Nathanial Garrod

One Word 2014

As far as I know here in late December of 2013, while I sit in a coffee shop in Northwest Portland contemplating how far I have come in the pat year and what is going to be different in the upcoming year, 2014 is the first year I will not be enrolled in formal academic education since I was in high school. Unless being homeschooled counts.

Access to education is something that has become important to me, the ability to learn knowledge, skills and abilities. As an inquisitive individual, this is something I hope to never stop doing. So my One Word 2014 is Learning. Learning, because I think it is a thing that is important. Learning, because after Change, I need to Learn how to deal with this new phase of my life, I need to Learn how to be this person that I now am – not that I am any different than I have ever been, but because the things in my life have Changed – and I need to Learn the lessons in life that do not come from a book.

With Learning, there is a complexity. I am almost certain that the majority of what I will learn over the next 365 days will be lessons of experience and reflection, I will learn things from the choices and actions I make. Some of it will be things I learn in books, as I try to stay on top of the latest work in my professional field and catch up on reading in a few genres I have neglected the past few years.  But there is a part of Learning that I sometimes struggle with. Asking for help. Because I cannot always teach myself the things I need to know, I cannot always be as self-sufficient as I want to be. Because I have to build connections, and network and learn from the experiences and difficulties of others in order to make myself better.

I am looking forward to 2014, and all the things I will learn.

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This entry was posted on January 1, 2014 by in Student Affairs, Thoughts and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , .

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