Intelligence

I've never associated higher education with intelligence. I think that with the internet, libraries, public and mass access to information, this is more true than ever.

My family never placed much importance on education. My siblings and I were told to do well, but if we didn't, there was no punishment. During junior high I had 32 missing homework assignments for one class but an A+ on every test. I skipped school and didn't do my work (it was boring and I had better things to do) but I still tested better and engaged in classroom discussion more than most of my classmates. Perspective - when I was 3 my favorite word was Alstroemeria, granted, it was my favorite flower.

Alstroemeria varies in color, but all have a spotted pattern

My siblings and their spouses all went to some college/junior college/trade school/etc, and the same with my parents, but none have a bachelors. My grandmother left college to marry my grandfather, who dropped out of high school to join the military at 16. Some of my extended family have 4 year degrees or beyond - one of my relatives has an MA is a mumblemumble in MO. (political relatives - who willingly admits that?) But I don't think of them as any more intelligent than my little familial hub.

I've always thought that learning is more about what you soak in from the world around you. How much attention you pay to your environment, to the people around you, to the news. When I took psychology I felt like they were trying to teach me things I'd already learned just from observing life around me. I feel like after the fundamental lessons, classes don't make people smarter, open minds make people smarter.

If you don't know what type of rock that is, look it up. If you don't understand what the central nervous system does, you can search the internet. If you are confused about the Russian Revolution and the mystery surrounding Anastasia (which is now not all that mysterious), there are encyclopedias and history books which can help you out with that.

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna

 

 

 I look at her and want to cry because it's not like the Don Bluth movie.

She was so young and beautiful and innocent. Coincidentally, she looks like my grandma.

A curious mind can learn infinitely, beyond the textbooks and classroom doors, the college years and professors. But an ignorant mind can go to school for ages and not learn anything. 

Or maybe I just think that to make myself feel better because I never went back to finish my four year. School and I have never mixed well and probably never will. The joy and love I experience writing for myself is equal to how much I hate writing papers/assignments.