Growing Up is Hard to Do

As of late I have really been thinking about what it means to be 21. Being 21 means that I am an adult; an individual who should be contributing to the advancement of society and the general global good. It also means that I have lived through approximately a quarter of my life, which is really scary for me to think about. I also realize that many professional athletes have already been playing in their respective professional leagues for 3 years and are no longer considered rookies. This leads me to ask myself, "What have I done so far?" 

Now, I can look back and think of a number of different things that I have done but I also realize that there is still a lot more that I can do. Right now I am attending a university to become a teacher. More and more I am coming to realize that the job that a teacher does directly affects the productivity, enjoyment of life, society as a whole, and many other things of the next generation. The only people that have a larger impact on the lives of the people of the next generation (in my opinion) are their family members. The great responsibility that you accept when you step into a classroom as the educator of the next generation is probably much larger than any of us can really anticipate. Yet, that is exactly what I will be doing in approximately 18 months. How can we even think that 5 years of schooling would be close to enough time to learn how to perform this task properly?

Once again, I look at my age and all of the experiences that I have had. Maybe I haven't had 100+ points in a single NHL season but I have picked up a few skills here and there. I then look ahead to the future when I am 42 and I try to imagine all that I have learned by looking back on my next 21 years- how much more would I know? How many more challenging and exhausting growth experiences will I have? I'm assuming more than I can think of. So why not learn from people who have lived through those additional 21 years already? 

Technology- as great as it is to find resources and organize information I'm really thinking that I haven't fully taken advantage of its ability to form networks with experienced individuals whom I trust and who are in the field. To tap into that base of experience and knowledge would be extremely beneficial for my development as a teacher and as an individual who is simply trying to figure out what it means to be 21.

Lesson of the week: take advantage of the experiences that other people have and listen to what they have learned. At 21 you can have a lot of constructive and knowledgeable experiences but at 42 you will have had many more.