When I graduated school for the last time I was under the impression that I no longer needed to learn anything. Growing up it felt like I was told that once I finished school that meant I knew everything there was to know about this world, everything I needed to know in order to survive. After getting my first job I realized that the child version of myself had been tricked into thinking something that just wasn’t true. When I first got hired, I spent about three days on the computer learning about all the policies and how to handle certain situations in a professional manner. I had never even thought that in order to be a cashier you needed to know so many things.
When I got promoted to be the photo specialist I had to learn more things; I couldn’t just hit two buttons and print photos anymore, I had to learn how to put together canvases and metal sheets and photo albums. I had to learn how to submit a personalized blanket to be shipped to the store. It was incredible how many things I had to learn in addition to what I already knew. When I got promoted to be the beauty advisor I once again had to learn new things like how to match foundation colors to the customer, what skin types benefit from which products, how to describe the scent of perfume.
When I was promoted again to shift supervisor I had to spend a week learning more things on the computer and then I had to learn more things when I became a pharmacy technician. When I look back at my childhood I can’t help but question how I came up with the idea that once you graduate from school you no longer needed to learn, there was nothing left to learn. Every day I learn something new whether it be something to do with my job, my friends, or myself. I’m always learning and I appreciate that this world has so many lessons to offer me.
One thing I’ve enjoyed learning about the most is letting go; letting go of the idea that I need to be perfect and look perfect for people to notice me. Letting go of that false idea that only model looking people will be liked. Letting go of that inner voice that constantly told me “You’ll never be good enough”. As silly as it may sound, I’ve learned how to just not give a rats ass through TikTok. This app that was seemingly made for children actually helped me learn to just be myself and stop caring so much about what I look like.
I know I’m the best looking person nor the healthiest looking person but I somehow managed to obtain over 300 followers in just two months. The amount of confidence this has given me is beyond what I could have imagined just five months ago. What started as a joke has now become something I have passion for and enjoy doing every day and you can bet that I’m still learning new ways of editing and filming my videos.
The moral of this story is to never stop learning, allow yourself to be open to the idea of learning something new. It doesn’t matter how old you are, it doesn’t matter if you got your doctorate in something a few years ago. Like the saying goes “It’s never too late to teach an old dog a new trick” go forth and prosper. Always remember that continuously learning can open your eyes up to something new and amazing.
Finding Shay 