One of the many things I love about growing older is that I occasionally stumble into situations where I can combine skills and experience gained in different parts of my life.
Fr’instance, people who ride horses competitively occasionally put together what is called a musical freestyle or kur. This involves choreographing a mounted routine to music, such that your horse performs a series of required movements, set to the music of your choosing in the pattern you devise. The results, when they go well and you are among the best in the world, can look something like this.
Well, holy Ned, Batman. I have a degree in music, I accompanied dance classes at the piano for several busy years, and I love me some horse riding. The few times I’ve taken a swing at creating a musical freestyle have been great fun.
Similarly, I love to write fiction, and I love horses. When I can build a horse and rider relationship into a story, I am having big fun. Lord Julian better be careful, because he and Atlas are buds, and I foresee a possible horse thief in their future… Oh nos!
I love languages, and flowers, and children, and beasts, and trees… and any time I can bring these loves together, I get a boost. What occurs to me at this later stage of life, though, is that to develop more than a passing fondness for my various interests, I’ve had to do some deep diving, and then move on. If I’d stayed on that piano bench chopping classical piano repertoire into eight measure phrases for the benefit of the Ballet II class, I would probably never have learned about musical freestyles.
If I’d dodged motherhood, my understanding of children might still be well informed, but it would come from a narrower perspective. If I’d never taken on flower-erizing my own property, I would not grasp quite as easily why deer who nom-nom all the sunflowers in a single night are justification for profanity (they got my first foray into grapes too, the miserable blighters).
If I’d never taken off my grant and proposal writing hat, I would not have had the time or energy to write fiction, because grant and proposal writing consumes all in its path.
To get to a place where I can enjoy combining and synergizing my skills and interests, I had to reach later life, and I had to do a fair bit of letting go and moving on. The reward for moving on is that I can resurrect my enthusiasms in a new context, and keep more of the joy without having to also take on the narrow focus and intensity of earlier life.
Has life ever given you an opportunity to combine interests and abilities? Have you ever moved on from one skill set only to call it back into active duty years later?
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In college I majored in English Literature, with a minor in Studio Art. I’ve loved reading from a young age, so a degree program that required tons of reading was right up my alley. I’ve also enjoyed working with my hands, so art came in as a close second. As I got older, I discovered that I really am a computer nerd as well. So a career in computer aided graphic design was my dream job. It’s actually a perfect fit, especially as my manual dexterity has diminished with age (approaching my mid 70’s—yikes!). Designing on a computer enables me to be creative with less pressure than working in the physical world (that “undo” button is a lifesaver!). And my English degree also comes in handy as I help massage poorly written articles into the “King’s English” for our readers. I love what I do and wouldn’t change a thing about the journey I took to get here. Stay safe. Stay well everyone!
I, too, majored in English (well, sort of, as I have a very fluid degree from 1970) because of a love of reading and, perhaps because I’m an eldest child, an inclination for teaching others what I know. I wanted to do computers but was not allowed to enroll as I was not an Engineering major, so I slipped into the medical field for a while. But after a layoff from a hospital, I went back to school and took all those computer classes and then went on to get my Master’s in Computer Science. I ended up doing technical writing and technical support, so used my love of reading and explaining to help others.
Thanks so much for the link to the wonderful dressage routine. Although equestrian is one of my favorite Olympic sports (and, yes, I literally just got myself off the couch after two weeks glued to the TV), I somehow have missed the dressage set to music. I’m going to go back to check it out (my partner always gets the short-term Peacock subscription so we can watch whatever whenever, even afterwards).
I was certainly happy to have some background in medical terminology when my kids were born. (Dad was a pharmacist.) And I was even happier for a few classes in Ed. Psych. when I was raising them.
I just retired last week from my job of 43 years, and haven’t had time to explore ‘what next’. There is still much to do before I can take a deep breath. (We had a house fire and are finally moving back into our house after a year and a half.)
After we finally get settled, I’m looking forward to finding new interests and diving back into old ones – I’m looking forward to reading more.
Hmmm. If I were younger and in better physical shape, I would take classes in paleontology and visit sites. I was a member of a paleontology group for a couple of years and enjoyed the heck out of it. My bum knee got worse and I had to quit.
Nothing to keep me from learning more about it on my own, though.
I loved the dressage clip. I continue to learn so much from you, including new vocabulary! Looking forward to more of Lord Julian!
The ancillary things one picks up in music school in spite of all the required course credits that are of little to no interest to a young bassoonist (I’m looking at you, 8am music theory class). Valuable transferable skills that have stood me in good stead are work ethic: you may be smarter than me but you will never out-work me. Ability to focus on/identity what’s important & tune out what is not, both literally and figuratively. The importance of preparation and the power of teamwork. In playing a double reed instrument, I learned humility early and often. As an HR professional for the last 25 years, this is called to the fore most often.
It’s nice to know I’m not the only one to do deep dives into subjects only to move on to other things as life progresses. In my case that would mean an M.Mus. in violin plus some performing and recording with early music consorts (recorder and treble viol), followed by some lawyering with the Canadian federal government, followed by life as a spouse and parent while hubby was employed with an international agency in Washington, DC, followed by handknitting design and pattern publication (see chezlizzie.blogspot.com for more on that). My current obsessions are sewing my complete wardrobe (underwear excepted) and painting the interior of my house (it’s taking me years for some reason). There’s been gardening along the way too. Never bored!