I love to learn — always have and hope I always do! I thoroughly enjoy learning about a subject or how to do something, and that was, I know, a huge factor in my choosing to become a teacher. This week, I’ve been challenged to list 10 things (or subjects) I wish I knew more about. And in no particular order, here we go!
1. I know several people who have participated in long bicycle trips/vacations and have always thought doing that would be a great adventure. The problem is that while I know how to ride a bike, I don’t understand the principles of or how to operate a multiple-speed bike! Therefore, I wish I knew how to operate a multiple-speed bike.
2. I learned to knit when I was a little girl but only learned the very basics — cast-on, knit, purl, decrease, bind off, and reading very basic patterns. That’s it! Equipped with that knowledge, I could knit anything that was square or rectangular in shape — prayer shawls, scarves, pot holders, etc. Last Summer I took a beginner’s class to refresh my skills, and I learned to increase and read slightly more complicated patterns. But I want to know more. I wish I knew more about knitting! I want to be able to knit socks two-at-a-time from the toe-up on 2 circular needles (not on a magic loop), to be able to look at a mistake and know not only what I did wrong but how to fix it, to read more complicated patterns, and to feel confident in tackling any project that catches my eye.
3. Last Spring, I spent an absolutely-delightful week at the John C. Campbell Folk School. One evening while I was there, a contra-dance was held in the main hall. I went and watched for awhile; the dancers were having a wonderful time, and I wanted to join in (I could have, as everyone was welcome to participate), but I didn’t. Between my hearing problem (wasn’t sure I could hear and understand what was being called well enough to keep up), my life-long lack of coordination, and timidity, I sat and watched. I’ve been thinking about contra-dancing since then, and I found a group about 40 minutes away that meets several times a month. Now I just have to get up the nerve to show up by myself, because I wish I knew how to contra-dance.
4. I have no idea why, but I wish I knew how to use sign language fluently.
5. I like to “travel light”; in fact, I’m thinking of investing in some fisherman-type khaki shorts with lots of pockets so I don’t have to carry a purse. But I digress. One thing I hate to carry is a camera, and because of that I’ve missed out on some great pictures over the past several years. To avoid that in the future, I wish I knew more about how to take really good photos with my iphone. I’m excited to share that just a week or so ago, I downloaded a free book(let) written by a professional photographer on taking great pictures with an iphone, and I’m planning to start reading it tonight while waiting at the airport for my daughter’s plane to arrive.
6. Obviously, I blog, and I read other people’s blogs as well. I don’t mind confessing that I turn multiple shades of green when visiting other women’s blogs and seeing how artistic their entries look — multiple font types and sizes, use of photos (and in such creative ways!), special effects (I don’t even know what they’re called, but I like them), etc. As a result, I wish I knew more about how to use WordPress. To that end, I signed up for an afternoon workshop on that exact topic at a blogging conference I’ll be attending in August. I can’t wait!
7. I’m a jill-of-many-trades-and-master-of-none, and I love being able to quilt, scrapbook, knit, and do other odds and ends of self-taught crafts. However, I wish I knew more about one or two specific crafts, enough that I could make a nice little side income from it/them. It would be nice to have a business that could grow and augment my retirement income when that day comes.
8. I took 3 years of Latin in high school and a semester of Spanish a few years ago just for fun. Nobody speaks Latin, of course, and about all I can do in Spanish is count to ten and ask for mas aqua and the bano (I helped build a latrine while on a week-end mission trip to Mexico 10 years ago). I’ve always wanted to be bi-lingual, so I wish I knew how to speak fluent Greek or Italian. Why one of those two? Well, I think Italian sounds beautiful, and I feel in love with the idea of visiting Greece after seeing the film Mama Mia!
9. I would love to be more self-sufficient and live debt-free, and it’s long been a dream of mine to live in either a small, self-built (for the most part) home or in a camper-trailer with solar energy, etc. Either way — small home or camper-trailer, I lack the knowledge and skills needed, so I wish I knew more definitely which route I want to take and
10. the skills I need to make that happen.
I love this week’s topic; I’ve been forced to face the fact that I could learn all 10 of these — I just haven’t done it, and I’ve made excuses for not getting started. But it’s time for me to get off my duff and get started!
What about you? What would you like to learn more about?