In the past, instincts have quite often driven my choices. I somehow always managed to find those choices conscious without feeling any guilt. When I then joined the ranks of the ‘future leaders of Africa’, this careless approach to life was very much challenged. Here, conscious choices were neither an ideal nor a false label. Rather, they were generally regarded as fruits of a well pondered reflection. I have tried for an entire year to live up to the standards that the academy had set for me from the beginning, and today I can say proudly that choosing to be part of the scientific research adventure is my conscious choice. This first blog article will take you in the journey of my thought process to that very decision.
When I heard about scientific research for the first time through my roomate, I became very intrigued. I was then faced with the dilemma to either take extra time off my second year timetable, or try and explore something new. For a while, the former sounded like the most plausible choice to me. The event that challenged this view happened during the first round of presentation that the graduating class gave in the auditorium. When I saw the list of the very uncommon topics that were going to be presented to us, I started seeing the potential in the adventure. But I was not even close to reality.
Scientific research cannot only be resumed to having potential, it is a life choice. It is the choice to value integrity by handing in assignments that deserved my full attention, to celebrate curiosity by exploring topics like Quantum mechanics even though I am a Biology student, and to apply my courage to the challenging task of communicating to others my passions. It also teach me how to dig deep into certain field of science that I find exciting such as behavior, the game theory and many others. Most importantly, scientific research allows me to learn for the only sake of learning, without the quantitative value usually attached to it. Grades never define anyone, they rather tell us where we are located in the work intensity and quality bar. The scientific research adeventure is thus for me an opportunity to restore the value of learning ,to explore the world of science and to finally learn how to share its importance with others.
Scientific research cannot only be resumed to having potential, it is a life choice. It is the choice to value integrity by handing in assignments that deserved my full attention, to celebrate curiosity by exploring topics like Quantum mechanics even though I am a Biology student, and to apply my courage to the challenging task of communicating to others my passions. It also teach me how to dig deep into certain field of science that I find exciting such as behavior, the game theory and many others. Most importantly, scientific research allows me to learn for the only sake of learning, without the quantitative value usually attached to it. Grades never define anyone, they rather tell us where we are located in the work intensity and quality bar. The scientific research adeventure is thus for me an opportunity to restore the value of learning ,to explore the world of science and to finally learn how to share its importance with others.
Let’s begin this journey then, shall we?
I'm glad you have chosen this journey. I have seen you mature greatly in the last year, and I look forward to seeing that process continue, in part through this class. Let the journey begin indeed!
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