Always Learning

Aloooha!

When the semester ends and in an instant you have much more free time than you know what to do with, it’s amazing the things you’re able to start accomplishing. Things like going running for the second time in three months (the other time being over Thanksgiving break) or eating a healthier diet than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and Little Caesar’s pizza or binge watching all the Star Wars movies. Probably the best thing to do, though, is reflect back on everything that’s happened since the semester started… Look at where you were then, where you are now, how you’ve grown, how you’ve regressed, what you’ve learned, what you want to stop doing, what you want to keep doing, what you want to start doing… Those kinds of things. Because if you’re going through life without learning from and appreciating everything that’s happening, what’s the point…?

A wise man once gave me this advice: “Learn from the past. Prepare for the future. Live in the present.” It wasn’t until much later that I realized he was quoting Tommy Monson. Go figure. But that’s kinda what this post is gonna be about. Reflections on this last semester and goals for the next. Buckle up, fam, because it’s been a wild ride.

My schedule was so eclectic this semester that you could have looked at it and not had any idea what I was majoring in. (To be fair, I guess I wasn’t totally sure about that for a while either.) Between upper division economics and biology classes, a chemistry class, an English class, a tennis class, and of course, a Western swing class, I was learning things that had almost no relevance to each other. That kinda sucked, but at the same time, learning a whole mess of different subjects gives you a really good idea of what you like and what you don’t like. I really appreciate the people who are into atoms and acids and bases and molecular genetics and stuff, I appreciate that their fields of study are incredibly important and relevant, and I applaud them for pursuing that. But after a month or so of genetics and chemistry, I learned that I really, really, really don’t care about the mechanics of what happens in my cells, and a career relating to that doesn’t appeal to me in the slightest. I’m much more interested in how society works, in how people behave and respond to incentives… Those sorts of things. Things I’d get to learn more about if I were to double major in, say, Economics and International Business. Hence, that’s the plan. ...for now, at least.

So the plus side to a bunch of different classes? You learn pretty quickly what you like. The down side? Well, you can’t really drop the classes you don’t like once you’re that far into the semester. You learn pretty quickly that learning material simply for the sake of performing well on tests is frustrating and demotivating, but you kinda gotta push through them to maintain your GPA.

I learned through experience that there is such thing as putting too much on your plate. If you spread yourself too thin getting involved in too many things, you won’t be able to excel in any one of them in particular. I covered this in another blog post, but this was definitely one of my biggest take-aways from this semester. Whatever you do, do it well, and don’t do too much. (Or still do, despite learning this lesson… Still low-key struggling with this one.)

I learned that the people you should always make a priority in your life are the ones that are always gonna make you a priority in theirs. These people are gonna be few, but that’s ok. They’re gonna be the ones that you’ll be golfing and skiing with when you’re in your 70s.

Perhaps the greatest lesson I’ve learned this semester (or maybe have had reinforced) has been a very real application of the principle of agency. To illustrate this, there’s an occasion in the Pearl of Great Price when the Lord takes Enoch on a walk and shows him all the inhabitants of the earth. At one point, Enoch sees that the Lord is weeping and asks him why. The Lord explains that he created us and gave us knowledge and agency -- the freedom to act for ourselves. He gave us the commandment to love, yet our carnal selves often choose to hate and be without affection, leading to the suffering of both the hatees and the haters. The Lord can command us in all things, yet he has not the power to force or compel us to do anything. For this reason, I believe, he wept. Not because he wants to be able to control us, but because he understands better than anyone that love and nothing else is what will ultimately lead us to happiness, and when we disregard this, we miss out on some very real and sublime blessings. That’s the burden that comes along with the gift of agency. Unwise decisions often result in suffering, yet allowing us to act for ourselves is completely essential to our progression. There are some things we simply must learn through experience.

Just as the Lord allows each of us to act for ourselves, it’s our responsibility to allow others to do the same. We may give advice to friends, and they may or may not heed it, but either way, we have to be ok with their decisions, even (or perhaps especially) if we know it’s going to cause them pain. If we take a look at our own track records on decision making, are any of us even close to being perfect? Not a chance. But our choices and experiences define who we are. So, here’s to becoming the best people we can be, one right or wrong decision at a time.

I know there’s more to reflect on this semester (like the amount of tacos or Indian food I’ve eaten), but this is all that’s coming to mind right now. We’ve got Revenge of the Sith to watch, so I probably ought to wrap up. I’m looking forward to the break, and I’m excited for next semester. I’m excited for classes relevant to what I want to make a career out of. I’m excited to know just what I’m gonna be involved in and dedicating my time to. I’m excited to spend more time with the people I love. And I’m excited to keep learning and stumbling my way through this wonderful, beautiful journey we call life.

Much love and aloha my friends. Mele kalikimaka!

Dizzy