What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to get my hands dirty

Ever since preschool, this question has perforated many of my conversations with adults around me. Now, as I “grown up”, I must combat this question head on. As I prepare to enter college soon, a looming thought in my mind is what I want to major in, and through much discernment, I decided on chemistry. But how did I come to this conclusion?

At five years old, I stand guilty beside the kitchen counter; the scattered spices and spilled oils coating its surface betray my crime. I had invaded the spice drawer once again to make my “science experiments,” despite my poor parents’ pleas on the matter.

Typically a mixture of olive oil, water, and a conglomerate of pungent spices, these concoctions entranced me with the mesmerizing suspension of the globs of paprika or balsamic vinegar in the oil. Multicolored pockets formed by the unwillingness of oil and water to mix.

Years later, in high school chemistry, I discovered polarity— partial charges on molecules. Note: water molecules share electrons unevenly, yielding them partially charged. However, oil’s components share electrons evenly, so it remains neutral. Therefore, the uncharged molecules of oil hold no attraction to the slightly charged water molecules.

My mind was blown. I finally understood my lifelong quandary of why oil and water don’t mix. At a molecular level, I visualized the oil particles of my science experiments avoiding the water molecules, repulsed by their charge. My incredulousness at chemistry elucidating oil and water’s feud and rationalizing my childhood potions ignited a deep passion for the chemical basis of our reality.

Chemistry serves as the foundation for my worldview. It grants me the gift of simplifying the complexities of our world by allowing me to zoom in on the individual atoms governing all matter.

So, when asked what I want to do when I grow up, I want to passionately continue experimenting to observe chemistry’s plethora of real-world applications, enthralled so deeply by the subject.

Anya Kennedy is a 12th grader at Jesuit High School. She enjoys spending time with friends and family, traveling, swimming, hiking, and reading. She enjoys working at a preschool, tutoring, and babysitting.