My friend has a Latin phrase tattooed on his shoulder: “Admiratio non noticia”—loosely translated and interpreted as “wonder over information or knowledge.” In other words, my friend believes so strongly in the power of wonder and curiosity as the driving force in his education—and in his life in general—that he had it inked into his skin. When school feels like a chore or work feels boring, maybe you wonder—where can I find my inspiration? The answer is in the wondering. Right now with the COVID-19 pandemic, we all have an opportunity, some space and time to search for what fascinates us. Even when remote schooling is in session, students have a little more time to seek out their own paths. The secret to a successful school experience is internal motivation, and the way to find that internal motivation is to discover what interests you and follow that path.
There is a mythological symbol of a dark forest. The pathless forest archetype recurs in many myths and fairy tales, including the legends of King Arthur and the Holy Grail. In one 13th-century version, the Knights of the Round Table each find their own path into the pathless forest:
Each entered the Forest Adventurous
at the point which he himself had chosen,
where it was darkest and there was no way or path.
—The Quest For the Holy Grail, anonymous 13th-century monk
Joseph Campbell, the cultural mythologist, perceived this image as symbolic of finding your own way in the world, discovering your passions and “following your bliss,” as he famously said.
You enter the forest
at the darkest point,
where there is no path.
Where there is a way or path,
it is someone else’s path.
—Joseph Campbell, Pathways to Bliss, p. xxvi
When an idea, image, or topic inspires a “click” in you—a feeling of rightness or excitement—then give it more of your attention. Follow the fascination.
Now back to traditional schooling… How can I find my fascination with chemistry class when I love Shakespeare so much more? Or how can I get excited about the Lincoln-Douglas debates when I’m more interested in calculus? What’s fascinating about prepositional phrases? I can’t answer these questions for you, but I can give examples. Once when I was assigned a comparison-contrast paper on two philosophers, I chose instead to write a play where they debated ideas with each other. Much more fun! I got an A as well. I love grammar because I’m fascinated with the underlying structure of things, including fractals, astrophysics, and math. Grammar is the underlying structure of language, so I think of it that way and appreciate its symmetry. How to find your spark of interest in a short story that seems so boring, like “A & P” by John Updike (a commonly assigned text)? Well, the gender equality issues in that story make me pretty angry, so I can write an essay about that. These examples are about my interests, though. You’ll need to tune your sensitive antennae to pick up the signals from your own mind. Learn to recognize the spark in you that lets you know you’re on your own unique path in the forest. That spark, IMO, is the secret to a successful school experience.