How hard can it be?

When I’m in full flight, when I’m waxing lyrical, holding court or speaking passionately about any particular subject, it is usually about making something. I am a crafter, a maker, someone who will have a go at pretty much anything that looks interesting or difficult. As a kid I used to make jewellery from copper wire stripped out of the electrical cable offcuts discarded by the sparkies who worked on our house. At the age of 10 my sisters would “encourage” me to make scones for them. As a teenager I found a cookbook for sweets and would boil sugar for taffy and caramels. I made my own clothes, including a coat and school uniforms.

As an adult I have, apart from my five academic degrees, done short courses in upholstery, wood turning, Auslan (Australian sign language), lead lighting, wool spinning and jewellery making. I’ve built furniture and fixed the thermostats in both a Mazda 323 and a fridge. Spliced video and audio tape. Restored and painted furniture and rooms. Made bread (haven’t we all?) and prize-winning ginger beer. Won prizes for sculpture and painting. Grown vegetables and fruit. Made films and mixed songs. Been on quiz shows on TV. And been short-listed for an Australian short story competition. I’m in a band and two different theatre companies.

My point is that my passion is giving things a go. I’m writing this now wearing a cardigan I knitted and pants that I sewed, a silver ring that I twisted and soldered, with a half-knitted sock on needles in my bag, and i don’t believe I would have it any other way. I sometimes wonder, why am I like this? Some of it genetic: in the 70s my father was the first man to do the sewing course at our local adult education centre, spurred by the outrageous cost (in his mind) of our school uniform dresses. He had also built a television for his mother, and a record player for our household. He died when I was eight, and one consequence of that was that first my older sister, then me, had to take on the “man” duties around the house. Minor fix-its and changing lightbulbs - my mother has always relied on the kindness of others for most household jobs. The other part is that I simply enjoy the challenge. I like trying new things and learning new skills. And I LOVE telling other people about it, so I became a teacher.

It is not surprising that my friends will say “Of course you did” when I tell them I made something. It’s what I do, and I’m fairly certain they’re getting a little bit bored of me. it’s time to bring my passion for learning stuff to the world. The question is; how do you market many skills and interests, rather than just a few? I believe the key is in the “many” or, as in the title of this piece and my personal philosophy - how hard can it be? The key is in empowering others to try new things, even if they look hard.

My approach would mirror my teaching methods. I am a high school relief teacher, or sub, which means than in any given day I could be teaching up to six different subjects. I may know a lot, but I don’t know everything - I’m an English teacher and a librarian, for crying out loud! When I have a class and need to teach a skill or concept I don’t know (I'm looking at you, maths), I fully own up and I tell to the class that we will learn together. Oftentimes they tell me at the end that they learn more with me than with their regular teachers, as I don’t come with time-worn knowledge. I can explain in simple terms what I am learning, as I am learning it.

My channel would be about the adventure of learning new things, I could even take requests! It would be about making accessible the slightly scary, somewhat intimidating, and learning-from-your-mistakes. Want to know how to nail an audition? I’ll give it a crack. Fix a drip from your mixer tap? I did that last week. How to do a three-point turn? No problem. Cook a curry from scratch? Pass me the spices. And when it comes to the too-hard basket, I’ll find an expert and get it right.

My quest is the knowledge, my quest is the skill, and I can bring that to the world, one subscriber at a time.