Lifelong Learning

I'll never forget my first day of college. I walked into my very first class (college algebra) at Southwest Texas State University, and my professor immediately made me cringe. She was an older, overweight, white-haired lady in a floral print dress. She looked like the kind of lady that wears natural deodorant and enjoys the company of cats. I digress. What really turned me off was what she said when she introduced herself. Something about world travel, blah, blah, blah, loving math, barf, barf, barf, and then the zinger... "I believe in lifelong learning." She was one of those . An academic. My immediate response, "Get over yourself, lady."

Only a few years later, I'm not too much older but apparently a bit wiser, because I see the value in her approach. Just because you're out of school doesn't mean you should stop learning. No matter that all that knowledge isn't dropped in your lap at 7:30am each morning in the form of an AP Economics book. Life after graduation generally requires you go out and explore things on your own, which is quite rewarding. On top of just life experiences, I've tried to identify a few specific skills I'd like to learn. Since graduation I've learned to sew. Learning to play the piano is also on my list, but I'm not quite there yet.

Anyway, this week I decided to tackle a new endeavor. I want to learn the military alphabet. I've always been amazed by the way troops communicate with each other. "Yes, it's Sergeant Mark Smith. That's Mike, Alpha, Romeo, Kilo..." They just rattle it off without any thought. Too. cool.

My co-workers, ever supporting and encouraging, made me an elementary school style banner to hang in my office. Remember the poster above the chalkboard with a cursive "A" and then the picture of an apple, then a "B" with a balloon? This is like that. But better. Also, they made me note cards to practice with and presented them to me tied up with a cute little yellow ribbon. It's only been a day, but I'm slowly getting better. "P" through "V" are rough, but I'm getting there.


Alpha
Bravo
Charlie
Delta
Echo
Foxtrot
G... g.... g... Golf
Hotel
India
Juliet
Kilo
Lima (Which my lovely co-worker Linda pronounces like the bean, not the city). It makes me giggle every time.
Mike
November (my personal favorite because it's my favorite month)
Oscar
P... P..... ugh. Let me come back to that one.
Quebec
Romeo
S. Ugh. I'll come back to that one, too.
Tango
U. Crap.
Victor
Whiskey
X-Ray
Yuma?
Zulu

Okay, so P,S,U,and potentially Y still need some work. Still, how's that for lifelong learning?




Sierra. S is Sierra.