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“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire”
- W.B. Yeats
Lifelong Learning
There are two types of education. The first is a formal education, one that is gained through school and study. The second is an informal education, one that is gained through experiences, actions, and decisions. While the types of education may be different, the keys to each are the same: determination, knowledge, and an insatiable curiosity. These keys contribute to my appreciation and passion for lifelong learning.
One - Determination
My parents always told my sister and me, "You can do anything you set your mind to." That is a powerful statement, especially for young girls in a world that often assigns women to secondary roles. Implicit with that statement came the knowledge that to achieve my goals, I needed to educate myself in every way possible. I believe you cannot succeed at something without putting your entire heart and soul into it. I have brought this mantra with me throughout many areas of my life —knowing that I can do anything I set my mind to, but that I need to sacrifice the time and energy to succeed at it. For example, I knew it would be necessary to put in long hours and do my best work to be successful at the Bush School, and so I set my mind to it. This determination paid off. I learned from peers and mentors, participated in experiences that two years ago would have been inconceivable, and found a platform and the tools to make my voice heard. I left the Bush School a much better person than I went in, and know I will continue learning from my time there for years to come.
Two - Books are Knowledge
The second lesson I learned from a young age was to nurture my love of books and the knowledge they contain, and then share that with others. I come from a family with very diverse taste in books. My personal library is filled with everything from science fiction to feminist theory, beautifully illustrated children's books to discourses on world religions, and classic and contemporary works in various languages to detailed biographies. I take pride in the fact that my friends 'check-out' books from my library. Books are one of the greatest avenues to lifelong learning because the knowledge they contain is readily available and easy to share with others. Unfortunately, my love of reading comes at a cost: I am no longer allowed into bookstores unsupervised.
Three - Curiosity
One of my favorite quotes is by Walt Disney: “Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things…and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” That curiosity and desire to move forward with the imagination and tenacity to explore uncharted paths is, in my opinion, the most important part of lifelong learning. I am committed to continuing education in every facet of my life. I will commit my heart and mind to my goals, and nurture my love of knowledge to share with others.
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