Reflections on a summer holiday where almost nothing went as planned
My granddad always said: There is always something to learn, in every situation, and in the least you will learn how not to do a thing. Writing some contributions to the Life Wide Magazine* for which the editors asked to reflect on how imagination influences our life, learning and work, made me reflect on these aspects again. We are always learning, every day. This summer was somehow a zip file of the last six months. Full of unexpected turns and change of plans.
Nevertheless, we managed to enjoy ourselves, changed plans at the drop of a hat, and ended up places we never knew about, didn’t know we would go there, sometimes even just a couple of hours beforehand, and ended up with unexpected experiences. Sounds somehow familiar doesn’t it?
The question thus is: what am I taking forward into the new academic year? These are my notes to self for the new academic year:
- For starters that even if things are not going as planned they can still be really good. Just different.
2. Prepare to fail at some point. This is going to happen.
3. Persevere. A defeatist or aggressive attitude is not going to help. Listen to mum: have a good cry, then blow your nose, wash your face, stand tall within your self and continue.
4. Have fun! No matter what the situation throws your way. There is fun to be had.
We already know we are going to sail into a storm. The one element that is for certain at least during the first semester is uncertainty. So prepare for worst case scenario and everything else is a bonus.
4. Last but not least the sun will always begin to shine again.
Adventures in Academic Development 