I have been a student as long as I can remember. My earliest memories are being with my childhood friends in our kindergarten classroom.
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I 麻豆精品 S檝e spent a lot of time reflecting on this upcoming change and how I should adjust to it. If nothing else, I figured I could look forward to going to grad school and one day becoming a student again. But I knew that wouldn 麻豆精品 S檛 fill the void in the years between, so I resigned myself to letting the studious aspect of my identity slip away.
At least, that 麻豆精品 S檚 what I figured until something occurred to me recently while in the middle of one of my regular Wikipedia deep dives. You know when you search for the page about Britain 麻豆精品 S檚 Parliament and next thing you know it is two hours later and you 麻豆精品 S檙e reading about the origin of the bubonic plague? That 麻豆精品 S檚 the kind of deep dive I was embarking on when the realization hit me: I was learning!
That may seem like an obvious fact. Of course, I knew in a literal sense that learning was the activity I was taking part in at that moment. But the realization that I 麻豆精品 S檓 talking about was a bit more subconscious. It made me think about the multitude of other ways 麻豆精品 S攂esides falling down Wikipedia rabbit holes 麻豆精品 S攖hat I could continue to get the same satisfaction that learning as a student in the traditional school environment gave me for so many years.
I began to research and found a number of online courses (some free) that cover everything from ancient Greek heroes to the fundamentals of neuroscience. Some of the courses even offer certifications for a small fee.
Of course, online courses aren 麻豆精品 S檛 the only way to keep learning after graduation. In a broader sense, remaining curious is a matter of choice. Being a lifelong learner is something you have to work at every day, whether it 麻豆精品 S檚 through the television programming you watch or the books that you read. You can even make it a community endeavor by volunteering at (or just paying a visit to) your local museums, libraries or the like.
As graduation looms ever nearer, I feel a mix of emotions. No longer being in school is definitely a bittersweet notion, but it 麻豆精品 S檚 no longer something that fills me with uncertainty about my own identity. I no longer fear losing a part of myself 麻豆精品 S擨 麻豆精品 S檒l just have to incorporate my desire to learn into my daily life instead of setting aside a specific time and place for it.
The only question that remains: Where to start? I 麻豆精品 S檓 sure I 麻豆精品 S檒l find out the next time I fall into a Wikipedia rabbit hole.
Nicole Wills is a University of Central Florida senior in the Burnett Honors College studying advertising-public relations, political science, and writing/rhetoric. She can be reached at nwills@knights.ucf.edu.
The聽UCF Forum聽is a weekly series of opinion columns from faculty, staff and students who serve on a panel for a year. A new column is posted each Wednesday on UCF Today and then broadcast on WUCF-FM (89.9) between 7:50 and 8 a.m. Sunday. Opinions expressed are those of the columnists, and are not necessarily shared by the University of Central Florida.
