Back To School?

Just as my kids are about to finish their school year, I find myself feeling as though I've got a lot to learn.
 
I suppose this is not a new situation. There's nothing like freelancing to remind you on a daily basis how much knowledge you don't have. Whether it's applying for jobs that require skills you've never before needed, or working at gigs where you are surrounded by people who know all sorts of things that you don't, it's hard not to feel like a full-time student of sorts. Is that demoralizing? Sometimes, I suppose. But as I talk to my kids about the ways in which they are going to develop certain skills this summer, I realize that there is always more to be learned. The trick, perhaps, is to seek out the learning opportunities that actually feel like a summer break, so that you are adding skills that make you happy, rather than just ones that make you ready.
 
I'm not sure yet what my "course load" will be this summer. It might include some geography, as we travel to explore colleges. It might include a bit of training in logical thought, as I am called upon to balance the needs of my work life and my and my family's home life. There might be some tutorials in social media and Excel, because who these days can't use a bit more of those? The rest will be a "build your own major," based on opportunities--and needs--that arise.
 
My kids can't wait for summer, and maybe in some ways, I can't either. A change of pace will give us all a bit of time to learn the things that will take us to our next steps. So it's out of school, but back to school. Because it seems as though, no matter how far along you are, there is always more to learn.