Freshen Up...Your Personal Learning

College wore me out. It absolutely did. Even though I was a good student in high school and took college prep classes, I was not prepared for college, and there were MANY moments when I feared I might not pass and/or survive it. But I did both.

When I walked across the stage for my diploma, I was d.o.n.e. Many of my friends went on to pursue higher degrees, and I was proud of them for it. But I wasn't the least bit interested in doing it myself. I loved the freedom of the post-school life. I loved having my evenings to myself to do whatever I wanted. I loved not feeling stressed every minute of every day. I loved not taking tests.

I decided to take as much time as I needed to recover from undergrad before moving on to any graduate work.

I'm still recovering. :)

But my thirst for learning has returned. I don't need a degree, but I do love to learn. And that is an improvement, because right after college, I went a number of years with no desire to even learn. It had all come right out of my soul when I got that diploma.

I still congratulate those who want to pursue degrees, but I think the process of learning means more than the pursuing of a degree. (Personal opinion - you aren't required to agree.)

With a new season arriving, this is a great time to think about learning something new! Not just happening upon some information on the internet, but really learning something that you can use in your everyday life or teach someone else as you go forward. I really have come to believe that as long as we're alive, we can still learn new things. And I think we should learn new things. I also think we're more inclined to stick with it if we're interested in it. So! Here are some ways I've been freshening up my personal learning, and a couple ways I'd love to continue learning.

1. Take online courses...some might even be free!

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Last year I learned about the BBN Bible Institute. (BBN stands for Bible Broadcasting Network.) I'm not even sure how I stumbled across it, but it absolutely intrigued me, I signed up, and have taken a few of the classes. I still have many to take. It's an online Bible teaching course intended to allow anyone with internet access to learn about the Bible, free of charge. There are many classes, and there are tests/quizzes to take at the end of each session and overall course. At the end of the entire thing, you can get a diploma, although it's not an accredited school - just FYI. I have learned a lot from the classes I have taken so far. I fell behind in it when Ryan's mom got sick, but I plan to get back into it this year.

Earlier this year I attended a Christian writing conference - also entirely online, at my own pace, and completely free. It was through Flourish Writers, and I took pages and pages of notes. Learned a ton!

A few weeks ago I signed up for a yearlong photography course, which was free as long as I was content to receive one lesson a week over the course of the year. Fine with me!

My point is, if you're willing to hunt around, you can learn about all kinds of things for little to no cost, and often you can work at your own pace.

2. Watch YouTube!

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After all, this is where Ryan learned to do gallbladder surgery. I'm kidding. But he did watch a lot of surgeries while he was recovering from his own gallbladder eviction.

YouTube, for me, is one of those places I always forget to look. If you need a full education, it's really probably not the place. But it is a great resource for learning skills. Surgeries aside, Ryan often watches it to learn how to hook up some electronic device or appliance, and he's used it to research products before purchasing them. I've used it for tutorials on everything from hair and makeup to exercise to cooking.

And if you do want an actual class, you can find a lot of those on there too. I know a lot of home educators use YouTube as a resource with their kids.

3. Become an apprentice.

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Maybe we don't really use that term any more, but the principle applies. Is there something you want to learn how to do, and someone in your life actually knows how to do it? Ask for lessons/tutoring sessions/whatever you want to call it. It could be cooking, hand-lettering, learning to run power tools, car repair skills, art skills, or just about anything. Sometimes you learn best from people who know you and understand how you tick. You might feel more confident in front of them, and it might be easier to actually get in and learn. (Bonus! Friend time on the side!)

Perhaps, depending on the person you're asking and the skill you're learning, you need to pay for the lessons and not take advantage of their generosity. But even if you pay, you're getting a great one-on-one education that surpasses what you could learn in a big class.

4. Don't underestimate what you can learn from similar-but-not-matching settings.

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What does that even mean? Let me explain.

Months ago, through Pinterest, I think, I stumbled upon a website of a young lady in Australia who runs a home baking business. She doesn't have a storefront bakery. She bakes cakes out of her home and sells them. I love looking at all her pretty food pictures, but I also found her business advice intriguing.

Obviously I don't sell baked goods, but I have other things in common with her business style, so I learn some interesting ideas from her posts. Don't think that just because your area of interest doesn't exactly line up with someone else's that you can't learn something worthwhile from them!

5. It's never too late for some good, old-fashioned learning.

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You know what they say! Teachers learn more than their students. It's always true for me when I study for speaking. Of course I always hope that those sitting in my audience will take home a handful (or six) of knowledge, but whether or not they do, I learn a bunch as I prepare to teach them.

I have some friends who are homeschooling moms, and they've told me they have learned (and retained) more as they taught their kids than they did when they were in school. Maybe part of that is because they care more now. Maybe part of it is because they can learn in a style that suits them.

But even if we don't need a great test score or entrance into college, it's not a bad thing to go back and learn the things you missed earlier. Do you know all the US presidents? States and their capitals? Parts of speech? Anything about math? (Can you tell that one is a no for me?)

Even if you aren't teaching kids (your own or any others), you can access a surprising amount of that information online and teach yourself. Might be fun to know!


Happy learning, my friends!