Cramming my head with new knowledge...

It seems like it would be hard to learn something new at the relatively advanced age of (almost) 53. I will reach that milestone next month, and I am just flooded with new things to learn all the time. I read one time that most of the reading you do before the age of 30 is to learn new things, that most of the reading you do between 30 and 50 is application of things you should already know, and after 50 you should read for pleasure and not so much to learn new things.

Well...

Until they put me in a box six feet under ground, I have a feeling that I will still be learning how to do something new. Give me a toy to play with and I am on it! For example, if you put art supplies in front of me, I want to learn a new technique. If you give me a new lens for a camera, I want to learn how it works and shoot with it for days. If you give me a musical instrument, I want to learn to play it - although I have given up on many because some of them are really hard to learn! If new software comes out for the computer, I want to learn it as soon as it is released. The list goes on and on.

How does a person become inspired to learn their entire life? I think natural curiosity plays into it to a degree. It may be easier now for me to learn than it ever has been in my entire life. In high school I lacked intrinsic motivation. In college, I lacked perspective. In early years in my career, I lacked willingness. In later years, I have lacked very little. I find that I am hungrier for knowledge now than I have ever been. It can't come quickly enough for me. Maybe part of that is "wisdom" (there is some payoff for these gray hairs that are popping up!) and part of that is the realization that with this thirst for knowledge comes my conciousness that time is passing more quickly by the day. One never knows about life and how much you have left coming to you, but I hope to be around for a long time, learning something new every single day.

To me, that is the best way to spend the day.

One great thing that I learned today was that a former student of our Ad Design 1 and 2 classes, who ranked 3rd nationally while at DJCC, and who went to get his BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute this year, has been hired as a graphic designer and illustrator at an agency in Boulder, Colorado called "Moxie Sozo". You can check out the site at http://www.moxiesozo.com/ and see the kind of work that Ramzy will be involved with. It is my pleasure to announce more success for DJCC alumni, and I am very anxious to form the alumni group next fall as I start at the CCE. I love to learn what is going on with everyone out there in the industry, so please stay in touch and keep me up to date on current job news!

Here is a link to Ramzy's process blog at KCAI. While a senior there, he won national recognition and I am still very proud of him as he transitions into a surefire success as a pro. http://ramzymasri.blogspot.com/

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