Sharpen Your Pencils!

I know that school has already started for primary and secondary learning, but how about tertiary learning? As Tom Hanks said in the movie You've Got Mail, "I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address." That is how excited I am right now for you!

I do not know about you, but I am prone to seek out knowledge. I hope everyone seeks knowledge on their hobbies and interests in life. Well, when I was a kid, the American Dream always seemed like the ultimate interest to have in life. So what is the American Dream? If you are an American, you probably do not need this defined, but for those who are new to this concept, Wikipedia defines it as, "a national ethos of the United States in which freedom includes a promise of the possibility of prosperity and success." So what does success in life mean for you or a regular Joe? To me, I always had the idea that success in life meant you go to school, get your degree, be a success at work, get married, own a house, own a car, have kids, and live happily ever after. Success, well, it is a grand idea, but in reality, how many of us are successful in everything they do? We need help to get even remotely close! (At least I do.) Even prosperity, I had these ideas as a kid that I would make it big... be the next best thing... that I had that prosperity thing all figured out! Well, some do but for the majority of us, we have to work to stay alive, let alone prosper!

So why all this intro just to talk about tertiary learning? Well, what do primary and secondary cover? Life skills and personal job skills. What is lacking in the mix... well a lot but one is marriage.  Do we really ever learn how to be in a marriage? If you come from a church background they probably (or hopefully) have some classes on marriage (newly wed classes) but what I wanted to do is give you something so that you can study on your own. As for now, lets call this edition your associates degree... short and a good start. Does it make sense to do this? This being, getting an associates degree in marriage to your partner. We think it is so important to study for a job position, why not a marriage to your spouse? Answer this one question: which one is more important to you... your spouse or your job position? If your answer is your spouse, please take the time to think about spending the same amount of effort (studying) on your marriage to your spouse as you would your job.

Next time... what books to buy before starting school!