A Learning Quest

There are very few people that I know who are still in college - meaning in their late teens or early 20's and enrolled in school and for the most part, away from home. I love seeing life through their eyes - their inquisitiveness, their depth, their search for what the truth is in life. It brings me back to my college days and how free-spirited I felt.

I loved my days in college. Though it was a small private, Christian school, it helped develop who I am today. During my college days, I felt in charge of my life, time wasn't a factor, and sleep really didn't mean anything. I exerted my independence, broke a few rules "just because" I had never done anything "bad" before, and fantasized over boys in my class about what our future would be "if only." There were girls who I wished I was like, professors who taught me more than what the syllabus stated, and a balance of questioning life and trusting God.

As a little girl, I was always up late reading books. I remember my mom having to frequently come into my room to tell me to turn the light off. Yes, I tried the whole flashlight trick, too. It didn't work. Every time we went into a shopping center, I'd go to the area where the books were to see what book I wanted to read next. Sometimes, I was finished with a book before the end of the same day we bought it.

I have a fascination with books and bookstores. I love what's written on the pages - and what's written in between the lines. Books to me are like purses to some women. There are probably three books on my nightstand that I'm reading, and a dozen more on one of my many bookshelves of which I have yet to read. I'm challenged by each, and I learn something from them all. And I hate having to get rid of books! How does one choose which one is unworthy of sitting on a bookshelf any longer? Oh, the thought tears my soul. There is a nostalgia about an old book - a lost art, perhaps - that cannot be replaced by a Kindle. I'm sorry. It's just not the same as turning a page with your fingers and smelling the scent of the paper.

I digress.

College was the first time I was challenged to read "big" books. Books like Machiavelli, Bonhoeffer, Augustine, Karl Marx, and Jane Austen. I loved the discussions that came about by the words of these authors as well as the push to search within myself for what I believed.

College was the first time I was kissed (gasp!). It was the first time I wore flip flops in the shower. And if I think hard enough about it, I think it was the first time I ever went line dancing. There was a local place just over the hill called Señor Frogs. The name always perplexed me as line dancing, spanish, and frogs didn't go together, but I learned many line dances including my favorite, Cotton-Eyed Joe.

But as I reflect on others' current experiences and questions that they search answers for as they are in the midst of their own college days now, it makes me yearn to learn again. I love learning and strengthening my brain to be wiser and use it for more than I use it for now. If money weren't an issue, I'd probably consider being a lifetime student. I already have my Masters Degree. I sometimes wonder out loud how Dr. Roth would sound. Hmm.... :)

But seriously. Maybe that is what God has been nudging me to do as of lately. Honestly, I do not care about the titles or really even the degree. I just want to take random classes to enhance my own knowledge, to challenge my thinking, and to have even more intellectual conversations with others. What an amazing organ the brain is. Thank you, God, for creating us with the ability to learn and for providing the tools to stretch our minds. And thank you to those who are still in school to challenge my thinking through your own. The opportunity to learn never ends.

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(The photo is borrowed from a phenomenal photographer and friend named Mary Anne Morgan. Check out more of her work on her blog by clicking here. Her daughter, Annie, inspired the blog I just wrote. Check out her own blog here. She is a true artist with her words, and my blog dims bleakly in comparison to hers. This family has etched a special place in my heart, and I love learning simply by having the opportunity to glimpse into their lives from afar. I wish I lived closer but cherish the time I had with them when I was near.)