I had a moment yesterday during school. A quick moment when I started reflecting on something, but had to snap out of it quickly to return to my students.
Our school is part of something called Kilby presentations. Basically it is a live feed of a special guests: scientists, engineers, etc. and the students get to ask questions to that person. Today's guest was Mark Reed, Associate Director at Yale Institute for Nanoscience and Quantum Engineering. While I wish I could have heard more about his work there was one thing he said that made me stop. One of my brilliant students asked him "What, in your opinion, is your greatest accomplishment?"
His answer was simply this, The ability to think clearly.
He went on to explain what he meant by that was when he was younger he would ask simple questions, How can I make this work better? or What can I do about this? but as he gained the ability to think clearer he was able to ask more probing and "better" questions to lead him to discover new things and bring him to where he is today.
I wish I had this ability. I feel like my brain gets clouded so much, that many things that should be simple become unclear. I spend too much time thinking about all the things in my life that are wrong, yet I'm not asking the right questions. What can I do to make me feel better? What can I do to make a difference? Why am I here and what is my purpose? So I am going to attempt to think more clearly, and be able to ask those questions that will lead me to new discoveries about myself.
I also started thinking about what would I consider my greatest accomplishment (you know, at 3am when I couldn't sleep). For now, I think it is my ability to connect with people, most importantly my students. The relationships I have with them change my life as well as theirs. I feel like in a way it's where I'm leaving my legacy. I think I am going to ponder this one for much longer though.
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