I spent a majority of my childhood living overseas in Guatemala, a country I never understood was dangerous as a result of my parents' positive, idealistic and constantly distracting nature. If asked, I wouldn't be able to characterize my parents in one word, naming one profession, one academic degree or one hobby. My parents were everything; they were humanitarians, artists, pilots, businessmen, carpenters, equestrians, teachers, divers, adventure seekers and they always seemed to be learning something new.
My parents were the ideal renaissance man and woman, meaning they fit the definition of persons with an array of talents and thirst for knowledge, and because during my childhood I was immersed in this ideology, I believe in the power of a never-ending curiosity for knowledge, skills and experiences. My parents taught me that I shouldn't strive to be or do one thing because our minds and bodies were capable of learning and achieving almost everything we dreamed to do or become in our lifetime. They certainly took advantage of this idea; building a school in an impoverished town on the remote South coast of Guatemala, rebuilding a 140 year old Pacific port that had been ravaged by the sea surf, hosting classes to empower young women to continue their educations and become leaders, building a seafood fishing, processing and marketing corporation from scratch, funding and cultivating a non-profit to save juvenile turtles and the list goes on.
My parents ran with every idea they had, regardless of its realistic and financial plausibility or even the time they didn't have. They explored their curiosities and interests to such an extent that it still seems to me that they worked their whole lives to build a mere fraction of what they have and still are accomplishing. I believe in blind adventures that simply require a dedication to learn. I believe that small experiences, bits of knowledge and creative endeavors surpass focusing on one profession or one career within a world that has so much to offer and, as a human, that has so much to give back. This ideology is not one held solely by my parents and I, but it seems as though a majority of similar individuals soon begin to distance themselves from curiosities and inclinations that would lead them to achieve wonderful and world changing goals once their childhood stage becomes decadent.
Many individuals begin to refine and limit their hobbies and interests as they mature, letting go of creative and unorthodox impulses to become "adults" and adhere to a conformist environment. I don't like being asked what I want to become when I am older, not because I am ashamed to convey that I want to experience and learn as much as I possibly can, in order to put the knowledge I acquire into many creative and unconventional ideas, but because I am met with judgement that my views are too idealistic and scattered for this day and age. Nevertheless, I believe in preserving my philosophy that values a broad sense of curiosity, one that does not limit human potential or intelligence but rather encourages me to build my own narrative in accordance with a multiplicity of passions, challenges and interests.
