FSST

This blog is a collaborative effort between the Foundation for Student Science and Technology (formerly the Canadian Young Scientist Journal) and Science.gc.ca. Our aim is to offer an interactive platform where Canadian students can talk about their passions, challenges and ideas on how to further pursue scientific interests and education. We welcome new contributors -- if you are interested please contact us at information@science.gc.ca.


Tuesday, August 19, 2014

STEM Journey

Originally Published: August 19, 2014
By: Osman Sharif

“Do you want to change the world...?”

I was taken aback, bewildered, spaced out... being asked if I wanted to change the world, if I wanted to be that very person that sparked a light of innovation in life. I was at a loss of words. As my life was always restricted to school and friends, things like making change and a difference was never part of my vocabulary. I was always preoccupied at my own life; I never gave a moment’s glance at others... until I reached high school.

Karate lessons, swimming, leisurely biking, playing basketball or reading classic books, nothing compared to the love I shared for science. Grade Nine is where I formed a passion for the workings of the world-- a world where a heartbeat is more complex than words alone to describe, a world where millions of organisms smaller than the naked eye can detect living in unison for the benefit of mankind and a world where one must die in order to understand the true nature of death. Science is itself unexplainable. With so many discoveries yet to be found, I was overwhelmed with the endless possibilities yet to be unraveled.

The words were echoed through my mind louder and louder. I understand what it meant to change. Changing the world is not a superhuman task only targeted for the ones endowed with prophet hood or intelligence. Any man has the ability to make a difference, not only because of his brilliant plans and strategic executions; however, it is the motive, a calling from within. I wanted to be that difference.

As I advanced throughout the years, I learned more and more about the recent advances about cancer. I attended stem cells lectures and researched on my own about the very nature of cancer. I became more and more interested to find a solution not only for cancer, but for AIDS, Schizophrenia, and Congophilic Angiopathy-- any disease yet to cured.
I fully grasped the meaning of the word “change” and realized that I wanted to be that difference in humanity--a change of innovation, a benefit for humanity, a legacy that will be remembered throughout the ages. Science is a continuous process, not a body of knowledge. It is continuously striving through thought and reason which is in short supply nowadays. By continually learning the subject I hold dear, I want to show the world and the people within the greatest innovator that ever walked this earth where the past, the present and the future gasp at my very name: Osman Sharif.

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but building the new” –Socrates

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