Are you a “Scanner” or a Renaissance Person? I Am.

 

A Mom First and Foremost, A Learner Second.

 

 

After my piano lessons, I enjoy the “excuse” of going to Books-A-Million to read.  Yes, I am a book worm.  But, I just discovered something that is quite unique about me and people called “Scanners”.  Scanner is another term for “Renaissance” people.  But, I finally have a label to many unexplained facts about me.  

I love “learning”.  If I have the money, I want to be an eternal student.  I like to get a PH.D in many degrees. My husband told me one day that I act like a person with Attention Deficit Disorder but I do not exhibit the agitation and distractibility of an ADD.  I can focus whenever I want to or when needed.  I never sleep in a lecture or a seminar.  Why?  Because any new information is interesting for me.   I am addicted to knowledge.  New information puts me on a high.  

When I go to the library, I have to borrow 10 books at the very least.  Do I get to read them all? Yes.  I like going from one book to the next, as if flipping a channel when watching television.  My interests vary in a day.  In fact, I read about 100 books in a month. 

I think this “Scanner or Renaissance” personality made me cut out to be a mother of 9 children.

I like exploring and discovering places.  I am unafraid to take risks as long as it involves learning.  I like picking the brains of all my boss when I was in the corporate world and then when I feel I have a good grasp of it, I feel like going to my next project.  I did not jump from one company to another.  I stayed in my first job for 10 years but the reason I stayed is there are numerous opportunities for me to wear many hats in this company.  In my first year, I was responsible for businesses in the Middle East.  In my next year, I was promoted.  So, I had another new challenge.  When I have mastered the job, I look for another division.  I study it and be the best in it and look for another department.  Eventually, I rose from the ranks and became the assistant of the Big Boss in the company.  Then, I experienced rubbing elbows with the “rich and the powerful”.  I travelled to many countries and it was all business-related.    My growing quest for knowledge did not stop there, I need to get out of the company because I felt I am constrained, there is no more room upwards.  Thus, I sought another country, Canada as my next exploit.  I stayed there for two years.  Then, I went to the US to make it my home.  Since Information Technology and Project Management were the “in” thing in the early 2000’s, I’ve self-studied to be an I.T. Project Manager from an Economics, International Trade  background.  It was very challenging to be an I.T. person, managing a group of programmers and system analyst. It was interesting until I got good at it and then my interest died since there was no where to go upwards.  The next step was to be a Vice President and there was just too much competition.  I knew this is not the career for me.  I persevered and stayed in the I.T. sector because of the income factor.  Oneday, I woke up with stiffness and a bad back.  

I have two pre-teen boys that needed my attention.  I decided  to be a “piano teacher”.  First of all, it can afford me a comfortable life income wise.  Second, it is not that stressful.  Third, it is time-flexible.  Fourth, I’ve got a lot of control in my hours and time to explore the world. 

Yes, I love to explore and learn new things.  These are the things that keep me going in life.  It is the reason  I love my Catholic Faith,  the more I read and study it, the more I feel so at peace and free.

Well, I have to give credit to my mother who treated me like a “crystal”.  She knew my love of learning.  We have personalities that clashed but at one point in her life, she knew that she is getting in my way.  One day, she decided that she will make me be whoever I want to be. She set me free. 

How does my dear hubby keep me happy?  First, I suspect he is a Renaissance man himself.  He does not have time to read but he got so many talents.  He is always very interesting to me.  He was the first human being to tell me that  he suspects that I am “something”  but not sure what label to give me. He was equally joyful with me when I got a copy of a book that explains this “Scanner” personality.   He told me that I need to pursue not “one thing” but “everything” that makes me happy.  

For me, being a Scanner  has its disadvantages.  I will write another blog on that, but I realized that I am not alone in this world.  I have thought that it was my piano studies that have made me a “Scanner”.  Maybe not, maybe yes.  I have to wait for feedback from my fellow musicians.  

I feel so happy that I have finally an “unofficial” label to this gift.

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