Although you may not realize it, science surrounds everything that we do. From the molecular composition of the air we breathe to the neuronal connections that make our thoughts possible, science is what makes life as we know it. You could say that I always loved science, but I think it was because I loved the discovery of it all. Children by nature are inquisitive - from trying to master the art of grabbing a Cheerio with their fingers to progressing to the stage where they ask "why" about everything they witness. From a young age I wanted to know why things happened, fortunately I never outgrew that need to know.
It was a seventh grade classroom bathed in the smell of formaldehyde that got me hooked. I remember looking at the dead frog in disgust, hesitantly grabbing the scalpel and slicing down the frog's belly. After the first cut I saw all the little organs - no longer from a textbook picture, but with my own eyes. I was amazed at how a labyrinth of organs could work together so flawlessly. From that moment biology has captivated me. I soon became a self-labeled science nerd who took every science class I could become enrolled in. Throughout high school my electives became science courses. I wanted to learn everything about the subject that I could.
I guess you could say my dedication to science courses paid off as I was selected to be one out of two delegates from the state of Idaho to attend the National Youth Science Camp (NYSC). NYSC is like the Olympics of high school science nerds. It is as nerdy as it sounds. Each year over 100 recently graduated high school students come together for a month of learning about all the sciences from differential equations and fractals to cancer metastasis. At camp, I not only fell harder for science, I found a group of people who loved it just as much as I. There was no doubt in my mind that science is where I would be building my career.
Not a day goes by that I don't marvel in the world in which we live. Whether it's the light reading on quantum mechanics I indulge in while flying home from college, or the surgeries I watch on O.R. live when I'm procrastinating actual chemistry homework, science has become my passion. I know not everyone will love science like I do and that is perfectly OK. However, everyone deserves to find something that they are as passionate about. Try new things, find something you love and don't stop searching for new things to indulge in - even after you've found your passion.
