Get Curious by Craig

Get Curious by Craig - May 2014 Scholarship Essay

To be completely honest, school has not always been the most enjoyable part of my life. I would love to say that I have delighted in every minute of my formal education, but to be frank, for a painfully long period of time, school felt like an unbearable waste of time in which I simply memorized seemingly useless facts. However, this all changed when I began to cultivate a trait that I did not realize was so important in education: curiosity. In fact, it made such a critical difference that I would consider this instruction from Marjory Pay Hinckley (2003) to be the best piece of educational advice I have ever received. “Oftentimes the thing that makes the difference between a good student and a poor one, a good learner or a bored human being, is just a little curiosity…. Wonder, watch, ask questions, be alive. It’s just that simple.” (p. 145)

When I began to wonder about how things worked and why things happened the way they did, the world came alive for me. Suddenly I was curious to know why an ice cube would crack if I were to drop it into a lukewarm drink and what was really causing my knee to hurt after a grueling run. To my surprise, as I began coming up with a growing list of questions, pieces of my questions began to be answered in my “boring” and “difficult” classes at school. Shockingly, the facts that previously seemed useless began to have great value in the answers they provided. The questions “Why?”, “How?”, and “What if?” began to transform schoolwork from painful and tedious to interesting and engaging.

Just as curiosity has led to a change in my education and view of the world, it has also impacted some of the most innovative minds of all time. Consider the effect these questions brought about: “What if it were possible to bypass a blocked or damaged blood vessel?” “What if it were possible for man to travel to the moon?” A curious mind not only makes all the difference in obtaining an education it also can change the world. If asked for advice for education, I would completely agree with Marjory Pay Hinckley and encourage students to get curious and ask questions. It will give the excitement and drive to bring learning to life!

References:

Hinckley, M. P. (2003). Small and simple things. Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book Company.