A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
-Robert A. Heinlein
I don’t properly recall when I first encountered this quote. I can no longer remember if I’d had the idea to pickup blogging again when I came across it, or if seeing this quote prompted me to want to blog about learning to do new things. At any rate, the quote and the blog idea have coalesced and you, good reader, have joined us here.
So, what’s this all about?
I love learning. I like it in formal academic structures, and I love it when you fall down the YouTube rabbit hole and emerge with an understanding you didn’t have before.
I’m grateful to live in an age where so much information is available. From tutorials in Illustrator to TED talks, to demonstrations of metalsmithing, a quick Google search yields mounds of information I can mine for knowledge.
Learning and applying what I’ve learned is the only way I know that we can reach our full potential. It doesn’t matter the arena: academia, faith, practical living. Working to strengthen ourselves across disciplines helps us develop into fully-formed and fully-capable women and men.
I enjoyed school, and some of my fondest memories of childhood are distinct memories of uncovering a new skill or gaining competence in a task I’d been working at. I pursued a bachelor’s in journalism because being a reporter is essentially getting to be curious for a living. I went on to get a master’s in photojournalism because I couldn’t say no to getting to spend two full years learning more about one of my favorite subjects.
It appears full-time academia is behind me, but not a day goes by that I don’t make an effort to learn something. My next planned learning will be learning to weld. I’d like to combine metal work with woodworking to expand my ability to make furniture. Other topics you’ll find here will include my ongoing commitment to becoming a better photographer as well as cooking, videography, periodic book lists, some travel, and some observations on the world around me.
Welcome.