"Learn Something New Every Day"
I truly do live by that motto. I started using that tagline wa-a-ay back in 1993 (oh my! that's 27 years ago!). I was teaching a 3rd/4th grade combination class; my class joined me on a year-long endeavor to document something we had each learned every single day (including the weekends!). At the end of each school day, we would take time to journal what we learned that was new (usually students wrote about school-related learnings, but not always). On days that I couldn't recall a new learning for myself, I would literally open the dictionary and find a word that I did not already know. I wrote the word and its definition on an index card and then tried to use it in context at least three times on the following day. I've come a long way from the dictionary with the invention of Google, Alexa, and Siri – but I STILL "look up" something new Every. Single. Day.
My husband is a great fan of history, so we often combine our vacation with learning something new about old things and past events. Don't judge... but when we visit an old historic town, one of the places we often end up is in the local cemetery where we look for the oldest headstone or we Google the names we find on an interesting headstone to see if we can find that person's history as it relates to the town we are visiting. If you're not into cemeteries, there are plenty of ways to explore and learn. Last summer, for example, we kayaked in Mallows Bay to get a look at the old sunken fleet of WWI wooden ships – I definitely learned a whole lot of "something new" that day.
The truth of this story is I'm a little bit cheap and always up for a challenge. Two summers ago, our freezer was making terrible noises and we KNEW it was about a day away from just completely shutting down and leaving us with a freezer full of frozen goods that would eventually end up in the trash, so after the repairman quoted us a price tag of $80 to walk in the door and then any needed parts and labor would be on top of that, I went to the ever-informative YouTube and looked up "how to fix a noisy freezer". I discovered a whole lot about the inner workings of freezer fans and condensation and how the two do not always get along nicely. The punch line of the story is my freezer has been working perfectly ever since and I knew just what to do last week when the freezer started making those same sounds again.
Whether it's fiction or non-fiction, reading is a great way to learn something new. It requires no suitcases to pack, no planes to catch, and you can travel around the world without even taking a day off of work. I learned a tremendous amount about the lives of elephants (which has been surprisingly impactful to my own life) by reading a work of fiction by Jodi Picoult called Leaving Time. I learned about the terrible wars of the 1980's and 90's in Sierra Leone in West Africa while reading Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah. Prior to reading either of these books, I never once thought about the powerful bonds within the elephant community or even knew about the terrible civil wars that impacted so many people in Sierra Leone (including young children). Learn something new this summer by reading a book of your choice.
True confession: I have always wanted to learn how to climb and rappel - you know, going up mountains (or mole hills) with ropes and such and then using those ropes to bounce my way down the side of the mountain. Here's another truth: My husband is not fond of heights, so we never attempted this bit of learning. We always seem to gravitate to the water. We truly love all things water! We learned to kayak many years back and have been addicted ever since. We also love to snorkel, so we often take vacations that lend themselves to those types of events. This year, my husband is interested in learning how to scuba dive. Perhaps that will be my "something new" this summer – or maybe I'll stay home and finally learn how to make a proper crepe.
Taking a class is an obvious way to learn something new this summer, but have you ever stopped to think about just how varied an experience taking a class can be? Sure, you can start working on your next degree by registering at a college, but you can also check your local Parks & Rec calendar for community classes in pottery, sign language, swimming, jewelry making, and so much more. Yes, social distancing may put a damper on those community-based classes, but you can also learn something new right from your smartphone like my brother who has been using Duolingo to learn Spanish for the past six months. You can learn to cook from Gordon Ramsay or join Chris Hadfield as he teaches you about space exploration on MasterClass. I recently learned how to create a virtual classroom by watching a YouTube video (Thanks, Thomas Blakemore of Dubai). There really is no limit to what you can learn or how you can learn it. In my house, for example, my trio of 22-year olds will be learning about financial literacy with the help of the book Personal Finance for Dummies by Eric Tyson; they'll also learn how to sew a button (with master instructor Mom!)
Summer is a fantastic time to learn something new. I hope to get the wheels in your brain churning by offering this starter list of ideas for you to consider – but please, don't limit yourself to just the items on this list – there are so many other learning opportunities that may be just the thing that'll spark your interest for YOUR Learn Something New endeavor this summer.
EXPLORE
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| Mallows Bay in Charles County, Maryland |
BUILD SOMETHING / FIX SOMETHING
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| model of my next project |
- Repair bill: $0
- Value of learning something new: Priceless (or at least 80 bucks plus parts and labor!)
- Next build it/fix it adventure: Learn to build an axe throwing target - yep, just for the fun and sport of it
READ
Whether it's fiction or non-fiction, reading is a great way to learn something new. It requires no suitcases to pack, no planes to catch, and you can travel around the world without even taking a day off of work. I learned a tremendous amount about the lives of elephants (which has been surprisingly impactful to my own life) by reading a work of fiction by Jodi Picoult called Leaving Time. I learned about the terrible wars of the 1980's and 90's in Sierra Leone in West Africa while reading Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah. Prior to reading either of these books, I never once thought about the powerful bonds within the elephant community or even knew about the terrible civil wars that impacted so many people in Sierra Leone (including young children). Learn something new this summer by reading a book of your choice.JOURNAL
How about learning something new this summer by journaling. In truth, I am not much of a journal keeper myself, but I do know that writing in a journal on a regular basis is a way that many of my friends and family learn more about their own thinking and feelings. My daughter (the writer) loves to quote one of her favorite authors, Flannery O'Connor, and I think the quote sums up the power of journaling nicely: I write because I don't know what I think until I read what I say.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
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| Photo by ZuBlu shared on GreenQueen.com |
TAKE A CLASS – LEARN A NEW SKILL
Whatever you decide to do this summer, be healthy, be kind, and be on the lookout for opportunities to Learn Something New Every Day.
