Caitlyn Sullivan
Professor McCoy
Curiosity Essay
25 September 2023
Curiosity in College Life
Curiosity is based upon the idea of wanting to learn and understand a topic. Using curiosity helps an individual mind to grow and expand. Wanting to expand and lengthen understanding creates a positive learning environment. Our course epigraph, “My job is to notice … and to notice that you can notice”, drives my curiosity. This helps myself along with other individuals understand how any point is a valid point. Everyone has interests and opinions that are valid to one another. Hearing other individual’s opinions will help everyone to grow and expand their knowledge. Having curiosity is a common trait shared among all individuals. Curiosity may be one of the most common traits shared among individuals, especially young adults. College students and young children may be some of the most curious people. Young children are curious about the world around them. This is a new and different environment. Frequently individuals find young children touching everything or even putting anything in their mouth. This is based upon curiosity, wanting to know the taste and feeling of different objects or things. Along with young children, college students are also very curious individuals. First-year college students are most likely in a new environment surrounded by new people. Wanting to learn about this new place and wanting to get to know new people is very common for a first-year college student. This curiosity can be very intimidating, but it is very normal and common. Being an underclassman myself, I still find myself being curious about many things around campus. Whether this involves clubs or organizations I can join or just what is on the menu at the dining hall. I find curiosity in all aspects of my college life.
College is a time when individuals find themselves in their adult life. College is a time of change and difference in all aspects of life. A new place, new people, and new experiences that can shape an individual into who they are as a person. Curiosity is a common aspect that I personally see within many different people I have met at college. We are all curious together. I will find myself relating with my roommates on different ideas that we are curious about. Living with people that are close to my age or my age makes us have many similarities. Whether this is about classes we are taking even closer to our own personal interests. People who are brought to you in college are individuals that you get close to so quickly.
Regarding interests in classes, I can find myself not being interested or unamused during classes. But, I have found myself very interested and excited throughout our English class. As a second-year student, I took classes my first year that held no interest to me. When selecting classes for my second year, I made sure to choose classes based on my interests. This class has met all the exciting expectations I have had for it. After finishing our first reading of the class, Fortune’s Bones, a newfound curiosity sparked my interest. I have noticed that I frequently think about life after death. What does this look like? What do I personally believe this looks like? What are my thoughts on the afterlife? These are just a few examples of questions that I asked myself after our in-class reading and discussion. A section of the reading that struck my attention was, “I was not this body, I was not these bones. This skeleton was just my temporary home. Elementary molecules converged for a breath, then danced on beyond my individual breath. And I am not my body, I am not my body” (Nelson 25). The thought of my own body not belonging to me had never crossed my mind until reading this section. An individual’s skeleton precisely being a pile of bones, not having feelings or human-like emotions. Once a soul has left a body that body no longer belongs to that individual. I have thought about this as a skeleton has become an object while the soul is the physical person. Personally, the idea of my body no longer belonging to me is frightening. This concept makes me want to take full advantage of any opportunity that is handed to me. We are all only on this earth for a specific amount of time, make the most of it. I want to make the most of my bones while they are mine.
Curiosity can take over an individual. It can be frightening and very unknown. Curiosity is also a very positive concept. Curiosity can lead to a part of an individual’s imagination that they had never discovered. Using your imagination can bring you to a different place that can positively affect you. When I am struggling mentally or physically, I imagine myself during a happy time of my life. Whether I imagine myself on vacation with my family or just eating my favorite food, this affects me in very positive ways. Your imagination also helps with your creativity. Being creative is a significant way to help clarify curiosity or strengthen one’s curiosity. This has a very positive impact on individuals, but curiosity can also have a negative impact on individuals. Curiosity can cause individuals to get too far into their heads While reading, Fortune’s Bones, I found myself getting too much in my head. A part of the reading that confused my curiosity was, “Well, I woke up this morning just glad to be free, glad to be free, glad to be free. I woke up this morning in restful peace” (Nelson 27). This quote can be interpreted in a couple of different ways. I interpret this as being separated from your own body creates a feeling of being free. When thinking about my own curiosity I would think being separated from your own body would be a different feeling. A feeling of sadness and abandonment. This different feeling of curiosity can have negative effects on individuals.
Curiosity has positive and negative effects on individuals. Using curiosity helps people to feel more in touch with their creative selves. Strengthening one’s mind and soul by growing intellect and intelligence. College life can cause individuals to be more in touch with their curiosity. Being in a new environment surrounded by new people. This can be scary but be curious. Ask questions. Become a new person. Be courageous and curious because our bones are only ours for a certain amount of time, take advantage of it.
Works Cited:
Nelson, Marilyn, and Pamela Espeland. Fortune’s Bones: The Manumission Requiem. Front Street, 2004.