hi, i just discovered this site today...i have a deadline to meet for jan 2 so please i am in a hurry...
I have chosen topic 6 :topic of your choice...
No matter where you are from, as a kid you always aspire to become something similar - an astronaut, a pilot, a movie star, a treasure hunter. I was no different. My new house, where we moved in 1998, saw me running up and down and through every room as an action hero with a gun fighting off imaginary villains; as a pilot flying the jet over very difficult landscape and landing it safely on my bed; as a detective solving the crime which no one else could. But, since my childhood, nothing fascinated me more than the night sky. Every now and then I loved going out in the terrace at night to watch the moon, millions of tiny stars, and to search the planets - they said some of them are visible to the naked eyes, but where were they?
My little brain tried to comprehend how all this worked. How these tiny dots were bigger than the sun? Why everyone said sun was so much bigger than the moon even though in the sky they looked almost similar in size? As I grew older, I got the answers to such questions, but unfortunately for my parents this was not just a passing phase. My interest in understanding our universe and the physical world grew stronger and deeper. I started taking interest in more difficult theories and questions related to physics and astronomy. So, when the time came where I had to confront the pivotal question: What do you want to study after high school? I never had trouble answering it.
I want to study physics and astronomy and become an astronomer.
In Nepal, this answer is almost instantly followed by a judgmental response from the inquirer. From where I come, there are basically only two paths for a student interested in science - engineer or doctor. Any choice besides these two fields and the kid is seen as a confused child. So, my response seldom fails to bring out responses like: Why not engineering?, Physics? Why such a boring subject?, or my favorite: Astronomy? Isn't that where you observe the stars and make predictions of future for people; like a fortuneteller?
Answering these questions proved to be more difficult than I had presumed. Whatever reason I gave them for my choice, they narrowed their eyebrows, unsatisfied and still skeptical. They take it as a quest to persuade me to reconsider, trying to explain me that perhaps I have made a mistake. Often more than not, they begin reciting me the prospects of engineering to hopefully turn my mind around. From what they see and hear, my choice of career path offers me little scope. So, it was not long before I started to loathe such conversations. I especially got irritated when people confused astronomy and astrology. I wished they just left me alone.
But by trying to avoid such conversations, I was just hoping to get a moment alone. I was hurt by how it seemed that almost nobody supported my choice. Why did not they understand that I have more interest in physics and its theories than engineering?
The answer was staring right at me the whole time. It was hardy their fault that they thought my choice was wrong. Very rarely a student from Nepal chooses physics or astronomy as their career path. Such discourse from the established path of subject choice still remains new and questionable here. They have seen students who took engineering become successful but they have never seen a successful physicist. In fact, many have not even heard of an astronomer or an astrophysicist. Unless they have a solid ground to believe in what I was doing, unless they see firsthand where students taking a discourse from the usual trend have succeeded, they will remain doubtful.
I would be lying if I said it was a sudden instant of epiphany, or a eureka moment that made me realize this. It was because I too have my own imperfections when I judge others' decisions. Everybody has their own view based on their experience and no view is perfect.
I know that I will not be able to change everybody's mind about my decision. Some will believe in me, some will support me despite their doubt, and some will believe that I made the wrong choice. But I have realized that it is not about how others perceive me and my choice; it is about how I feel about the choice that I have made. Even after hearing all the critiques and after so many 'counseling', I still stand firm on what I believe. I know I have made the right decision and I believe that someday I can serve as an example of someone who became successful even by taking a discourse. Following the footsteps of others is not wrong, but making your own way is not wrong either.
Even today I still face the same questions when many of them hear I want to become an astronomer. But instead of getting irritated or angry I find myself smiling and eager to engage in friendly debate. As for when I hear my favorite response, I reply: No that's astrology you are talking about. In astronomy we predict the fate of the universe.
any comment, suggestion, grammatical changes and tense correction highly appreciated!!!
