Today marks ten years since I began working for myself instead of on a campus. I can’t believe it has been that long.
When I reflect on the past decade, I’m struck by how much I have forgotten. I used to be an expert on college enrollment and knew all the nuances of so many regulations and processes. Not anymore. Of course, I still remember all the fundamentals, but no longer retain the details.
I hear about others in the same scenario. My friend is a physical therapist, but in her administrative role, no longer sees adult patients. When another friend asked her for advice about their surgery rehab, she was unable to help them, saying, “I haven’t worked on a knee in 15 years.”
There are countless people (myself included) who have or had careers in fields other than their college majors. People change jobs and take years of institutional history and knowledge with them. We all need to keep learning to counterbalance what we forget.
