the real deal

I think as we get older, we forget/don't want to bother with trying new things. As children, there were many stages and things in life that we needed to experience for the first time, that we were used to constantly trying new foods, activities, people, academic subjects, etc. That was the norm. The expectation. I remember being in middle school and mentally checking off life 'things' that I still needed to go through -starting high school, driving, going to my first high school football game with friends... Trying new things wasn't necessarily embarrassing or dramatic because there was such a plethora of them.
But now as I'm in the early-adult phase of life, the amount of new experiences has decreased significantly. Now it seems as though I have to be intentional to try new activities, places, foods, etc. The basic things in life have all been learned already. Tying shoes -check, riding a bike -check, basic schooling -check, opening a bank account -check, flying alone -check, driving busy freeways -check, paying bills -check. And this is why the phrase I heard as a child regarding elderly people now makes sense -"oh, he's old; just stuck in his ways." And no wonder. It's easier to just keep things as they are instead of taking the effort and time to try new things.
But in response to this, the joy and fulfillment from continuous learning truly does exceed comfortability and routine. Yes, it can be hard and time consuming, but it's worth it. I want to be a person who seeks to be adventurous and experience a variety of things. Even in my future occupation as an SLP, I can't give therapy for 30 plus years only off of the information I know now, i need to continually learn.

Continuous learning and experiences.. that's important! -well, those are my thoughts of the day..