Curiosity, the desire that humans have to question things, is something that is very unique to our species. It is something that sets us apart from other species and makes us unique. It allows us to incite change in society and propels our civilization forward. Even though it is such an important skill to have, it is a skill that we have been exercising less and less.
We are inundated with information on a daily basis, which is a wonderful thing, but we have stopped questioning the information that we are given. We don’t bother to challenge each other’s opinions. We don’t question information that we believe and just accept it as is. We have stopped growing.
There is a reason why college is when you grow the most, because we are questioning things that our parents have always told us to be true. If we question our parents, then why don’t we question things that affect us daily?
We tend to complain about things that bother us or are told to us, yet we never question the things that bother us. We stopped trying to do something about it.
I’m not saying that questions should come out of anger. I’m saying that you can learn a lot from asking questions. Perhaps you find out why your boss is asking you to do that annoying task. Or maybe you realize that there is a problem in your organization. Asking questions makes you more informed.
We shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions, we should be looking for questions to ask.
I constantly am told to ask questions, in my internships and co-ops, and this advice couldn’t be more valuable. Sometimes, people have been doing things for so long that they don’t realize that there are problems with their ways. Maybe you bring up a good point to your supervisor that they haven’t thought of before. Or maybe you help someone realize that they are basing their opinions off of stereotypes.
We should want to be influenced by the things around us. I know a lot of current Stevens students don’t care about what the University Center will look like because they won’t be here to experience it. Yet, it will affect the clubs that we are in. It will affect our legacy, not to mention the view that you will be able to see from Manhattan. Yet, most students aren’t asking to be included in the conversation. There has been some information released about the building, but most of it is very hard to find — in fact, most of it has been released by The Stute. Students should be interested in the future of our school and ask to be included. After all, you will be annoyed when you can’t walk through Wittpenn Walk because of construction; if you ask why it was closed and why the alternative route is the way it is, then you will see the reasoning and won’t be experiencing the same level of frustration. Or you could ask why Stevens is pursuing only LEED Silver for this project, rather than something more ambitious and environmentally progressive like LEED Gold or LEED Platinum.
Questions can only help us grow. So this holiday season, ask questions.
Have a great break everyone and happy holidays! May there be lots of happiness and smiles this December.
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