School didn't really prepare me for how much I love to learn. The unfortunate side effect of organized school for me was the learning was totally overwhelmed by the competition, the fear of authority, the assumption that I would be humiliated by grades, teacher comments, or other students.
I did well in school, but I didn't excel. I flew under the radar grade-wise. Mostly As and Bs. Occasionally I would shine in paper or a presentation, but mostly I just did the work and tried not to get in trouble. I stayed in my lane.
As I've gotten older and cleared my mind from the struggle to keep the awfulness at bay, I find myself wanting to learn about so many things. Going waaaaay outside of my lane just for my own curiosity and enjoyment.
Friday, Saturday, and today (Sunday), I have learned so much about myself. About writing. About how similar I am to other writers and how dissimilar I am to other writers. I've learned it's normal to feel jealousy when other's succeed, but it doesn't make me a bad person and I don't have to sit in the jealousy. I've learned what's it like to sit in a room full of women and not feel like an outsider.
I've been listening to a podcast lately that my daughter introduced me to. It's called Ologies with Alie Ward (https://www.alieward.com/ologies) and I LOVE it. Ward talks about all kinds of things I didn't know I wanted to know about. I highly recommend it!
Stretch. Reach. Grow. And learn something new today.
