Remember When Learning Was Fun?

        In my last post, I encouraged you to identify what motivates you to pursue higher education. Having acknowledged a broad spectrum of perfectly understandable reasons for attending college—from being swept along with the tide of good intentions, uncertain of your own desires, to having your eyes determinedly fixed on the prize at the end, in a degree— I want to ever so gently offer one of the first of many Things the Professor Cannot Actually Say. Both ends of that spectrum are embedded with the potential to allow you to miss the inherent beauty of the academic journey.

         Okay, it probably sounds cheesy to wax rhapsodic about the beauty of the journey. From my vantage point as an educator, I nevertheless hope you will at least consider adding to your personal repertoire of motivations for continuing your education: learning for the sake of learning. Most of us professors have studied for the long haul because we discovered that the process of learning itself is incredibly enriching. Engaging deeply with higher education allows you to gain new insights, explore different perspectives, and actively live the questions of meaning, identity, and value with which we naturally contend as human beings. That struggle to make meaning allows us to learn, develop, and grow, and is potentially life changing.

That’s pretty awesome.

Now, I recognize that not everyone has the same inner fire that charges academic types. However, having also been a mother, I have watched how children possess a natural curiosity. They are enraptured by discovery. You’ve probably witnessed it, that unbridled delight of a child, in seeing or learning something new. Do you remember that feeling yourself? Maybe… I really do hope… even moving beyond a memory from your childhood? Have you learned something new, and experienced a deep sense of satisfaction? I mention this phenomenon, because as an instructor, I have seen students evidently lose sight of the joy of learning. As you dig into your academic fields of choice, my fervent wish for you is that the process of learning will involve at least the occasional thrill of discovery. The frisson of excitement in encountering a new way of tackling a problem or of understanding the world.

         Not every assignment in your educational journey is going to leave you sizzling with energy. Some educational activities you may downright despise, and that is okay; in fact, noticing what moves you and what leaves you cold is important information to help you decide where to invest your time in taking future classes or pursuing a career. On the whole, though, consider that it is always easier to find something, when you are actively looking for it. And it is easier to experience joy and delight, with an open heart and mind. Being actively receptive is the key. As you approach learning, keep your eyes peeled, then, for any possibility of discovery, and believe me, you will have more fun along the way.

         That little tidbit of wisdom shared, if you are giving it your all and your university education does not afford you at least a taste of fulfillment, enough to keep you animated for the long haul of work toward your degree, then I invite you to take a step back. Pause. Evaluate. If you are not enjoying the process, as a whole, sometimes a change may be in order. Am I pursuing a course of study that truly vitalizes me? If not, why not? What may need to shift? What if I found a more supportive advisor or professor, who listens to me and my needs? What if I tried a different major… the one that I secretly enjoy? Is it possible that I might fare better in another program, or even in another, better match of a school? Allowing for the fact that COVID-19 is making everything harder, permit yourself to reflect on where your energy is, to notice where you experience a sense of deep satisfaction and feel joy, and then discover where that awareness leads you.