I’ll be honest, and it may make me sound super nerdy, but I genuinely love to learn. This is something that I have been focusing on a ton as I am not in school anymore. As my everyday has become less about taking in new and fresh information, and more about routine and tasks I have begun to really miss the classroom.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love being finished with school. I could not imagine spending another semester doing discussion boards and group projects that would not really help my future career. But, I do miss sitting in lecture halls and processing new information, obviously only in the classes I actually wanted to retain the information in. I have always said I would love to get my masters, (what I would love even more is if I didn’t have to pay for it), but I would love to get one, nonetheless. However, there are two stipulations to that at the moment. First, I just graduated college, started a career, and am the heightened definition of being a broke post-grad. Secondly, I don’t know what I would even get a masters in, I have tons of ideas but not sure which direction I would actually take. So, as I continue to ponder this idea for at least the next few years, I want to tell you all about my love of learning.

I’m not completely sure where my love of learning came from, but all I know is that ever since I can remember I was never one of those kids who hated school. I was always excited for back to school shopping, getting new pens and pencils, and to get into the classroom and start the year. I don’t know if it was the environment I was in or my innate competitive nature, but everything was a competition, including school. I wanted to be able to prove that I could be the best in all aspects of my life, so with school being my main time-consumer, it would only make sense I wanted to be the best there also. Not only did I enjoy class, I also loved writing (which seems to be no surprise). Because I was good at what I was doing and I actually liked it, it didn’t feel like a chore. However, put me in a science lab and I will bow out in .5 seconds, but give me a history book or an English paper and I am all over it.

I think there are lots of variables that go into any aspect of a person’s personality. For me, knowing I was good at writing, memorizing facts, and had an intense competitive spirit, school seemed to be the place for me. Remember, I was never coordinated enough for sports, so my brain is my muscle of choice.

But, as I am now finished with all the necessary years of school, I am beginning to wonder how I am supposed to learn in the everyday. I know there is still TONS left for me to learn, but how to I obtain that new information with a 40 hour work week and the need for a social life?

I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself to be the best, the prove to others I deserve to be in the spot I am, so the need to grow and learn will always be a part of me. However, I am beginning to realize, it doesn’t have to be getting a master’s or a certification that will help me learn. There are things to learn in the day to day that don’t involve a classroom. We can learn social skills, new languages, budgeting, compassion, kindness, thrifting, love languages, and literally anything we can think of. 

I think that the only way I am accustomed to “learning” is by sitting in a classroom with a qualified person in front of me explaining a concept. But I am slowly beginning to see that there are ways to learn in the everyday. Sometimes all it takes is putting down our phones, shutting our mouths, and opening our ears, hearts, and minds. 

So, to the girl who loves learning, keep up that knowledge driven spirit. And if you hated school, maybe an academic type of learning isn’t the path for you. Maybe you were made to learn from the daily experiences instead. Pick up a book, not because someone said you had to, but because you want to. Read something that genuinely interests you. Learn about the people in your life, ask the deep questions and listen with active ears. Watch a crash course on something you don’t understand that you want more knowledge on. Go on a nature walk and learn about different plants or bugs. It literally doesn’t matter how you learn, all that matters is that you are learning. You don’t have to love the traditional sense of the word, but I can promise you, if you keep your mind open to new experiences and opportunities, you will find something in this world that you will want to become an expert on. The world is literally yours for the taking, find what you love, and don’t let it go.