To be a student is a disposition and habit; it has nothing to do with matriculation status. In fact, many people enrolled in schools do not act like students and many true students have no institutional affiliation.
Here are the simple necessaries of studenthood:
- Turn information into knowledge.
Information is of very little use to you. You do not think in information no matter how easy it is to access. Thinking is done with knowledge, the very small subset of information you have internalized. If you want to think about a topic, you must first turn lots of information into knowledge.
- Turn time into experience.
Time passes whether you will it or not. Experiences only happen to those who seek them out. I mean here of course, unmediated experience. Things that you, in your bodily person, encounter in the physical world. Experience is the framework for understanding knowledge.
- Knowledge and Experience become Wisdom.
To “get wisdom” directly can’t be done. It is the culmination of deep knowledge and rich experience. This is why it is generally the province of the aged. Gaining enough knowledge and experience to live wisely takes music of your life. This is why it is a good idea to follow the example of elderly people, even if you don’t agree with what they say. They have learned from experiences you have not had.
That’s it! Information becomes knowledge, time becomes experience, and you become wiser.