Personal curiosity and hands-on learning as lifelong pursuits

¶ … age of five, there has been a burning light inside of me that yearns to gain more and more knowledge and insight into why things happen as well as how they work. In my experiences, everything has a purpose and a reason, there is always a way in which something is created and most often, an explanation for the trials, and tribulations that lead to its existence. I am excited when the idea of how my life will change in college comes to mind as well as all of the positive things that will come into fruition. I know that in College my curiosity will not only continue to grow, I will have more opportunities to learn more about these growing questions. I had questioned things like, how do you explain colors to a blind person, Is your green the same as my green, How do trees form rings in their trunks every year, How does a bridge support thousands of pounds, in addition, where do babies come from. To some classmates these inquiries may have seemed like attempts to make a scene and cause laughter; however, they were heartfelt questions that I needed answers to, in order to make that one thing more clear and give it definition in my mind.

Not only have I had questions, there has also been a burning desire to work with my hands as a means of exploration as well as understanding. When I was in the sixth grade, my father helped me make a water rocket; this was a very powerful moment for me. For this was an opportunity to pos a question and research it. I had the opportunity to see how a rocket was created not just how to set it off. This was not a quick and simple process. There were actually a number of trials before we perfected the rocket that would jet into the air after the air was pumped into it. When that rocket took flight, in that moment I knew that learning was something that would never end for me. I knew that learning would be a life long process that would take me through highs and lows. However, in this instance the lows would never be seen in a negative light, not by me anyway. These moments would be more opportunities to grow from mistakes and perfect my approach.