I once attended a small lecture about an experiment where researchers trained elderly participants new skills; namely Spanish, painting, and using iPads. It wa

I once attended a small lecture about an experiment where researchers trained elderly participants new skills; namely Spanish, painting, and using iPads. It was a somewhat challenging course. It required a lot of work and a few dropped out because of it. But the participants that stayed developed their skills and after a few weeks, surprised themselves and much of their friends and family with their progress. You can imagine how stunning it would be to know someone all your life and then at the ripe age of 82, watch them do something you've never seen before. Grandma went from not knowing about iPads to using them better than some 20 year olds. And Grandpa now draws and sketches figures like an artist. Who knew they had such potential? The reaction of people who didn't know them was quite interesting too. "You have such talent" (as if what they had learned was something they were blessed with). The researchers made a point to emphasize how people would phrase their compliments; it was surprisingly common (as if they had been given God-given talents, instead of raw skill through focus and training). And the participants were just as surprised about their growth. They didn't believe they could still learn something new (it wasn't a real possibility in their mind). Over the years, they had built an image of who they were, what they could and couldn't do, staying within the confines of their self-imposed limits, unconscious as they were. Listening to those researchers left me with some reflections about my own life, the trajectory of it, the things I'd choose to become. Part of me suspects there's some truth to wisdom and old age—the younger generation doesn't always step forward in the right direction. Cynicism of the youth is rightly justified. Choosing not to participate in the popular culture leaves some room for your own personal interests. What people call "weirdness". So be it. True expression sometimes leads you down unfamiliar roads. But some days, my pride and lack of knowledge feels like an excuse to stay inside hidden doors, lamenting about the change of the world, because I couldn't keep up with it. I try not to become that person. I try not to cut off too many branches. I don't know where they'll lead, what I can become. It would be a shame to grow old, to abandon all paths, because they seemed too distant.