“Age does not matter”

Here’s my own take on “Learning is a continuous process.”

My brother doesn’t usually go out of his room unless it’s time to cook us food and so, if he does go out, something interesting must’ve really prompted him to do so. And today, he decided he wanted to fly a kite. He’s turning 21 this year, also the reason when my father found out about it, he jokingly said, “nag inaki si juswa” which also meant “you’re childish” [in English]. While it’s a funny story to hear and witness while this whole pandemic is on going, it brings a thought…

Is anyone really too old to do something new? Too young?

You see, I believe doing something new has nothing to do with how old you are. Hell, you can be 95 y/o and still do bungee jumping, who knows?

I think people find it so hard to do something new because they always end up wondering that they probably will never master the art of it so what’s the sense, but the point is, doing things that you haven’t done before doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be good at it.

There’s always this phrase “jack of all trade, master of none,” I personally think that’s way better than not being able to try out new things, to hide it under the guise of “I’m too old for that, I’m too young to do that.” You can be, you can do anything you set your mind to. I can be 60 y/o and still learn how to bike, you can be 40 y/o and still learn how to paint. You can do all kinds of things and the choice is on you if you wanted to just intensively study about a certain craft/activity but what matters the most is, you can do a bunch of stuff which is fun to be honest; something to be proud of.

I hear dozens of influencers, artists, wise men say that “learning is a continuous process” and I believe them. Learning never stops unless you purposely cease it. That’s when you stop yourself from growing, be “contented” with where you are right now, with limited knowledge you have acquired. Slouching all day until the sun sets, working your asses off in a confined 4-cornered room or cubicle doing bunch of paper works until it’s 5:00 PM and it’s time to go home.

The world is a new place everyday and it always will be. It just takes a lot of courage and strength to go out there to explore it.

But, of course, we won’t be disregarding the fact that there will always be an exception. Phobias or illnesses, for example. If your medical condition prohibits you to do something physically strenous then do not push yourself to do it but again, learning never stops. Not all activities must be done with so much effort, sometimes all it takes is a quiet place, a table, and specific materials to begin a project.

I also do not intend to offend anyone else who does office work, it is a decent job that pays off really well but if you’re looking for a sign to take a day off or two, just to do things you love to do without having to think about the money, do it.

These are my personal ideas circling around my little bubble for days now, week 6 of quarantining. I’m not telling you to think like me, but if you agree with me, welcome to the club!

Stay safe! x

-ij.

Ps. he never managed to fly that kite because he was just flying it on our roof. There weren’t enough space to build up momentum to make it fly. But what’s more important is that at least, he made an attempt.