Back at home, we have a common phrase, okikola otya? (How do you do it?) While it has become a sociable term for people usually asked rhetorically, I ask this question expecting answers. I never take it lightly.
My friend is unceasingly amazed by my curiosity. She keeps telling me that I have such a curious mind, she just doesn’t get it. Recently we went to a restaurant and we decided to try out their pizza. Browsing through the types they had, we decided to try out the Margherita pizza. Well, she decided, she said that we should let our curiosity soar. When the pizza arrived, we didn’t like what we tasted. She swore she will never go for an adventure with food. She would stick to the familiar, lest she is unpleasantly surprised.
I am still waiting for the confirmation if she will stick to her promise or if I have managed to influence her to be more curious at least with food. Truth be told, I have made that promise so many times to myself and I have broken it in record time. I am curious, I am adventurous. When it comes to restaurants and food, I blow my mind. I will leaf through the menu until I find something new, and I will try it out. There have been times that I have been so disappointed with the food, which despite its attractive culinary language and awesome presentation was tasteless, to say the least. I never forget, and I never order that kind of food again. And I have had moments when I loved the food; I almost swore eternal loyalty to the restaurant.
The thing is for me to go to a restaurant and order for something that I have eaten before feels like a waste of hard-earned money, time and culinary skills. My mind will be in a flare, my heart rate will triple and I will lose sleep, wondering why I didn’t try out something new. So curiosity always wins.
That defines a part of my life. When I see something for the first time, I turn into a little child. I want to know, how does it work, why would someone think of coming up with something like that? How did the idea start? Does it work the way they say it does? Can I try it out? The questions are so many I wear people out. Those who are close to me have found out ways to “wear” me out of my questions. However, they have also learnt that it doesn’t work. They are sure that I will come up with the answer sooner or later and brag about it. But this will lead to more questions.
If I am to ask them personal questions, they know to better than not to answer. If they don’t, my mind will become a whirlwind. I will put myself in their shoes, whether they fit or not and come up with an answer. It doesn’t matter if it is the truth or not, I will have satisfied my curiosity and that counts for so much. So the next time they want to give me an answer to the question, I will proudly tell them I figured it out already.
Curiosity landed me my current job as a teacher. I realized my friends’ 4 years old son could read. I had never in my life taught this would be possible. For months, I asked myself how they were able to do that. As luck could have it, I got a teaching job and at their school! While I looked forward to other aspects of teaching, literacy has a special place in my heart. Now that I have known the process, am I ready to move on? I guess my curiosity is starting to itch in that direction.
My curious mind has led me to do things that even I am shocked at. There have been times I have sat myself down and had a serious conversation. Sternly telling myself that even for the sake of satisfying my curiosity, I shouldn’t have done what I did. And then guess what? I have gone ahead and done even worse.
For me, life is a big adventure. I will ask myself about a stranger’s life, imagine their story and gape at myself with the plot of their lives. I will wonder why someone has a certain expression on their face. Why do they walk the way they do? Are they happy with their lives? Do they have regrets? The questions are never-ending. My mind is daily entertained. I will burst out and laugh at my thoughts, or even almost cry when I imagine the worst.
But along the way, I have learnt a lot. There is so much that I know, I wouldn’t otherwise have learnt if I wasn’t curious. There are roads I have traveled and at the end of the journey, I felt renewed, re-energized and more curious for my next journey.
If you are a curious person, not so many people will understand you. You will seem to live in a world of your own. Your mind will wander off even in the middle of a conversation, on the street and if you are not careful, you will catch yourself beginning an audible conversation with yourself. Whatever happens, don’t drown out that curiosity. Fuel it and keep it ablaze, who knows what will come out of it.
Free to Fly 