I've always had a willingness to learn'

Education doesn't start and finish at school and university, says Diana. Follow your curiosity, hone your skills and discover new talents with a willingness to learn, for life

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I didn’t finish university. Once, I would have rushed to defend this statement as though I needed to redeem my life choices. But at 42, I've come to see it not as a failure but merely the beginning. Even though I left formal education behind, I never stopped learning. My real education began outside the structure of classrooms. Today, I make my living with my hands and my head as a furnishings maker - something I taught myself through trial, error, a stack of books and countless YouTube tutorials. Every time I thread a needle, I’m reminded that learning isn’t a stage of life. It is life.

Now, I feel as though I've honed my learning skills in a way that feels natural, intuitive and even joyful. YouTube is my lecturer, forums my classmates, and Instagram reels have become oddly effective micro-tutorials. I’ve learned from podcasts, books, wizards who live in fabric shops, and even the occasional stranger in my comments section who knows what they're talking about. I learn in fits and starts, in stolen minutes and in all-consuming deep dives that stretch well past my bedtime. That's the beauty of adult learning; it doesn't follow a timetable. It's self-directed, often messy and deeply personal. But more than conventional learning ever could, it sticks because it's driven from curiosity, not curriculum.