My Childhood Dreams
When I was a little child, I dreamed of becoming a scientist. I was fascinated by the prodigious genius of scientists, and I admired them for their amazing discoveries and inventions.
During my childhood days, I started to wonder why the seeds germinate and become tall trees and bear fruits in their due seasons. I wondered how beautiful rainbows are formed, and where do they get their colors. I also wondered why the stars do not fall from the heavens. I wondered what mysterious force hold them together in the sky. And the sea – so wide and so deep – where does all the water come from?
Those were the many questions in my mind that stimulated my childhood curiosity. I thought scientists know the answers, and I wanted to be like them. During my high school days, I read the biographies of famous scientists, such as Galileo, Pythagoras, Descartes, Newton, and Einstein. I admired them a lot for their genius in postulating theories that became the foundation of applied and theoretical sciences that we have today.
At my young age, I started to dream of becoming a scientist someday. I dreamed of working in a Physics laboratory or as a Physicist in NASA. I wanted to peer into the vast universe for its innumerable stars. Modern astronomy found out that our galaxy, the Milky Way alone, has more that 1oo billion stars in it. And the universe, according to the 1999 findings of the Hubble Space Telescope, has approximately 125 billion galaxies. But a recent simulation done by a German super computer yielded more than 500 billion galaxies! These facts ignite my imagination. And the pulsar, the neutron star, and the black holes too. What are the mysteries behind them? All these triggered my desire to be an astrophysicist someday.
I dreamed of becoming a mathematician too. Newton, Einstein, Leibniz, Laplace, and Pythagoras were my favorites. I especially admired Newton and Leibniz for their invention of calculus, and Einstein for his very-hard-to-understand differential equations used in his famous Theory of Relativity.
I also wanted to be a biochemist. I was puzzled without end by what could be the substance that generated the 500 volts in electric eels. What processes are involved? How can it be simulated or reproduced so as to be of benefit for mankind? How can I simulate the chemical processes involved in the production of light in fireflies, and tap it to light our homes and the whole world?
I studied engineering in college just for mathematics. I liked mathematics very much. But lofty ambitions require not only intelligence and perseverance to succeed, but money as well, and right contact, right time, and good luck.
Though my childhood dreams have remained dreams up to this day, I still thank God for giving me the desire to reach for these dreams. Dreams are our wings to lofty ideals. In dreams we hope for something better and expect it to become real. It is this hopeful expectation that makes our lives happier and more livable.