There’s nothing wrong with not knowing something. Unfortunately many people are ashamed to ask.
I was like that, feeling small because I hadn’t attended college.
When people now are surprised by this, it makes me smile.
A woman I knew years ago with many scrolls on her wall said… Susannah, all school is…you read a lot and write about it.
I’ve never forgotten that.
I’m self-taught enjoying every minute of the journey and do often share it. Just get me going on the American Civil War or Brooklyn Bridge and you’ll have to hit me with a stun gun to shut me up.
Knowledge is exciting, especially when there isn’t a gun to your head to learn it.
Now I know what George Bernard Shaw meant when he said, youth was wasted on the young. I didn’t care much either, and this was way before Tweeting took precedence. But now, it’s different. I Google constantly, and if still need clarification, call my pal Ed, aka Edipedia, since he seems to know a little about almost everything.
Hearing something explained simply without bells and whistles is by far, the best way to retain it, making it your own.
My least favorite writers are ones who flex their education making it more important than educating their reader.
Preening egos go right back on that library shelf faster than you can say…It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, thank you Mr. Dickens.
The other thing about learning is, it ups your self-esteem.
To be able to say to someone, did you know? Have you ever read? Let me share this, it’s amazing, does more for you than an iPhone 12 or Prada bag.
It adds weight to your being, making you more interesting.
My respect in someone grows when they ask a question, not to mention, increase it in myself if I can supply the answer.
I guess it all comes back to reading, making it a habit, lacing it into your life. 
Francis Bacon said, knowledge is power, and I think he meant, power within oneself because you feel steadier, more reassured, the more you know.
The Definition of more is… a greater or additional amount or degree, and I’ll add, without necessarily having one. 🙂
SB
Susannah, I’ve met plenty of people with degrees who are morons. I constantly tell my students that reading anything will help them with test taking. Many tests are simply a matter of how fast you can read and comprehend. Like any skill, the more you read, the better you get at it. In addition to imparting knowledge, It can transport you to another world. But you already know this.
Never feel inferior, Susannah. You have more up in your noggin than a lot of pompous intellectuals.
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That’s such a compliment, coming from you, being the noble teacher that you are. Love your opening line… I’ve met plenty of people with degrees who are morons. Yes, you see them at the Library, the men’s balls hardly able to fit in their pants. How do they sit down. And the women, who bloviate their greatness as if you should bow. You know, humility and great writing do a helluva minuet, Skinny.
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Can I get a Hallelujah Grasshopper?! I can’t wait to share this with my school-loving sister. You have proved her theory. She was reading Cosmo at 10 to read and learn while I was doing regular kid things. She went to college and earned 2 degrees because she didn’t want to leave. Then she figured out you can be a professional student right at home … FOR FREE. I’m more of a “Did you know grapes catch on fire in the microwave?” Student.
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But is your sister as funny as you? Or as great a writer as you are? Your education brays with every punchline. Grasshopper’s two cents
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Oh, she is very funny and would agree with you 1000%. Her shortfall is common sense, which I have an abundance. It’s a good combo. I will say I ALWAYS felt insignificant for not going to college, but I too learned to let that ship sail.
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I thought you had. Why? Because you’re so smart. 🙂
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Education is a good thing, no matter how you acquire it. In fact the more challenging and self-directed, probably the better it “sticks.”
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Hi Eilene. I couldn’t have said it better. 🙂
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I could not agree more, Susannah. I am constantly on The Google, checking anything from the spelling of a word to the veracity of a statement made on FB or whatever to curiosity about, well, anything.
Ever notice that what you research on your own stays anchored in your head way more than, say, calculus learnt in Grade 12 or whatever? I look at that old math I excelled in and can’t remember a fucking thing about it. It is now a foreign language that got kicked out of my memory index cards to make way for more interesting stuff!
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Absolutely, because it was your idea to look it up. Unless I’m interested, it leaks out of my senses never to be known again. I’ll never be a mathematician, but could lecture on Teddy. Did you know the horse he rode up San Juan Hill on, it’s name was Little Texas, and he’s buried in the pet cemetery, at Sagamore Hill, the Roosevelt family homestead? See, just writing that excited me. 🙂
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Exactly!
When I’m not interested in goes in one eye and out the other 😉 so to speak…
I believe you might have mentioned Teddy’s horse story in one of your “Did You Know” posts 😉
My mother used to read only historical romance and can hold a conversation with anyone regarding history – of all sorts. Doesn’t matter what genre you read, there is usually something to learn.
