I find it hard at times to stay positive in a world where tech can be exhausting and we can have a rational fear about tech overtaking our lives, jobs, and universe. There is always something new to try and always a new way to be “social”. Amidst all of the tech madness I still remain grateful for our good old friend Google who has been by my side when a lot of you haven’t.
The term “Google University” is a term that I throw around enough to annoy my wife and certain close friends (sorry guys, I’ll continue to use it). I use it when someone asks me either where I went to college or where I learned how to do a certain task. And when I say it, I truly mean it.
Google has been my best suitor when it comes to education. I am a man with a wandering mind and the structure of a normal classroom or formalized education never really worked for me. I got by in high school well enough to stay eligible for basketball and actually got decent grades in college…until I dropped out. At the end of the day I have always been one of those who learns the “good ‘ol fashioned way” which is just to go out and do it. I dropped out of film school to pursue camera assistant work and internships with producers which seemed to give me a lot more than sitting through film theory classes (I just Google “film theory” for that).
I have nothing against formal education, but do want to challenge what we deem as “formal” in education. I have a hard time understanding the idea that we all are supposed to be educated the same way when none of us are the same. We are all unique and I would love to live in a world where education was better suited to our uniqueness. Hence why Google works for me. I can go to Google whenever I please and deep dive into whatever subject I feel the need to learn that given day. Google then leads me to my educator of whom I carefully research and decide whether or not he/she is trustworthy. I get the information I need to then have the courage to try something new. It’s an educational version of a choose your own adventure book that usually has a happy ending of which I walk away with more knowledge.
You’d think that with the amount of debt students rack up these days that we would be looking for alternative solutions to education. I’m not saying I deserve a diploma, but merely stating that the result of my profession had nothing to do with a prestigious art school or university. Some times people are better suited to get their hands dirty and work in the field with their old pal Google always nearby to fill in the gaps. So the next time you want a photography or filmmaking tip, go ask Google.