As a child, I consumed information around me. When I discovered a topic existed, such as the Pacific Theater of World War II or how to create your own pop-up books, I wanted to learn everything about it. I read books, watched the History Channel back when they actually showed history (oh, the History Channel is this generations’ MTV, isn’t it?), asked questions, and pretty much did whatever I could to feed my passion for learning.
As I got older, I found I had to be more selective with my attention. I had more demands on my time. I couldn’t immerse myself in a single topic unless it was for school or work.
Or at least, I felt that way.
I have friends, grown-up friends, who I can say are still passionate about things I used to love. A few of them geek out when NASA or the ESA publicize their latest successful missions. Another loves all things dinosaurs.
And I realize how much I have missed about being passionate about a topic to the point of becoming an amateur scientist or historian.
The cool thing? I can immerse myself in something now, and I’m old enough to understand it a lot more than when I was a child. And we know so much more today than we did just 10 or 20 years ago, so there’s more to learn.
And even cooler, we’re still learning. We now know what Pluto looks like, and soon we’ll know more about the makeup of Jupiter. We found a regaliceratops in Canada last month when we didn’t even know it existed before.
Do you wish you knew more about theatre? About movie-making? About the lives of authors? How to start a business? Weigh-lifting and nutrition? Sustainable gardening? Game design and development?
Did you ever wonder what was in the ocean, whether here on Earth or on Neptune? Or have you ever thought about how thinking actually works?
And did you ignore the curiosity, or did you let it lead you to answers and more questions?