Sometimes something is said in a class that intrigues me. It catches my attention. Today in my Adolescence class we discussed autonomy- a topic I’m not super familiar with. This area happens to be one of the passion topics for our teacher. This intrigued me. Call me crazy, but sometimes I like to read up on my teachers. This fascination started last school year when a professor mentioned that he did therapy as well as teaching. What?! My teacher had a life outside of teaching us? Wow. So I looked up his professional profile and learned more about his life and accomplishments. He’s a well educated and rounded person. He was well accredited in his field of study. That was impressive to me. Back to today:
I didn’t know much about my teacher. But he’s mentioned a couple times about research studies he’s been a part of. Today alone he talked about some correspondence with someone in Denmark that is with a worldwide journal. Then he mentioned something about receiving an email about how a scale he helped develop was used in China in a study of over 6,000 people. Hearing these things got me curious. What DOES my teacher study and do besides teach our one hour class three times a week? So I pulled up google scholar in the middle of class and typed in his name. Over 3,000 articles popped up. That’s right- 3,000. I only went through about the first three pages, but they are indeed him. It’s funny that many of the topics that pulled up were things he had mentioned to us in class, but I didn’t realize how much he was involved in the research for it. Incredible.
My point? It’s because of teachers like this that I believe with all my heart in finding your passion in life. I’ve never considered the age of adolescence as my forte. On the contrary. I enjoyed teaching EFY, and was surprised how much I did connect with them. But other than that, I’ve never worked with or considered working professionally with them. In fact, outside of EFY, I’ve never taught above the age of seven (unless you’re also counting callings to teach relief society). But as I sit in class and listen to him teach, as I study the material on my own, it is fascinating. It’s like a part of their passion rubs off onto me. I’ve had a few teachers like this in college, even a few in high school. I always thought it was just a talented teacher. I still think that’s a part of it. But I think there is more to it than that.
I think when we do what we love, it spreads to others to create more understanding and desire to learn. Those that are passionate about their work can do incredible things. They find their niche in life. And my life is better because of it.
Application: I want to be that kind of person. I think I’ve found my niche in life. I think I’ve found my passion. I changed my major once, then changed my emphasis until I found it. I get really excited and can talk for hours about why I love it and what I want to do with it. And if I can make a small difference with the things I love, then I think my life will be more complete. I want to inspire others to be better and to be more understanding because I too am doing the things I love.
Some days, like today, I’m blown away with how awesome some people I associate with truly are. :)
