Expand My Knowledge

Cable wasn't a huge part in my early childhood. A lot of the movies or shows I watched were either VHS tapes or whatever was showing through our satellite TV. But it wasn't until the first grade that we got our satellite dish. The shows that featured through our satellite were either Filipino math shows, late-90's educational shows, or some crafty art show. Because of these shows, I was so fond of knowledge. I remembered watching episodes about how to convert unit of measurements, about why milk has more nutritional value than soda, and why using soy crayons were more eco-friendly. I also learned how to recite the alphabet in Hebrew and in French. Every day after school, I'd do my homework while watching these shows instead of cartoons. And while I learned about how the tongue worked or how humans digest food, I was always motivated to do excellent in school.

I used to always be eager to learn new things. My mom would take me to bookstores and instead of buying coloring books or those I Spy books, I always picked up books about animals, space, or dinosaurs. And on days where my mom would have extra money to spend, I'd pick up the Chicken Soup books. I remembered my favorite book was about wild animals. I loved it so much, I took it with me to school only to have some of my classmates tear a couple pages about lions. But regardless of torn pages and folded book covers, I knew I would always learn more and more things the minute I got home.

Then in the fifth grade, my family cut out satellite entirely and decided to switch to cable. I spent days and nights glued to the TV watching Spongebob and Disney Channel. I was so caught up in the comedy and drama that I completely forgot about all the things I learned through the satellite shows. My eagerness for learning dropped. I anticipated going home to watch another episode of Zack & Cody more than I did about reading books. I watched all the Spongebob episodes that aired throughout the day instead of focusing on homework.

As if cable wasn't enough, my parents also got internet. I was blinded by how entertaining the internet was that I eventually succumbed into the media. Instead of being excited in a book store, I wanted to buy a new phone. Or a new iPod. Or a new laptop. I disregarded my passion for learning all because I wanted to watch TV or YouTube, or browse through MySpace and Facebook. Unfortunately, this bad habit carried on until a few days ago.

It was a Friday afternoon. I was off from both school and work. My parents were working and my sister was still at school. I hadn't changed or brushed my teeth at all because I was occupied with my phone. From app to app, I checked and rechecked each of my social media accounts. But after three hours of no one posting anything new, I grew annoyed. There was nothing online to entertain me. So I brushed my teeth and went outside to eat Trix cereal.

A YouTuber I follow always advertised his podcasts. I decided since there wasn't anything else I can do online, I might as well give his podcast a listen as I ate my Trix. After listening to one of his podcasts, I was addicted. I listened to more than half of the episodes he posted until it was 4 in the morning the next day. I enjoyed his podcast so much, I browsed through more podcasts to see what else I could get into. And wow, this may be the best decision I've made in a long time.

I found podcasts about unsolved crimes. I found podcasts explaining how every day things worked. (I listened to an hour long podcast about tea. Did you know that once you turn 20, demodex mites can grow and live on your face?) I subscribed to grammar and language podcasts. I subscribed to a podcast called Coffee Break French and now I can tell you how well I'm doing today in French! Ca va tre bien, merci!

Exploring and finding these new podcasts made me remember how great it was to learn something that actually interests me. And I feel much better learning from podcasts as well because I don't have to sit down and invest time in learning. I did errands during the weekend and all I listened to were unsolved murder crimes and how to use "that" and "which" in sentences. I can cook and listen to these podcasts. I can do homework and play a podcast and I'd feel motivated to excel in whatever assignment I was doing.

I feel like a child again, eager to learn and to share what I learned. I'm expanding my knowledge, and it feels so great.

These are French baguettes to celebrate me learning French!