Expect the Unexpected

When I was in school I was convinced that I wasn't going to need any math or science because I was going to be a writer. The only subjects that interested me and were therefore of any practical use to me were English, history, humanities, art, and maybe speech or psychology. Science and math were for the birds. Who needed em? I was really bad at them too, so it stood to reason that my lack of aptitude meant that that a STEM career just wasn't in the cards for me. I went round and round with teachers trying to get the to explain to me when I was ever going to need the things they were trying to teach me "in the real world." I was certain that the answer was "never."

Also, this was 100% not a thing. (Source)

Oh, how wrong I was. As much as I disliked science and math as a student I find myself enthralled by it now. I don't know when or how it happened, but one day I found myself looking at science like it was magic that came from Narnia itself - especially chemistry, a subject that I was particularly bad at. I'm also quite fond, as you may have guessed, of nuclear physics, entomology, and quantum theory. I like writing about these things. The problem lies in the fact that since I was such a lousy student I end up having to teach myself about these subjects all over again, just so that I can write about them convincingly. And every time this happens I curse my younger self.

Sound advice.

If only I'd studied harder as a young person. If only I hadn't been so arrogant and full of myself. If only I had learned these things for the sake of learning rather than for practical reasons; then I wouldn't find myself in this mess. The writing would just flow out of me and I wouldn't have to hold up the process to figure out just what exactly critical mass is anyway. That's not the case though. Here I am, 30 years old, and giving myself a crash course in chemistry and nuclear physics. The truth is you never know what you're going to need to know, or even want to know when you get out into the real world. I never thought that I would ever need to know what a mole was once I finished high school. Joke's on me, brother.