Everyone’s heard the phrase, “Everything I need to know in life I learned in kindergarten,” right? Well, let me tell you that the basics are a beautiful thing, and they provide a foundation for the rest of our lives. But we should never stop learning.
We live in the information age. The knowledge of the world lies at our fingertips. We have instantaneous access to scans of ancient texts, the publications of modern scholars, video tutorials on how to do anything under the sun, and more. Well, maybe not instantaneous since there’s a lot of culling of the chaff that must be done, separating the good articles from the garbage {does anyone really buy all those Pinterest pins that claim olive oil and honey will make your hair grow longer and cure your flu}, but seriously, think about what we have at our disposal compared to people twenty or even only ten years ago?
The biggest thing you learn by going to school and by going to college has nothing to do with what you major in, with what you got your degree in, or with what sports you played. The biggest thing you should be learning in school is how to learn.
The world is changing around us. New technologies are developed every day, new ways of improving our lives, new ways of impacting the world. We must learn along with our changing environment. We must cultivate a hunger for learning.
You remember how I always said I couldn’t decorate a cake worth a damn? That I’d make a delicious one but it would look like a kindergartener frosted it? I decided to change all that recently. This old dog decided to learn a new trick, and with a few books, some tutorials, and a lot of help from Kasha – who is much better at this than I am, by the by, and seriously, check out her buttercream recipe – I managed to make some magic.
Most of the things I know I didn’t learn in school. I learned them on the job, from friends, from personal study, from trial and error, because I never gave up on learning. This is the biggest lesson I’ve tried to leave my cadets with as they finish their schooling, walk to get their diplomas, and go off to face what the world has to offer. They’re walking across that very stage today. I couldn’t be more proud of them or more sorry that I’m not going to be there to see it, but I hope, if I’ve taught them anything, I’ve taught them that given enough drive and enough desire, they can learn anything.
I’m sending that message out to all of you today, too. Because let me tell you, if after all this time, after all the hideous frosting messes I’ve made in my life, if after all that I can still learn to decorate a cake, anything is possible.
What skills are on YOUR list to learn?
KCS