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I don’t remember. I love knowing the names of famous horses. Lincoln’s was named, Old Bob.
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No matter. I love reading your anecdotes. And I love that they all had their horses and that they cared for them like a member of their family
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I guess it would be like if we named our cars. Horses were really one’s pal when you consider how much time someone spent riding. There was no other transport unless you went by carriage, and even then, you needed one.
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This is true. They were way more important than the cars of today…
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I can’t imagine having to saddle up every time I needed a quart’a milk.
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There is that… That’s when you hope the milk is within walking distance… or you send your hired help to get it!
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There I’d be, me and Old Bob, trottin’ along. 🙂
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He he he… why not… Though trottin’s hard on the tushie… maybe just amblin’…
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Maybe Bob would like a pillow across his saddle.
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He might not care, but you will! Happy trailllllss to you….🎶
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🙂
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I have learned far more via my lifetime of reading than I ever learned in the classrooms in which I spent so much of my first 29 years of life. Yes, for 29 years. Lop off the first five until I got to kindergarten, and the two in between college and law school, and it ends up totalling 22 years of schooling. Ugh! But something I learned about myself after all that schooling was that I have an auditory processing deficit — which means it’s difficult for me to pay attention to and absorb information delivered verbally. My mind has a tendency to wander when people are talking to me — which makes focusing on a lecture difficult to do. As a result, most of my learning has been through what I read.
The reality is, as you’ve discovered, it doesn’t matter how you acquire it. Knowledge is everything and you’ve got it.
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You’re awfully smart Midget, whether you’re heavily schooled or not. It’s more life smart. Been my experience in our exchanges.
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I prefer to think of it as common sense grounded in reality. In my work life, I was amazed at how many people in positions of responsibility lacked that. And because I insisted on reality, I acquired the nickname Angel of Darkness. 😉
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So that’s where it comes from. Wondered.
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It was years ago. After telling my boss a series of bad news because, you know, reality, I entered his office to tell him something. Before I could say anything, he said, “What is it now, Angel of Darkness?”
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It’s evident from your writing that you are well-educated. Having such an inquisitive mind was your ticket to mental freedom and exploration. Keep it up! We benefit from the things you write.
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You’re very generous with your praise Anne. Thanks.
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SB
I am constantly Googling something, and am unabashedly unapologetic about it. I mean, I’ve been to the other end of the learning ladder, what with those walks to the library to research something or other. That was real deal research too, the kind you earned . . so you paid attention. Now, I just love to see where that Google search might take me. Anything that adds to my knowledge, I’m down with.
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Most writers I’m sure could claim this. One fact leads to another, then another and another. Before you know it, you could lecture. 🙂
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Right? 😉
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Yes. With flair I might add. 🙂
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Elan . . of course I went there because I’m thinking file, yanno?
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Our file runneth ova. 🙂
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I gotta reinforce the floor, just to be safe. 😉
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Good idea. 🙂
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🙂
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Knowledge is self-actualizing. When you think about it, we learn something new and now carry that knowledge as part of ourselves. You can’t get much better than that in helping us feel good about ourselves. Thank you, Susannah, for a very thoughtful post. 😊
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You explained that beautifully John. Like…carry that knowledge as part of ourselves. That is so true. It’s silently ornamental, colors that only you can see. 🙂
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And badges only you can feel. 😊
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🙂
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I left school as soon as I could legally, so I didn’t graduate from high school. Do I regret it? No, not really. I have always had a job though when I was young they were low paying. Later, with experience and learned self-confidence, I earned more than enough to be happy. I didn’t get monetarily rich but I am rich with happiness.
All that being said…if things had been different in my teen years I would be a radiologist today.
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Your writing is so amazing. I’m shocked you didn’t finish high school. Wow!
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You have no reason to feel inferior in any way. Your writing is inciteful, well-informed, entertaining and heart-felt. Boris went to Eton and Balliol but you could teach him a thing or two.
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I appreciate that kind assessment of me, Mick. Thanks.
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Love this one. The important thing is not what you studied in the past, but a constant curiosity and desire to know more, which you have in abundance.
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You too. You’re one of the few fellow chronic readers I know. People just don’t care about history, just what they hear on CNN and Fox. The past bolsters you. It does. Makes you less afraid along with a clearer understanding of current events. Love your phrase…a constant curiosity. YUP!!! That nails it alright. Thanks for reading the piece. Never take being read for granted. I don’t care who you are. 🙂
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