that if you don’t already have it, you definitely need one.
Thank you for introducing me to the Teaching Company – their CDs are wonderful! It’s made my 45 minute driving commute so much more enjoyable.