Why
do all Porcupines Float in Water?
By Hannah Glass
Why do all porcupines float in water? How did human life come to exist? Who inspired Shakespeare when he wrote his Sonnets? What is the fourth dimension? Everyday, when I open the car door with school books in hand, I don’t hear any “Don’t forget your lunch” nonsense or any sappy “I love you.” Ever since I can remember, I have only heard the wise words of my father: “Ask lots of questions!” Ask lots of questions. Even now, my dad gives me that same advice. I think of that advice whenever and wherever I can. My hand
is always up, prompting a question in class. Sometimes I think that the only reason I have any intelligence whatsoever is because I ask so many questions. Questions drive us. They lead to progress. Before Edison invented the light bulb, he pondered how to extend the light of day. Before the American colonies broke free from Great Britain, they wondered why the king was so controlling. Before Ludwig Van Beethoven wrote Moonlight Sonata, he asked himself how he could put the feeling of his broken heart into music. The advice to ask questions has stayed with me constantly, wheth-
er I’m in Calculus or a musical. To follow it, I must pay attention and engage myself in the world. And nine times out of ten, I learn something that I probably wouldn’t have ever discovered otherwise. It’s hard to always ask questions. Sometimes the things we learn leave no ambiguity. But when it looks like there couldn’t possibly be anything else to learn, that’s when creativity really appears. With “Ask lots of questions!” pulsing through my brain, I have learned to fish through information to find more knowledge. So how should I end this?
Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?