contribution

I had this shift two years ago where I stopped thinking about my life in terms of success and started thinking of my life in terms of contribution.
I started thinking of myself as a contribution rather than as successful or not. Sean Ritchey.

http://radiofreeschool.blogspot.com/2011/04/sean-ritchey-grown-unschooler.html

what I have been reading today…

Just read this blog post – “notes from an unschooled world wanderer”.  I love her concluding paragraph.

“Through unschooling I’ve learned that, in a sense, I create my surroundings. But “unschooling” to me is only the absence of school. I am not (nor was I before) looking for something to replace the daily tribulations I encountered in school. I am simply living life. Anything I want to learn is at my fingertips because I know how to go out in the world and seek knowledge. I know how to ask questions. I know that if I want to be independent I need to support myself; and if I support myself in a way that’s fulfilling I will be infinitely happier. I know how to have meaningful relationships and I know how to communicate effectively. I know that sometimes I have to experience hard things, and that’s part of learning. I also know that I will continue learning because to stop learning is to stop living. And all of this, I learned in the last few years while I was not ‘forced’ to be in a classroom.

Life is a learning experience. The most important thing is to keep learning; in whatever way fits best.”

 

And at this blog, I love how this 12 year old owns his lifestyle, no worries about fitting in with society (something I can’t seem to shake completely).

 

“So, what do I live without, really?

After travelling for almost 2 and a half years I’ve come to realize I am unique. I am unique in the sense that I don’t have a schedule. I am unique in the sense that the rules of society don’t apply to me. I am unique in the sense that I can be spontaneous. I’ve also realized that most children (or people in general) don’t ever get a chance to break free from the system.”

time

“Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.”
– Earl Nightingale