A Personal Reflection on Learning

Learning
I've been in the field of learning my entire life but I'm not sure I really got what true learning was until the last year. I have learnt so much in the last 12 months and never more so than in the last month.

So I thought I'd reflect on what I've learnt.

I have learnt that I can travel:-
that I can sit on planes for 24 hours
that I can deal with airports, and foreign currencies and countries and people with different languages
that I pack way too much to take away with me
that I can wear the same clothes for more than one day and the world doesn't end

I have learnt that world is a much bigger place than the small corner of it that I've always known:-
that there are parts of the world with tremendous history
that there are amazing things to see and be part of out there
that there were some terrible atrocities in the world in the past and that we all need to be part of ensuring they don't happen again

I've learnt that my physical limitations are not as limited as I thought they were. I've learnt I could physically push myself a lot further than I have in the past.

I've learnt that anyone can learn new skills. I learnt to use a map, okay not well yet, but I've started. I learnt that to learn something new you have to want to learn it, that you have to engage with it, and that it helps to have someone to encourage you, someone who believes in you when you sometimes struggle to believe in yourself.

I know my world has been pretty narrow and I thought that was my lot in life. I've learnt it's not. I've learnt I can expand my life and try new things. If I can't do them at first I will keep trying. Baby steps are okay.

I've learnt that panic is a wasted state of being.  I've begun to learn how not to panic. I've gained a sense of calm that I will take forward with me into unknown situations. I've  learned to stop dwelling in the past, and worrying about the future. I've learned to stop over thinking about things that might or might not happen. I've learnt that I can't waste time regretting things I've done and said. That I just need to move on and learn from everything.

I've learnt that real learning is in doing. Listening to others, watching others, reading what others have done are all good.  But getting out into the world and doing things yourself...there is no better way to learn.

I've learnt that I don't have to get everything right, especially the first time. And that knowing I might not be able to do something shouldn't stop me from trying it. I've learnt I need to try new stuff to grow into a different person, a better person.

I've learnt to ask for help. I've learnt I don't have to do everything myself and that it's not failing to ask others for help and support.

I learned that a true friend will put up with your insecurities and your unfounded worries. They won't fix your problems for you, but they will be there next to you while you figure it out for yourself.

I've learned that a real friend won't tell you what you want to hear. They will be honest with you. And that may feel a little brutal at times. But it's what true friends do and it's what helps you to learn and to grow.
I've learnt that friendship can span generations, and continents and experiences. That sometimes you just find an equality and a connection with people that transcends the normal bounds of age, and of life experience and of distance.

I've learnt that friends can talk for hours about everything, and about nothing, and that both of those things are to be valued.

I've learnt that friends can forgive you when you say and do dumb stuff, and they can help you figure it out so you don't keep doing and saying the same dumb stuff.

So Jono, to one of the best friends I've ever had, to someone who knows me better than maybe anyone else I know, thank you. 

I would like to think I would have learnt a lot of this somewhere, sometime, but you've been an inspiration and a support in the last 12 months. Thank you for understanding my insecurities and even more so for helping me confront them.

The fact that our friendship has continued despite generational difference, through the separation of distance and the experiences in our lives is really special. And deep down past those nagging doubts hidden inside me about myself and worthiness that occasionally surface, I really do know that. 

You have been a real friend. You provoke me, you inspire me, you don't let me take the easy way out. And not too many people have ever done that. Partly because I don't let myself get too close to people. And partly because there's an equality in our relationship- both at work and as friends that defies normal bounds.

You have an incredible wisdom for someone your age, while still remaining so much someone of your age! Its a pretty amazing combination.

You know already I have immense respect for you as a teacher and a leader. 

I hope you know I have even more respect for you as a person and as a friend.

Thanks for helping me become a real life learner, not just a school learner!