From an early age I’ve always been quite interested in learning. It was perhaps my habit of reading copiously that instigated in me a drive to internalize words and knowledge. Frequently, I took upon myself the task of independently exploring a variety of subjects that my academic curriculum neglected. It was through such autonomous inquiries that I discovered in myself an ardent passion, an intrinsic motivation to seek mastery in numerous fields, rather than complying with the modern trend of academic specialization. Unfortunately, however, when making the transition from high school to university I was compelled to choose one particular area to focus on. Eventually, I chose to study Psychology, but, I also decided that I’d continue to explore other fields on my own. It was then that I commenced my journey to become a polymath, a term defined by the oxford dictionary as meaning “a person of wide-ranging knowledge or learning”.
Acquiring expertise in a myriad of subjects is a task that initially appears to be unachievable. Yet, if one were to translate their long-term goals into tangible short-term achievements it would become clear that in fact the formidable dream of becoming a polymath is realistically feasible. Personally, I have set down my long-term aims to be the achievement of proficiency in the areas of History, Astronomy, Classic Literature, and Herbalism. I would also like to attain linguistic competency in four languages, including: Italian, German, Latin and Korean.
It will certainly take me years to reach the level of skillfulness that I wish to possess in each of these subjects, but, it is by accomplishing little things throughout the course of a week or a month that I will consequently move closer and closer to satiating my desperate desire for knowledge. Currently, I have gathered a plethora of resources that I use to assist my studies and I constantly nag my friends with incessant lectures concerning any novel information I’ve come to learn. I also follow a detailed daily schedule that enables me to cover a decent amount of information for whatever subject I’m focusing on during a specific week.
So far, I believe the process of language learning to be less demanding than the studies of the remaining subjects and that may be because two of the languages I am currently learning, Italian and Latin, are awfully similar to my native language, Portuguese. Hopefully, I will soon be able to conduct proper conversations in my target languages and perhaps I’ll even be able to translate my articles into the languages I am currently learning.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a massive “History of Britain” textbook to attend to. (I’ll probably write something about it in another article.) Arrivederci!
