What are you interested in?

This is a question that is asked of us fairly often, as it can be the question that allows us to find our niche in life. Luckily for us, our world is filled with various lines of work, so that we are fairly likely to find something that will occupy our time and make us excited to go in each day. Our interests in life allow us to hopefully find the job we want and how to work towards achieving that position. However, there are people who still struggle to find this answer, or have not been able to find the kind of work that fits them. For some, it is because they do not have the means to get to that dream job. For others, it is because, despite the multitude of solitary and interdisciplinary fields out there, there is yet to be one that completely fits them. As a result, they take matters into their own hands and create their own niche, and these are the most daring people you may ever meet.

Despite all these possibilities for your future, the path to getting there always includes learning about the field or fields that will be beneficial to you. Even if what you are working towards is something that is unique in your field, it becomes necessary to learn and research about certain concepts to help you towards your potential success. The good news here is that for everything that we know about in this world, there is likely an expert that you can obtain information from. Whether you are in a class, in an office or out in the field, there is always someone who can answer your questions for you. Even if that person is not able to help you figure it out right away, together you can direct each other to resources that will help you understand your question, if they are willing to help. Even if you would rather find the answer yourself, the textbook or online article that you find will have been written by one who finds great interest in attempting to help others understand what you yearn to know.

As you delve further to learn about your field, you come across complex concepts that require a little more thought. Mainly these will stem from the basic concepts that you originally learned, so as long as you were paying attention in your coursework, you may be able to work things out on your own. Maybe a little refresher can help extract what you are looking for. However, for most of us (and as a result of our odd education system, which I may elaborate what I mean in due time), we may realize that while they seemed to have come easy originally, we may not have as clear an understanding as we thought. If this is not the case, it is likely that someone else has asked you about what they are not sure about themselves. In the conversation that may have ensued, you may find that explaining the concept to your classmate allowed you to realize your understanding. Thus, you are able to slowly gather the tools you need to create your own projects and achieve your own understanding, possibly revolutionizing your field.

As you begin to strike your own territory, you have the opportunity now to show the world you know your stuff. The research you do, the work you fulfill, the products you make or the innovations you present are the culmination of your learning, and you now find yourself as the newest expert in what you do. You become the one that will be asked questions about the work you have done, and if you have any suggestions that you could provide for their own projects. While you do have a deeper understanding of what you are doing, there may be some new questions that you have never thought about before. Often you will find that the answers require investigation into things you never thought you needed to know, leading to new projects with people you never thought you would ever come to work with. However, together you can now work to achieve a higher tier of knowledge that you never dreamed you could ever reach before.

So do not be afraid to collaborate with others. Do not be afraid to ask questions. For those that have a tendency to be shy, I encourage you to at least reach out when you are having the most trouble with something; it is difficult, but I know exactly how you feel now, and if someone like me can do it, I believe you can too. Find those people that are willing to help you the most. If you are the one being asked, do what you can to help each other find the answer if you do not know. Discover new resources to direct each other to. Learn what you need to know, but do not expect it to always be straightforward. In fact, you may find yourself on multiple side quests for knowledge that you did not expect, on relatable topics to your question. Sometimes that will give you inspiration, and other times just an interesting fact that you may find useful later.

We have been able to survive as a species by working together, as far back as we know ourselves to have come from to today. Since we are all in this world together, we must rely on each other for the information to help preserve, reinforce and advance our world as a whole. As a global community we strive to protect what we find indispensable to our survival, not only for our species but for all others that share this single heavenly body. The connections you make ultimately allow you to reach your goals, and your collaborations can have an impact in our global database of knowledge, to be extracted by later generations to make their own contributions to what we know, and what is yet for us to understand.

So again, I ask that simple, yet loaded question of which infinite answers are possible:

What are you interested in?