Life and Education

I always was a geek for school.
I wanted to learn, to soak it up, soak it in.
I wanted all my teachers to like me, and I didn't like it when I got into trouble.
I did anyway, sometimes, because...well, I'm a pretty mischievous person, at heart.
And I thoroughly bought into the notions and values (which I largely picked up from my Primary Educators):

-Think for yourself
-Being different / unique is an ultimate good
-Question authority

This has evolved, I suppose, into my current philosophical framework,
the lens of the prism through which I choose to engage with reality,
and my day-to-day life.

Which is to say, Question Everything.

I do not accept at face value that anything is what it purports to be,
what it seems, what it claims...
or that it always has been, always will be
what it is
or anything at all.

This may, at first glance,
Come across as somewhat destabilizing.

Perhaps so. On the other hand,
There are certain things that I am willing to accept as
Generally so.

I feel fairly confident that when I go to bed at night
I will (hopefully) wake up again in the morning.
There will be a room around me, with things in it.
A bed, a floor, walls.
A bathroom nearby.

There will be oxygen and water available
And I will likely continue to need them
And food.
Etc.

Of course, I know that these are assumptions
And that they COULD reasonably be disproven, at some point down the line.

You know, if there's a nuclear holocaust, or something like that.
(Doesn't seem as far-fetched now as it once did, unfortunately.)

Or, if the world as we know it is actually just a stage, an illusion, a viewing option
For a God or Deity observing from Above, Outside, Beyond or what have you...
Then perhaps He or She (or It) could grow bored with our petty grievances, prayers, and platitudes...
And just kinda pull the plug on the whole operation.

These are all possibilities I am willing to entertain.
That last scenario is not one I choose to find particularly appealing.
So I generally opt out.

There may be a Deity (or deities).
I do not doubt there are beings in the universe
Who know and perceive and understand
Many many
Things that I will never even be aware of.

And I can sit comfortably enough with that.
I don't need to speak with authority
About the universe, what's in it, who runs it
If anyone.

"The universe" as we know it
Is a concept conceived by humankind

So....this may all be cyclical nonsense,
searching for meaning,
from the get-go.

That's why I
Embrace the Chaos.

I try to make (mostly) rational decisions
Based on the information I believe I have, and can perceive
About how to carry on
From day to day.

I try to treat others the way I want to be treated
Because that seems straight-forward enough, generally.

I have a vague understanding of the concept of karma
(Again, I claim no expertise)
And so...I try to keep the scales in my favor, as much as I can
I believe that I am such a Lucky Dragon
That I have been blessed with good fortune, and fortuitous happenstance,
Great family and wonderful friends
Largely because I seek these things
With intention
And I (try to) focus on them
More than on the small frustrations and inconveniences
of everyday human life on earth.

Or of my particular life,
as Shana ["Goaty" "Tank" "Tink" Scruffhook O'] Tinkle,
a strange little pixie of a person
Flitting and frolicking through
the United States (and beyond, whenever possible.)

Because I know, both are there.
There are good days and bad.
Happy moments, full of beauty and joy
And miserable moments...of tedium, stress, anxiety, frustration, heartbreak...
and more.

And yes, to live a full life
I believe I must bow to both
Acknowledge, appreciate
Make space for
All.

Which is all rather unnecessary prelude for what I set out to write, which is:

I have flirted frequently with the idea of going to graduate school, in the nearly 6!!! years since I finished my undergrad degree.

Every time I have done the cost-benefit calculation in my head (for me personally, this is not at all meant as a slight for those who do take that path...)
it doesn't add up.

Too much time, too much money, too much commitment to a place and field of study...
And I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.
Many of the same old ideas are still kicking around.

I could be a writer, an actor, a director, a politician, a diplomat
An organizer, a social worker,
Perhaps a journalist? food critic? theater critic? travel writer? (the dream gigs, of course)

Or maybe...
Some other thing I haven't thought of yet.

A teacher, or an alternative educator, or a guidance counselor, therapist, or life coach.
I could see myself going down one of those roads.

There are still relatively few possibilities I have formally ruled out.

I have chosen a path, of sorts, for the time being.
Or maybe it chose me.

But, at least for the next year or so, I will take a crack at being a union organizer
With the American Federation of Teachers, Northeast Region Organizing Project.
And hopefully help to build the Power of the Labor Movement and the People's Resistance,
as a whole.

I will try, in that time, to stay true to my other goal
Of continuing my Life Education.

Since I am not technically in school,
I have determined to learn as much as I can
in whatever I do.

Both when I am at work, and when I (rarely) have time away.

The main classes I am enrolling in (in my mind)
at the moment are:
-The History and Legends of Comedy: Zingers, Quips, Timing, and Execution
-Folk, Work, Maritime Music and Lyrics of Revolution
-Shakespearean Redux: Tackling some of my old favorite plays and obsessions, digging in with the words, and attempting to piece together a tiny-cast performance...if work/time allows!
-Memoirs of a Pirate Sprite: This is me, attempting to craft a book out of the collection of stories I have compiled, especially in the past 5-10 years, while rambling and wandering, singing, sailing and storming about...here there and everywhere.

It's a pretty full course load, especially given that most of my mental space is already occupied with:
-What the eff is a Union Organizer? What do I do? Where am I going? What is life? What is reality? What's a union anyway? 
etc. etc. On the job training, as it were.

On the side, I am trying to stimulate the other, more neglected pockets of my brain, using apps like Duolingo to try to firm up on my Espanol and a couple trivia / brain teaser / geography quiz games because...well, mental math, visual spacial, and geography have always been big weak spots for me. Foreign languages...well, they aren't my strongest suit, but I blame that partly on the failing American Public School system, at least as far as that subject goes, and also on my own lack of discipline, and continued practice.

The main thing, I am certain, that kept me from properly learning French, back in the day, was that I was too scared, and too proud, to practice.
I know that I sound like a damn fool in French, or Spanish, or Italian, or German, or Hebrew or any other foreign tongue I have attempted to mangle in my mouth.
And I know that my prowess with English is relatively demonstrable...

So, I stick to what I know. To my strengths. Out of fear. Of sounding foolish. Of making an ass of myself.

But one of the main lessons I have learned in the School of Life, so far is:

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
You have to be willing to make an ass of yourself
To look foolish
If you want to learn
Anything.

As an avid tree-climber, to this day,
I also appreciate the old cliche
About going out on the limbs.

And I carry with me the wise words of
Ralph Waldo Emerson, who advised that one ought
"Always do what you are afraid to do."

So, I'm trying to get a fresh start with Spanish.
I still flirt with French periodically (how can you not, mais oui, mes amis?)
And especially now that I am in the Verts Monts state...
it is liable to come to me.
Which will only make it that much more challenging, to keep all my various
Romance Languages
Straight.

But...that's ok. I've always been a bit jagged and crooked,
anyway.  ;-P

To good health, happiness, and a fruitful journey toward enlightenment!
Love to all.

ST