What Has Shaped Your Life and Career?

 

Many of us have been inspired by someone or an incident we had in the past. Here we have three short stories from different people.

1 ......................................................................
My aunt bought a microscope for my 8th birthday and I was thrilled to receive it. Soon, it was not a simple toy but my favourite belonging. I loved it because it was the door to a whole new magical world for me. I started looking at everything I could through the microscope. One day it was a type of fabric, and another day vegetable peel or an insect, etc. Owning a microscope added a whole new dimension to my childhood since I could discover hidden worlds. It was then that I started loving science and nature. Since I had my first microscope, I have been inspired to look into things in detail and this has shaped my life and career. Thanks to my aunt’s inspirational gift, I ended up being a nuclear engineer! Kamya Chandrasekhar

2 ......................................................................
I have loved airplanes since I was a little kid and I always wanted to be a pilot. I knew I had to join the air force to do that, so I decided to take the Danish Air Force test. However, it was not easy to pass the test. Only 10% of the applicants were accepted. My mother and father said I should have a plan B in case I couldn’t be a pilot and this shaped the rest of my life. Keeping that in mind I also applied to an engineering school since I was interested in electronics. When the results were out for the air force admission, I learnt that I could not pass the test because I was apparently too tall to be a jet fighter pilot. So, my plan B came in handy! I have been inspired to have a plan B for everything I have done in my life ever since. Ebbe Kristensen

3 ......................................................................
I was so excited to find out that Neil Armstrong was the first man to step on the moon. I was planning to be the second one! I told everybody that Neil Armstrong was the first man to land on the Moon but Neil Menon would be the second! I was planning to be the first Indian spaceman on the Moon, so I focused all my energy into becoming an astronaut. The entire neighbourhood knew what Neil Menon wanted to be when he grew up! Later on, I received a book named A Brief History of Time. After reading that, becoming a spaceman didn’t have the same appeal anymore. I wanted to research black holes and dark matter. I wanted to know the origins of the universe and see if I could find life somewhere on a planet in a galaxy far away! Suddenly, I wanted to become an astrophysicist! Well, 16 years later, I became an experimental physicist who absolutely loves what he's doing! Even though my work today has transformed from telescopes to test tubes, here I am fulfilling my childhood dream of becoming a scientist! As for what inspired me to be what I am now, I should primarily say my parents and their encouragement and secondarily my elementary textbook which gave me my spark. Neil Menon