The Best Classroom is LIFE!

Our first day of kindergarten is a memorable one. We go out to the store and buy new pencils, new crayons, new notebooks, erasers and a backpack to hold all of these items. We go out and get the best new outfit to wear on that first day. For me, I had to wear the cutest little dress with my saddle shoes and frilly socks. Oh those were the days. Then comes our first day of Junior High which is another big milestone. Same things to buy, however no more saddle shoes or backpacks, but high tops and a shoulder bag. Sleep the night before this day does not occur. So pink eyes and all it's off to Junior High. Then it's High School. Too cool for any of these things, been there done that. College another place full of classrooms and first days. The first day of college is very similar to the first day of Kindergarten-exciting and stressful all at the same time. Throughout these years in classroom after classroom and teacher after teacher and professor after professor there is a lot learned. We learn about literature, grammar, mathematics, science (all of it), social studies, and so much more. We learn the things we need to know to pursue our career of choice. So yes the traditional classroom offers a great deal of knowledge. These are all great and necessary, but the one classroom we cannot live without is the classroom of Life. The lessons learned in life are so meaningful and long-lasting. What do we learn in life? We learn  the difference between right and wrong-no matter how we learn it or what we do with this information. We learn about feelings and what it feels like to feel. We have our first splinter and feel pain. We have our first heartbreak and feel another kind of pain. We have a birthday party and feel special. We wait up all night for Santa and feel excitement. We have our first kiss and feel butterflies. We learn to feel fear after watching our first horror movie. We learn to feel sad when we loose our first pet. We learn to feel disappointment after studying all night for a test and only getting a 'B'. The classroom of life teaches how to relate to one another, whether we decide to do this in a positive or negative way. We learn to love one another. Unfortunately, we also learn to hate. Life teaches us that we have choices, many many choices. Some are easy, some are hard. Oh wait a minute, every decision is hard for me. Sometimes I don't even know what underwear to wear. The classroom of life is everlasting. It's endless. It doesn't have four walls. It doesn't have desks in rows facing the same direction. It gives the learner the freedom to move around and explore. These lessons can teach the traditional classrooms a little something. I have always been a lover of learning, a real life-long learner. I want to learn about everything. So, maybe instead of just thinking about how I can get into a traditional classroom or have the time to sit in a traditional classroom to explore all these interests, I need to just learn these things through life's free classroom and not be afraid to explore the whole thing.