Lifelong Learning
Author: Mariana S.
Level: 7
Instructor: Valentina A.
Photo Credit: nexusplexus / 123rf Stock Photos
Article ID: 2687 [Education- Winter 2022]
“The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.”
- Sydney J. Harris
"Lifelong learning" means that a person is active, curious and should learn their entire life something new. For their whole life people are learning, starting with birth until becoming adults and even after.
Learning is beneficial for our mental health. Reading, even for short periods of time, can dramatically reduce the stress levels. I read somewhere that a good way to keep your mind sharp is to learn a new language and to solve crosswords. Learning how to play a musical instrument and learning other difficult new skills are associated with improved memory and can help delay symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.
In the last 30 years technology advances quickly and people have to learn new knowledge and skills and adapt to rapid changes in professional and personal environments. I believe that companies should provide for their employees a variety of professional and personal development skills courses, because when people are good in their personal life, they become better in their jobs as well.
About myself, I plan to become fluent in English and I want to take all of the exams that I have to do in order to practice as a registered nurse in Ontario. It was a dream for me since I was 8 to become a nurse and motivation is the most important factor that influenced me. I started to study nursing when my first child was almost 2 years old and I had a job as well. After I got a job as a nurse I gave birth to my second child and I learned how to drive. When my second child was around 8 I started University to study nursing at the highest level. Now, I want to get my driver’s licence in Canada while doing a course “Before Operational Stress” from Sunnybrook Hospital and studying English with my teacher’s help and by myself. Also, I try to learn from every experience that life gave me, from my family, friends, colleagues, because from all challenges that I had I learned something new.
I am absolutely sure that having a vision and a plan of what to achieve in life is necessary if you ever want to arrive at the final destination and see your dreams come true.
“Wisdom…. comes not from age, but from education and learning.” - Anton Chekhov