I was born at a very young age into a family of explorers. I inherited a thirst for knowledge and new experiences from my parents, and they encouraged me to pursue this interest throughout my childhood. I am grateful that my curiosity was allowed to reach its full potential, which shaped who I am today.
My family spent many evenings watching documentaries together. Many of my weekends as a child were spent going on trips to museums in Houston. Every time we went on a vacation, my parents would take us to the best museums in the area. One of their policies that used to drive me crazy as a young and quite picky child (I to this day have no idea why I decided to be a vegetarian for 3 years, much to my parents’ chagrin) crazy--we were never allowed to eat at a restaurant that we had eaten at before while on vacation. I wanted to be comfortable and eat the things that I knew I liked, but they had other ideas. I realize later that all of these practices were directed at expanding my horizons, forcing me to try new things. They weren’t only doing it for me, though--they enjoyed it themselves. I put up with it for many years, but it was not until very recently that I came to appreciate what they were doing for me. My father was a major science nut. …show more content…
He took me to science museums, talked to me about whatever scientific concept I wanted to learn about during long car rides, and always seemed to have a documentary playing on the TV. He loved to help me on science fair projects and talk to me about whatever newest gadget he had just picked up. He was to technology as a kid is to toys--only he didn’t have to beg his mom. He could buy them himself. He and I spent countless hours tinkering with gadgets new and old, learning how to use them and him explaining to me how they worked. I loved the shiny new gadgets because they were new and exciting to learn about. More importantly, though, the arrival of a new gadget meant that there was an old one that would be ready to be thrown out. And “thrown out” always meant passed down to me, where I could tinker to my heart’s content, showing very little regard for the possibility of destroying the device because my father always assured me that it didn’t matter and that if he didn’t give it to me, it would be in the trash. I will admit to having “bricked” a couple of devices throughout the years, but I learned fascinating things along the way. While my father focused on science, my mother instilled in me an appreciation for language. She fuelled my love for reading, a trait which we both possessed, by talking to me about new books that she thought I would like and never leaving me in want of a book. She would sometimes even read books at the same time I did so that we might later discuss what we had read together. She opened my eyes to the vast world existing within literature that was invisible to my inexperienced eye, revealing the underlying messages of works and discussing the context in which they were written--all things that I never even thought to consider before. She also showed me all types of literature, encouraging me to focus on those which I enjoy. This advice allowed me to grow up comfortable with who I am and with my interests, which fuelled my thirst for knowledge even further because I was able
My family spent many evenings watching documentaries together. Many of my weekends as a child were spent going on trips to museums in Houston. Every time we went on a vacation, my parents would take us to the best museums in the area. One of their policies that used to drive me crazy as a young and quite picky child (I to this day have no idea why I decided to be a vegetarian for 3 years, much to my parents’ chagrin) crazy--we were never allowed to eat at a restaurant that we had eaten at before while on vacation. I wanted to be comfortable and eat the things that I knew I liked, but they had other ideas. I realize later that all of these practices were directed at expanding my horizons, forcing me to try new things. They weren’t only doing it for me, though--they enjoyed it themselves. I put up with it for many years, but it was not until very recently that I came to appreciate what they were doing for me. My father was a major science nut. …show more content…
He took me to science museums, talked to me about whatever scientific concept I wanted to learn about during long car rides, and always seemed to have a documentary playing on the TV. He loved to help me on science fair projects and talk to me about whatever newest gadget he had just picked up. He was to technology as a kid is to toys--only he didn’t have to beg his mom. He could buy them himself. He and I spent countless hours tinkering with gadgets new and old, learning how to use them and him explaining to me how they worked. I loved the shiny new gadgets because they were new and exciting to learn about. More importantly, though, the arrival of a new gadget meant that there was an old one that would be ready to be thrown out. And “thrown out” always meant passed down to me, where I could tinker to my heart’s content, showing very little regard for the possibility of destroying the device because my father always assured me that it didn’t matter and that if he didn’t give it to me, it would be in the trash. I will admit to having “bricked” a couple of devices throughout the years, but I learned fascinating things along the way. While my father focused on science, my mother instilled in me an appreciation for language. She fuelled my love for reading, a trait which we both possessed, by talking to me about new books that she thought I would like and never leaving me in want of a book. She would sometimes even read books at the same time I did so that we might later discuss what we had read together. She opened my eyes to the vast world existing within literature that was invisible to my inexperienced eye, revealing the underlying messages of works and discussing the context in which they were written--all things that I never even thought to consider before. She also showed me all types of literature, encouraging me to focus on those which I enjoy. This advice allowed me to grow up comfortable with who I am and with my interests, which fuelled my thirst for knowledge even further because I was able