“Jack of all trades, master of none…”
Last Wednesday we returned to Casa de Mañana to continue our Learning Exchange Groups with the senior residents. There were only two seniors that showed up initially, and I felt that impacted the intimacy of the exchange groups slightly. Luckily, an older couple eventually showed up in the later half which helped in breaking up into smaller groups. I had the opportunity to hear Ed, an ex-Naval officer, share his story. He brought a recent photo of him dressed up in his US Navy uniform and photo of a military plane he used to fly. I was impressed at how many different careers and opportunities he had, all of which were through the Navy. After his service, he was a PoliSci professor in the ROTC program at Stanford, and later a certified CPA accountant for the Navy, and got to travel all over the world during his service. But one of the most impressive things that I learned about Ed was that he is currently captain of the Wii Bowling Team at Casa, and they’ve traveled to compete in Wii Bowling tournaments across the country! In addition to that, he also does photography, and when I asked what else he would have pursued if it weren’t for the Navy, he said he wanted to be a photographer for National Geographic but at that time young men really only had the choice of going to the military because of WWII. Despite that, he was still able to experience and learn so many different things. Because of this he described himself as the “jack of all trades, and master of none”. I was pretty inspired by Ed’s story, afterwards I dwelled a lot on my future. As I’m in a key transitional point in my life, hearing Ed’s story reminded me that I should not limit myself to a single career or hobby. The opportunity to learn and grow will always be present.
Last Wednesday we returned to Casa de Mañana to continue our Learning Exchange Groups with the senior residents. There were only two seniors that showed up initially, and I felt that impacted the intimacy of the exchange groups slightly. Luckily, an older couple eventually showed up in the later half which helped in breaking up into smaller groups. I had the opportunity to hear Ed, an ex-Naval officer, share his story. He brought a recent photo of him dressed up in his US Navy uniform and photo of a military plane he used to fly. I was impressed at how many different careers and opportunities he had, all of which were through the Navy. After his service, he was a PoliSci professor in the ROTC program at Stanford, and later a certified CPA accountant for the Navy, and got to travel all over the world during his service. But one of the most impressive things that I learned about Ed was that he is currently captain of the Wii Bowling Team at Casa, and they’ve traveled to compete in Wii Bowling tournaments across the country! In addition to that, he also does photography, and when I asked what else he would have pursued if it weren’t for the Navy, he said he wanted to be a photographer for National Geographic but at that time young men really only had the choice of going to the military because of WWII. Despite that, he was still able to experience and learn so many different things. Because of this he described himself as the “jack of all trades, and master of none”. I was pretty inspired by Ed’s story, afterwards I dwelled a lot on my future. As I’m in a key transitional point in my life, hearing Ed’s story reminded me that I should not limit myself to a single career or hobby. The opportunity to learn and grow will always be present.