AS an adult, each of us has our own profession. But whatever our profession, we must be dedicated to that not just to survive financially but more importantly, so we can uplift the world that we live in. Sounds cliché? Definitely not. Because if all of us will cooperate on whatever endeavor we are good at, then this planet will be well on its way to a utopia.
Consider the year 2008 as a very challenging year and take it from there. There was one Australian futurist who claims that in the next 40 years, there will be another Ice Age and all eyes are in northern Europe. The glaciers there will melt and will give way to smooth farmlands while the rest of Asia will submerge in water. Therefore, governments this early must already study on how to bring about a massive exodus of population from Asia to northern Europe. The generation of high school students today will surely be the ones who will supervise the exodus 40 years from now. They must be prepared for this overwhelming academic challenge.
Another challenge facing the world focuses on the field of infectious diseases. In the 20th century, the world had a total of three pandemics killing more than two million people. We must not let those happen again. The first part of this millennium saw a surge of new strains in infectious diseases such as SARS, bird flu and E. coli. But since we had not let our guards down, we were able to prevent an outbreak of those diseases. However, we must not rest on our laurels. We must train our high school students today who will become our physiologists of tomorrow so they can protect the next generation of the world’s inhabitants.
But not all people are trained to become climatologists, state leaders and physicians. I am an artist for example. I am an Impressionist and my media are oil and watercolor. At the same time, I’m a professional football player and a member of the Australian national team. If I am to bring pride to my country, I must excel in these twin undertakings abroad. There is no other means to attain that except to constantly study. In my own little way, I have achieved constructing a library in my town here in Perth where I have acquired numerous books about the visual arts and about football. Studying even at the age of 22 still fascinates me. After all, studying does not stop when one graduates from college. It must continue to be a lifelong passion even when one reaches the age of 65.
There is one guy I know who is a movie critic. To be a movie critic, Gene must constantly be aware of the developments in the movie industry and the movie sector. And that is still studying. For example, Gene must know that there is already a new technology on how to appear one’s body bruised and battered on screen.
IF you are stuck here in London as an exchange student this Christmas and it is your choice to spend the holidays here rather than back home in Salamanca, then make the most out of it. Rather than just watching the sites or savoring the food in London (which is nothing really except your typical Western dishes), how about learning something? If you want to polish your English skills, then learn English here in London so you can appreciate more the beauty of the city while riding the London Eye, looking at the fireworks over River Thames, watching the Big Ben strike the New Year coundown or simply idling at Hyde Park.
Yet, it’s not just learning English that you can have as a pasttime of learning this Christmas. If you are a medical student here in London and you want to specialize in cardiology, then you may check out some of the renowned cardiology centers in London and try to make a visit. Try to inquire if you can borrow some reading materials from their library or better yet, just sit for four hours in the library every day and learn a few updates on cardiology. In this way, you will have ample preparation in your chosen specialization and you will have the edge over your classmates.
If you are a film buff, try to hang around the libary of any film school here in London and try to appreciate the difference between a Hollywood production and a British film. Try to distinguish how a British director helms a film and you can see that the British are although not arrogant, they try to project that their films are classical and more elegant. As with Hollywood movies, there are various genres in British films and television series from horror to comedy, from suspense to drama. Typical British film directors are Guy Ritchie and Paul Greengrass so if you want to have a self-study of British films, then better rent the movies megged by these directors. Or how about viewing the television series Spooks? It’s the British answer to the Hollywood television series The Unit. Movies starring Kiera Knightley, Daniel Radcliffe and Hugh Grant such as Pride and Prejudice that are produced in Britain are also worth studying because they are exemplars of British films. Meanwhile, if you want to study all about British plays, then simply go to any public library here in London and again have a self-study on the subject. There are considerable differences in West End and Broadway plays.
Or you may simply learn how to drive here in London. After all, all vehicles here have the right hand drive as roads here are driven to the left. Or maybe you have an interest in climatology. Christmas may be an opportune time to study and compare the weather patterns in Salamanca and in London. While it is admittedly a temperate climate all year round in Salamanca, here in London may be a little unpredictable.
ADULTS need not be contented with what they have learned as of the moment for education is a lifetime experience from being an infant up to old age. Even when one is still an infant, mothers or stepmothers already guide their babies on how to recognize milk from the nipples. Even in retirement, people keep learning new things. If one is a Roman Catholic, he may be learning new things about the Bible or about the canon law in religious seminars which may take two days long. That is still considered learning because one will be given a certificate of completion after these seminar trainings.
It is not just in a conventional training though that a certificate of completion is given. These certificates are likewise emailed to you where you can print a copy and affix your signature on it if you have completed a crash course online which may take two days to accomplish too. Even professionals take various crash courses to enhance their knowledge on the profession that they have dedicated to. Every once in a while – a year or so – accountants in any country meet for a seminar about updates on audit procedures and everything else in between. Infectious diseases experts all over the world meet every five years or so to update themselves on emerging Ebola threats in Congo or bird flu presence here and there. There may be an infectious diseases expert based in France who has discovered a new bacteria strain or a new antiviral formula which has not yet been learned by folks from CDC. That is why sharing knowledge with each other is important. And that is the essence of a lifetime of learning.
Another reason why people do not stop studying is to enhance themselves for promotion. That is why trainings and skills that one have achieved and can do respectively are important in one’s curriculum vitae. For example, I already have a bachelor’s degree in mass communications but I did not stop my education there. I took up a master’s degree in technological communications management, I took two weeks’ training on how to troubleshoot iPhones, another two weeks’ training on how to install Cisco products such as routers, game console adapters, bridges and range expanders as well as six weekends of training in reflexology and six months of training in medical transcription. See, I have diverse skills and companies will be impressed to hire me. Later on, I am planning to take up the advanced course in Teaching of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) so that I can teach English to South Koreans in the Philippines, to Thais in Phuket, to the Chinese in Beijing and to the French-speaking Canadians in Montreal. The possibilities are infinite. Who knows, I can become a movie dialogue coach in English. There’s an ongoing Hollywood production in the Philippines right now called Deep Gold and I have browsed online that they are in need of an English dialogue coach for the Cambodian actors and actresses on the set. I am planning to apply for that position.
