Yes, but

~ MaryG

Are you a lifelong learner?

Yes, but I “study” what I want. I got my BA in History and never went back for a graduate degree because they all sounded so boring and cost too much money. MBA? (snooze fest) Law School? (are you joking?) A Master’s in History? (not interested)

And when I was working, I was never big on “professional development.” I only took the required stuff on topics like cybersecurity. All those LinkedIn courses and certifications on business-y topics were available to me, but I hardly ever opted in. I felt like the best way to get better at my job was to do it, and since I was a fundraiser, the proof was in the pudding. I raised millions of dollars for my employers and clients. Nobody cared that I didn’t have an MBA.

Courses I took outside of work included Italian, photography and music (singing lessons). Now that I’m retired, it’s been studio art classes that interest me most, particularly watercolors.

In fact, just yesterday I participated in a 2.5 hour class called “Yoga, Meditation and Abstract Art.” It was my first time using acrylic paint in decades. My abstract piece really wanted to become some sailboats on a green sea, so that’s what happened.

This started as an abstract, but then a couple of sails emerged. “The FDT” is part of the Resistance 😜

21 thoughts on “Yes, but”

      1. I appreciate how brutally honest you were here Mary, about not really caring to learn things that didn’t suit you and then focusing on learning what did suit you.

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      2. Thanks so much CJ! It may not be the best career advice (especially for the corporate setting or academia) but it was fine for me as a consultant and “individual contributor,” as they say 😊

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  5. “Life long learning” doesn’t have to mean structured learning. We learn and grow through many different avenues, through books, through social interactions, through personal interests and hobbies. Every day and every connection offers room to learn – we just have to be open to it. Whilst my daughter was here we found a recipe to use the thousands of chillis I have stored – a delightful Chilli and Garlic Oil. We had great fun and enjoyed it on eggs for breakfast the next morning. However, the oil since congealed in the fridge. What did we do? We fiddled with the recipe and had another go. That’s also learning.

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  6. Academia suits some people but it’s never really appealed to me and certainly not in retirement. As you have discovered there are many different routes to learn new things.
    Keeping my mind active as i grow older is important to me and i do this through my hobbies and interests.

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    1. It is! It can be easy to fall into doomscrolling and watching too much news. I think your travel is fantastic too for lifelong learning.

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      1. My husband seems to be able to read the news twice, three times a day and be unaffected by it. I, on the other hand, limit my input to maybe once or twice a week. Most of what you read isn’t true and what is, isn’t often good news!
        I have many other hobbies alongside travel which keep me connected with the outside world 😊

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    1. Thanks Rojie! Yes, we did about an hour of yoga ending with a meditation and then took a break, followed by about an hour on our paintings. 🖼️

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  8. That’s the beauty of being a lifelong learner, you can really study whatever you want. I got my Master’s because it enhanced my skills in the Army. I was looking at a PhD, but it’s so expensive, so that’s not happening.

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    1. Great job getting a Masters! That honestly takes a lot of personal discipline, when you’re already working full-time. I dont understand how anyone loves school enough to get a PhD. But thank goodness some do—we need our “experts” in all disciplines!

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      1. Yeah, that was a hard one to do while working. Long nights and weekends doing homework and papers. I actually know a few people who did back-to-back Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhDs. Insane!

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