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When I was 13 y.o. I asked my parents to get me a sewing machine for my birthday. I had seen my maternal grandmother use one and I wanted to learn how to use it too. My parents and maternal grandparents gave me the machine for my birthday with my parents adding in sewing lessons. I still have the machine today and still use it.

Learning isn’t just for school. We should be learning new things every day. “There are a lot of good, practical reasons to make learning something new every day your habit, but the best reason has nothing to do with practicality — we are learning creatures, and the lifelong practice of learning is what makes us humans and our lives worthwhile.” (Dustin Wax, Lifehack) So how do you learn something new?

Let me count the ways…

1.    Take up a new hobby

2.    Watch a YouTube video on something of interest to you

3.    Expand on a skill you already have

4.    Read Obituaries (a favorite pastime of mine)

5.    Learn a new word from a dictionary site

6.    Learn about a friend’s interest so you can talk about it with them

7.    Study what you kids are studying (you may already know it, but probably forgot)

8.    Learn a foreign language, one word a day

9.    Research your family history and tree

10.Take a staycation

 I particularly like #3 and #6. I love to cook and bake and have done so since I was a teen. Every year, I think of  cooking or baking items I want to learn that year. One year it was Souffle, another year it was converting my favorite baking recipes to vegan and gluten free, and yet another it was homemade pasta. This year I want to learn how to make cocoanut macaroons, easy veggie burgers from scratch and vegan cheesecake. As to #6, when my ex and I were married he loved to go into antique stores and bookstores (used books) in search of Detroit Publishing post cards and books on religion, philosophy, etc. As I began to understand this about him, I learned to peruse the bookstores for cookbooks. And thus began a collection of vintage and antique cookbooks. My foodie friends are impressed, others think it a little strange.

Whatever your choice is, learning everyday should become a habit. I have referred to myself as L3, lifelong learner. “All around us, change happens. We change careers, our personal lives, our community or business. Even if those changes are minor, they are still changes nonetheless. But one thing we might not realize is that one of the most effective ways for us to handle change is through learning.”  (—Leon Ho, LifeHack)

I’ll keep you posted on my baking adventures and you get out there and learn every day.