Do we learn less as we progress through the natural stages of life? In grade school we take English classes, in college some take philosophy, and in graduate school some perform in-depth research and prepare thesis papers.
Fast forward 10 years and many are married with a house and possibly kids. And bills. What do we do to keep our minds active and creative? Some have careers which allow them to continue learn, but most of us are not so lucky. Our life becomes routine, often performing similar tasks every day, with slight variations of course. We go to work, come home, eat dinner, watch a sitcom or baseball game, and go to sleep. Wash, rinse, repeat. It seems that we no longer have the thirst for knowledge or creativity from the past. We seem content to settle into our comfortable routines and ride it out.
Or do we? Lost in the shuffle are the thousands of additional tasks and pointers we have picked up in the past 10 years. We have fine tuned our career skills, learned how to raise kids, take care of a house, and balance a budget. It seems, then, that we have switched from a theoretical education to a practical education. An education which may actually prove to be more useful than philosophy, astronomy, or Middle East politics.
Perhaps the most important things we learn about as we age are our significant others, friends, family, and kids. As we create our homes and livelihoods, we build the support networks necessary for personal and financial success. We reflect on our own upbringing and attempt to raise our kids aware of our personal childhood experiences. We engage in years of trial and error, from changing diapers, to assuming new responsibilities at work. We are learning because we have to and people depend upon us to figure "it" out or to "make it work."
This dependency is what forces us to learn and improve everyday. So while our learning is much different than it was in our youth, it is arguably more important and creative.
