From the Young Padawan’s

/ bensbitterblog
Dare to nightmare.

Dare to nightmare.

Recently, I have had several series of dreams that have had continuous plot lines that have gone to two or three parter’s. The common thread through all of them is that they are things I’ve done before. It was places I’ve previously worked, places I’ve already visited and things I’ve already experienced. The twist on all of them, is that I’m experiencing these things with someone from a different environment.

I think I finally figured out why I’m having these dreams. It’s because today I’m going to experience something I’ve done before, but with different people. At 43 years of age, I’m going to go back to school. I’m going to get my back to school picture that my wife will post on Facebook and I’m going back to school to learn something relatively new (Social Media) with an entirely new set of people. It’s strange to go back to something when you think you’ve already been there. It’s strange to think that when you are 43, you can learn new things, from people way younger than you. At my age, you’d think you are the one that knows everything. But really, aren’t you learning or re-learning things from young people all the time?

Please show me stuff.

Please show me stuff.

Like when you are trying to figure out this new fangled phone you were given at work that you give to your pre-teen and she takes it and shows you how to do everything on it in 5 minutes. Or when you were a lifelong basketball player/fan and your third grader decides to try football, and teaches you all about football and can tell you plays called motion or wedge?

How is it that when I’ve have been a blogger for four and a half years, and I can come upon a blogger that has only been doing it for two weeks and they can give me an insight into widget, or some social media site, or some promotional site that can teach me how to get more followers? How is it that I can learn something from someone so much more inexperienced than me?

In my dream I was super frustrated that someone that was so much younger than me was showing ME the ropes. How dare they? I was the one who had done this for so long. I was the one that knew all the techniques. But, really how could I dare think that the way I had done it was the only way? How could I think I knew it all? I haven’t lived a lifetime. I haven’t done it all. There are a thousand ways that something like this could be done.

Today I start my journey, a short one, but a journey nonetheless to learn something that is somewhat foreign to me, Social Media. Sure I use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Youtube and the like. But I barely know anything about how they can benefit companies. Not really. I need training from people that know more than me on the subject, before I go begging to work for a company.

A lot of us think we know so much about something. But, even math and science, that stuff that holds the keys to the universe and how it works, the stuff that must be proved, and the answers are always the same, (IE 1+1 always equals 2) is still growing and learning and new formula’s are still being figured out.

Today, I go learn from some young Padawan’s. I learn way more about a subject than I already know. I grab an ever growing bull by the horn’s and try to tackle it and make it my calf. I bring it to my farm, brand it with my knowledge, drink its milk and then put it out on the job market, with its combination of experience and the new knowledge learned from both younger and older teachers.

And hopefully wake up from the dream having learned a trick or two about things I thought I knew.

ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH

Bitter Learning from Young Ones Ben

43 thoughts on “From the Young Padawan’s”

  1. Good on you for going back to school! That’s a hard thing to do after a long time away. I admire your dedication. I can understand why the whole being-older-than-your-teachers thing would feel awkward – I’d feel weird too if it were me – but if it helps, I regularly saw students at my college who were over 40. Not tons, sure, but they were around. I even had a class with a guy who had to be at least 70! I fully believe that we should all keep learning for our entire lives, whether that be at school or on our own. There are always new and fascinating things to discover. And with how many people change careers nowadays, I imagine the number of older students will keep going up. Anyway, wishing you the best!

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    • Thanks for that. I think the hardest part is just adjusting to the whole homework and class and projects and all the crazy things that I’m not used to. And the fact that it is kind of a big change. But I will get it figured out. I’ve already learned more about Facebook than I ever thought I would know and it’s only the second week! Crazy!

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  8. Good luck and you’ll love it.
    I turned 50 in May this year and decided to start piano lessons. I’m absolutely loving it, but the music theory is hard going to this old brain of mine.

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  10. Yay! I am excited for you. I think you will kick butt!! I can relate to the awkward feelings of being taught by people younger than you. I struggle with that, too. My husband has a black belt in a martial art called Hopkido. He got me to sign up for a martial arts school so we could do it together. I went without him to a class one day, and I was the only person over the age of 10 who showed up. HA! AND, most of the 10 year olds had more experience in Martial Arts than I did, and were higher ranked, so I had to learn how to do some of the moves from them. It was super humbling. REALLY REALLY humbling… borderline humiliating kind of humbling 😀 But, I guess in the end, we all just have different sets of experiences that don’t always correspond with age. It still felt pretty awkward, though!

    Hope all goes well today!

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    • Well, I’m glad to see that people can relate. It has been quite interesting and very humbling trying to keep up with not only the young people, but all the ever changing data as well as all the course work. I don’t ever remember taking all this classwork at once. Should be interesting though!

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  11. My dreams are just frustrating and annoying. Mostly bathroom oriented which means my bladder is asking me to get up. Otherwise I stuck in some rotating dream hell with old employers, old friends and old boyfriends.

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  12. Ever watch that movie, The Internship? It offers a good reminder that each generation has something they can contribute to one another. Also, that it’s never too late to learn something new or sharpen your skills. Here’s to you and your new learning adventure. *raises glass*

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  14. Best wishes on the new start! It’s always humbling to have to learn from people who are younger or less experienced, but at least humble pie is PIE. Maybe you can eat a humble pizza pie while the young padawans teach you new stuff.

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  15. Well, since you are set to learn things today… Bringing a bull home to be s calf and then milk it, you’re doing farming wrong.

    Haha, sorry! It was just sitting there waiting for someone to poke at you. Great post tho, as I’m getting older myself, I am constantly reminded of how little I understand when I listen to my young cousins use the newest slang or tell me what the heck the cool new app they are using is. Sigh. I just don’t have the patience or the brain capacity to keep up with technology! Good luck on your first day.

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