Knowledge. If you don't use it, you lose it, right? That's why the long division I became handy at in middle school I can barely make work on a calculator today. There is just not a lot of call for complex equations in my life right now.
But is it really gone forever, that stuff you learned once upon a time? Or, is it just laying dormant, waiting for a little nudge of the toe? What's in your head are just memories, really. Memories pop up out of nowhere all of the time. The senses are notorious for bringing stuff back from the ether of your past. Fresh cut grass takes me back to summers as a kid. I hear the Quantum Leap theme song and I'm back in front of the TV, up way past my bedtime, hoping that Dr. Sam Beckett finally leaps home.
So, wouldn't it be the same for lessons learned in school? Sure it would. I read a poem by William Blake, and it's Senior English all over again.
It has been nearly two years since I finished graduate school. I've taken some continuing education in the meantime in the forms of conferences, but I haven't used that knowledge and it's showing. Those theories and case studies are fading little by little. It's worrisome.
Well, it was. Then an institution to which I applied a couple of weeks ago did me a favor. No, they haven't hired me. They asked for more information about my education and experience. This is a second step in the job hunt I haven't before taken, so that's awesome, but that isn't what makes their request so meaningful. Because of that request, I had to look back at my reasons for choosing the archival field and the skills I developed in school. I combed through pages of assignments and notes as I prepared my responses and you know what? I remember! I remember archival processing, cataloging, HTML coding, EAD, creating finding aids, reference, disaster planning, stuff. Cooler, still? The drive is still there.
Nice.
Fingers are crossed here for you. (HUGS)
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