Learning is the point of education, right? So today, on the summer solstice as I stare out my bedroom window at the beautiful blue sky and listen to my writing playlist on shuffle, I’m wondering what I’ve learned this last year, what I’ve learned since returning to college in 2014. I can look back on the last three years and see many ways in which I’ve changed; my political views, my opinions on hot-button issues like sexuality and reproductive rights and religion, my spiritual life, my ability to write critically, my compassion and empathy for others, have all undergone massive renovations since I walked into Ancient World Literature at Clackamas Community College almost three years ago. But I’m different in many other ways, too.

I’ve learned more about marginalized societal groups (people of color, LGBTQ individuals, women, people with disabilities, etc.) and how social norms impact them. I’ve learned about my own personal boundaries in relationships and how to better enforce those boundaries. I’ve learned to recognize the difference between feeling guilty when I’ve genuinely made a mistake, and feeling guilty because I choose not to conform to certain expectations. I’ve learned that forgiveness doesn’t mean accepting unacceptable behaviors. I’ve learned that anger is sometimes an appropriate response to the injustices in our society. I’ve learned that education is massively important and should be seen as a right for all, rather than a privilege for the wealthy, and that, to reach a wider group of American citizens, absolutely must be more affordable, or else it will continue to perpetuate classicism. I’ve learned that I don’t trust most religious institutions. I’ve learned that Climate Change is real, and that humans are the cause. I’ve learned that humans almost always destroy the good things we’re given because of our consumerist, entitled culture.

I’ve also learned that these mini-life lessons are great writing prompts. I’m sure they’ll come up in my Creative Nonfiction class in fall. I’ve learned more than what I’ve listed, but these are what stand out most when I intentionally think of what I’ve learned in the last three years. Some of these lessons haven’t been directly linked to my education, but the ability and willingness to think critically about what I’ve previously thought to be true and right, has. I figured in the 2015/2016 school year that, if I went through my entire education and came out the same person I was when I entered, I would have wasted my time and money. That’s why I chose to attend a Liberal Arts college; I wanted my education to be about more than what I read or what I wrote or what I was tested on. I wanted to genuinely learn and become a better person.

Of course, this isn’t an easy task. Improving one’s self requires not only admitting to one’s faults, but taking active steps toward change. I’m not so good at the change part. I have a long way to go. But I know for a fact that I am a better human being now than I was. I wasn’t a horrible human being or anything, I just didn’t understand a lot of the world. I took many things for granted. Now, I see a little more clearly than I did. I hope I continue to wipe the mist and dirt away from my windshield.

I received another acceptance letter today. It was for an essay I wrote in a Literary and Critical Theory class I took in Winter Term. It was called, “Girls at War: A Feminist Commentary on Gender.” I’m glad this piece will be published along with my two other essays, “Sexuality and Loss of Innocence,” and “Love in Early America.” These nuggets of academic work showcase not only the evolution of my writing, but also the shift in how I read literature and analyze it. I hope I continue to write academically, and to have my critical work published. I want to be reminded of change, and how I should continue to strive to be better, to do better, in the world. I want to always be a student so that I will always learn. Education is my path through the forest of humanity. There will be twists and turns; I’ll get lost sometimes; I’ll stumble in the shade and sometimes be blinded by the sunlight, but eventually I will find myself through the current cluster of confusion, and I will be better for having made the journey at all.