The Mind of a Physicist

Most people who genuinely like studying physics and getting into the deep dark questions about the universe, myself included, can be a little quirky. Again, myself included. This isn't meant as an insult in the slightest, its truly a huge compliment. Being quirky is what makes people themselves and what makes them interesting. This being said, physicists are some of the quirkiest, most interesting people you will ever meet. 

Being an aspiring physicist, this makes me think about what I must be like... and I definitely fit in the overly quirky category. I must be honest though it makes life more interesting, at least in my own head. But physics isn't a subject for the faint of heart, and thats where these quirks come in handy, and in my case I think I'll be able to survive undergraduate physics. I hope may be a better phrase...

In the first Physics Club meeting at uWaterloo today, filled with primarily first year students such as myself, many upper year students were less than optimistic with their predictions for how us Frosh will do in our upcoming studies. They said at least 70% of the students in the Physics Department will drop out of the program by the end of first year. Thats more than 2 of every 3 kids. So sitting in a lecture hall in between 2 people, both of them won't be here in a years time. A little depressing for an enthusiastic 17 like me.

But then I looked around the room at the upper year students who were still fighting for their undergrad, seeing how they acted and taking in some of their tendencies. Then I listened to them for a while, for how they spoke in general and to each other. And while doing these observations I noticed something: these people who are actually making it through physics, in the lucky 30%, have just as many quirks as I do. They have similar interests, similar dialects and even similar idiosyncrasies. Based on this I told myself, hey maybe I'm one of the lucky 30% too. I fit the image, I have the drive, and I want to be where they are in a few years so why not.

So, by being a good scientist and observing my surroundings, making connections, and drawing conclusions I figured out that I'm exactly where I should be. Thats a very good feeling to have at such a young age, and I know I'm lucky for that, even if I'm not in that elusive 30%. I know there are people that go their whole life and don't have this feeling of total content, knowing you are exactly where you should be and you're doing exactly what you should be. And even though it will be a lot of extremely hard work I'm extremely grateful to have the opportunity that I do to explore the universe and do exactly what I want to.

There are a lot of people, at any age, but especially at mine who don't have this feeling, who are just uncomfortable doing what they're doing. And I encourage these people to never give up when it comes to finding your niche, to always be open minded and to not be scared of change. Because sometimes you never know when you're going to find the thing thats perfect for you, so take a chance and go find it. Take it from someone with more than their fair share of quirks, finding something that fits you is the most worth it and fulfilling thing you can do and the more work you put into the pursuit the more rewarding your happiness will be.