Conventional wisdom tells us that our school years, primary then collegiate, are our prime learning years. For me, that wasn’t the case. I put little effort into my studies—school had come easy for me. To please my father, I gave college a try even though I knew it wasn’t for me. I gave it a year. It seemed I needed to be outside the world of academia to learn my lessons.
But I did enjoy math, especially algebra! In my junior year of high school, I solved the entire course of algebraic theorems in the first month. It was the only textbook I took home. Subsequently, I was given the leeway to miss a few classes. Okay, maybe I missed more than a few! Since I showed up for the tests, my teacher didn’t care.
English class was a different story. I dreaded every minute. I had no desire to really learn what a split infinitive is. You see what I mean? I find it amusing that now I spend my days in an intimate relationship with words, punctuation, and grammar. Thank goodness for my editor!
Today, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a theorem and a postulate, but I’ll whip out an em dash when an explanatory clause is required. I call that irony.
You never know where life will take you or where you’ll take it. Every day I learn something new—some useful knowledge, some just fun facts.
It’s got me wondering. Will I someday find the periodic table worth memorizing?