Things 2 and 3 : How it fits with real life

I have crohn's disease and the arthritis that accompanies IBD. So many of the habits listed in 7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learners apply to what I have learned as I have gotten to know and understand my diseases.

1. Begin with the end in mind. The goal in IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) is to find a treatment that works and puts you into remission.

2. Accept responsibility for your own learning. I cannot make an educated decision about treatment if I have not done some research on it. I have to look at the side effects and weigh it against the benefits. Through learning about the drugs that are available for IBD, I read and researched one drug that I will never take no matter how bad the crohn's gets. The risks are far greater than any benefit in my opinion. The 2 medications I am now taking suppress my immune system which leaves me open to infections BUT they have put me into remission! The risks are definitely worth it.

3.View problems as challenges and 4. Have confidence in yourself as a competent effective learner. I think I have always viewed problems as challenges to either overcome or adapt to. With IBD you learn to adjust your diet and avoid things that you know cause pain and increased symptoms. I spent last summer and most of this past year figuring out how and what to eat. I know that coffee, oranges, peppers, and sausage are absolutely off limits for me.

5. Create your own learning toolbox. My toolbox consists of the women on the 2 messsage boards of which I created, my doctor, my computer and the internet and books.

6. Use technology to your advantage. I am good at hunting things down online and am one of the "go to" people on my end of the building when someone can't get their computer to work right. I do not know much about other kinds of technology out there, such as blogs and wikis and that is why I signed up for this class. :=)

7. Teach/mentor others. I had the opportunity to mentor a former student this past year. She struggles academically and research has proven that mentoring a struggling student can help them believe they can succeed and they often do. She was so excited the day she brought her TAKS scores to show me that she had passed all 3 of her tests. I am proud of her.

7 1/2. Play. Take time to do something for yourself every day. It keeps you from burning out.