On this birthday, I gift myself the space, time, and resources to learn.
I recognize that uncomfortable knot in my stomach when I’m stretching myself to learn something new. It’s the fear of failing in front of someone while I’m pushing my limits. But then comes the breakthrough when I’ve finally mastered a new skill—that feeling of growth, reaching a new step, and looking out to see what’s beyond from a new vantage point.
In the everyday moments, I want to remind my future self that there is always something to be learned.
Learning from Art
When talking with an artist at the Holualoa Kona Coffee Festival, I learned about how she works with block prints and getting multiple colors printed. I was in awe of the process and the new perspective I gained.
Learning from Teaching
When I tutor a college student who is learning C, I learn about how they misunderstand pointers—concepts that come so naturally to me after looking at C code for 30 years.
For example, thinking about the declaration:
int *name;A student might think the * is part of the int type, but realizing the * is associated with *name completely changed her understanding.
Learning from Nature
I learned a little bit about growing cocoa by looking at our own trees and observing the little cocoa babies that manage to grow from the hundreds of flowers.
My Birthday Week Celebration
Here is how I’m celebrating this week of learning and living:
- My favorite hot dog, followed by Snow Island Bingsu and pickleball with my love!
- Watching the Coffee Festival movie, Running for Grace.
- Tennis Doubles with Ron, Richard, and Harry.
- Tennis Doubles with Alex and Frank.
- Dinner with my love.
- Roasting my own green coffee.
- Polishing wood blocks for my workspace.
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” — Mahatma Gandhi