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The Best Life Lessons I’ve (Re) Learned This Year

I don’t always get “it” right the first time

Sarah Paris
Thought Thinkers
7 min readDec 30, 2024

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A silhouetted woman jumps in the air
Oh me. Oh life. Photo by Pixabay.

Growing up, I hated math lessons. I didn’t understand how I could come to a correct solution but find my answer on a math test was incorrect simply because I’d used the wrong process to get there. Why did it matter what steps I took as long as I arrived at the right answer?

Before I abandoned math classes in college, I’d aced Calculus and breezed through Trigonometry. However, several years ago when my nephew asked me to help him with his “common core math” homework, my eyes glazed over and I couldn’t even successfully solve a simple long division problem.

In my youth, I may have hated math and its definitive nature, but I understood the subject. As an adult, I needed to learn the new processes and lessons of the current math curriculum. But the fundamentals remained the same.

The parallels between common core math and life lessons aren’t lost on me. My life has taught me that the wisdom I glean through experience doesn’t completely correct my mistakes or heal my flaws.

The best lessons that inspired growth in me this year weren’t new, but each allowed me to realize how much I’ve learned and continue to learn. Perhaps they can help you, too.

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Thought Thinkers
Thought Thinkers

Published in Thought Thinkers

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Sarah Paris
Sarah Paris

Written by Sarah Paris

Author of Signs My Toddler Has a Drinking Problem (humor collection).Freelance writer of all things. Looper features writer. Believer. Adventurer. Semi- funny.

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