And since I learned more in the first half of my first semester of college than I did in all that time on my own, I am, of course, an expert on how TO study classical languages.
All kidding aside, I did have a look at what I was doing right in school and what I was doing wrong out of school, and I have come up with a list. You might have your own. Here is mine.
What I did wrong:
- No real method
- No disciplined system of goals
- No schedule
I thought I could just dive in wherever and use a dictionary to define terms. Wrong. I did realize that I needed more grammar, and I surely did learn a lot about that, not only in English, but Greek and Latin, but given my haphazard lack of discipline, it is no wonder my effort was doomed. As an example, I never so much as decided I would finish any particular book at any particular date or scheduling chapter or exercise completion goals.
The short list of what I did right:
- I persisted anyway.
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Nemo liber est qui corpori servit
No one is free who is slave to the body — Seneca