A Life of Learning by Celia

A Life of Learning by Celia - September 2018 Scholarship Essay

Life is abundant with learning. We are always continuously learning. It’s inevitable and that's the power of it. The beautiful thing about life is that there is always more to learn, more to understand. Yes, some may have privilege, wealth, and power. However, the ability to learn is something self-imposed; anyone can choose to learn. The privilege of learning is that nobody can take that opportunity away from an individual. Yet it is up to each person how much they choose to educate themselves. We may not have a lot of things in life, but we each individually have the capacity to keep learning. To cultivate our wisdom, to discover and interpret. And to take it all and share it with others. Most often in life, we learn from the people around us. In twenty-five years, I see myself sitting at a kitchen table with my children. One child of mine is explaining to me the cognitive activities and the mental behavior processes of the human mind. He is learning as he pursues his degree in psychology. My other child is telling me about what she learned that day in high school, she shares what her teacher taught her. She shares about the debate she had in her government and politics class. She’s sharing with me the other views and biases of her classmates. Some I have never heard before. She is widening my perspective on other ideas out there in the ether. My children will continually teach me. Just as I had taught my parents how to use the internet. I taught them about technology and innovative devices that were coming out when I was an adolescent. Similarly, I see my children teaching me.
In twenty-five years, I see myself on a plane. I’m traveling to the Philippines, on a service trip with my husband. I see myself exploring the vast white sand beaches. I explore and discover the geographic location. I pick up the Tagalog language as I go about my trip. I meet up with locals and I get to see from their perspective what it’s like to live here. I help prepare a meal: chicken adobo. The Filipinos describe their traditions and lifestyle on the island. They share personal struggles of poverty that have affected the people. I am humbled by them and their ability to optimistically thrive amidst their terrible circumstances. I learn from my travels. In twenty-five years I see myself getting a letter in the mail. I have been summoned to serve on a jury. I go to jury duty and I sit among a group of my peers. I learn about the case and I express my opinion during the deliberations. I learned about the legal process of our land that I never quite understood before. I learn from my experiences.
These are the three biggest reasons why I will always learn and how I will continue to learn. I learn from the people around me: family, friends, strangers, and people of all cultures. I will learn from traveling. Traveling creates the opportunity for one to have the realization of how small they are and how little their understanding and how much they are yet to learn. At the same time, it widens our understanding of other situations and lifestyle making us more grateful for the typical things that go unnoticed and how significant they really are. The feeling of going to a new country and becoming dependent and lost and to rely solely on the common ability to interact with other human beings. Lastly, I will learn from my experiences. Even the unexpected things like going to jury duty. Little experiences that come up that we aren’t expecting. These situations come up all the time and we learn from them. Experiences create a keen understanding and ability for us to empathize with others in similar positions. I will always have people, experiences, and opportunities to travel. I am appreciative that I will consistently be learning, not only in twenty-five years, but the rest of my life.