Musings of an Old Chemist

A Chemist's Perspective on the Habits and Skills STEM Students Need For Success

Category: VI. Weekly Quotations

  • Weekly Quotation: September 24, 2025: Embracing Resilience: Overcoming Life’s Challenges

    Weekly Quotation: September 24, 2025: Embracing Resilience: Overcoming Life’s Challenges

    For your consideration:

    I think that life is difficult. People have challenges. Family members get sick, people get older, you don’t always get the job or the promotion that you want. You have conflicts in your life. And really, life is about your resilience and your ability to go through your life and all of the ups and downs with a positive attitude.

    – Jennifer Hyman

    After undergoing five spinal surgeries in the past twelve years, I’ve come to accept chronic pain as my new normal. I understand this is the hand I’ve been dealt and must manage it daily. My faith in God and my perspective on life are the only things I truly control. I lean into stoicism, focusing on what I can control: my emotions, my reactions to situations, and my demeanor. I accept what is beyond my control—the actions and behaviors of others, external events, and fate.

    I strive to prevent my countenance from revealing my pain and discomfort, choosing not to complain about my situation. Instead, I try to be a concerned, interested, and active listener, showing compassion for others’ challenges. This path is not easy, but through prayer—asking for strength, wisdom, and compassion, and giving thanks for all of God’s blessings—I feel I am making progress toward becoming the best version of myself.

  • Weekly Quotation: September 17, 2025: The Journey to Wisdom: Life Lessons at Sixty

    Weekly Quotation: September 17, 2025: The Journey to Wisdom: Life Lessons at Sixty

    For your consideration:

    “The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.”

    – Muhammad Ali

    “The only true wisdom is knowing you know nothing.”

    – Socrates

    Now in my sixties, I often reflect upon the knowledge I have retained, my life experiences – my successes and failures, and the mistakes I have made, wondering how it all fits together. What have I really learned? What has my life up to this moment really taught me? Am I gaining in wisdom or making the same mistakes I’ve made consistently throughout my life? 

    Wisdom can be defined as the ability to think and act based on knowledge, life experiences, self-awareness, common sense, and insight into the world. It involves making sound decisions and exercising good judgment, an area I personally strive to improve. Now as I grow older, I attempt to focus more on managing complex situations, especially within my family dynamics, and offering thoughtful, considerate advice. This requires actively listening, a skill that is critical in all situations, and only providing my opinion when asked. I also continue to make a conscious effort to learn from every mistake.

    For me, wisdom is also deeply connected to my faith. I pray for God’s wisdom, asking for help in being more self-aware, compassionate, and developing a sense of purpose that exceeds simply obtaining material things. Part of this process is the recognition that I am not there yet, there is so much more I need to learn, about myself and my life’s purpose. But I know I am a better person today than I was yesterday, and perhaps that is the beginning of wisdom.

  • Weekly Quotation: September 10, 2025: Humility and Gratitude

    Weekly Quotation: September 10, 2025: Humility and Gratitude

    For your consideration:

    Just knowing you don’t have the answers is a recipe for humility, openness, acceptance, forgiveness, and an eagerness to learn – and those are all good things.

     – Dick Van Dyke

    Learning to be humble, to express gratitude for what you have been given, opportunities you have been offered, and for everyone who supports you, emotionally and monetarily, is essential for our journey of personal growth. It requires self-awareness, recognizing what we do not know or understand, admitting our faults and weaknesses, as well as identifying our strengths. Waking up each day seeking to be a better person than you were the day before. And, when you make mistakes, be willing to take ownership of them, seeking forgiveness where needed, and taking the lessons you learned from them to heart, striving not to repeat the same mistakes.

  • Weekly Quotation, September 2, 2025: “Peeing” On That Proverbial Electric Fence

    Weekly Quotation, September 2, 2025: “Peeing” On That Proverbial Electric Fence

    For your consideration:

    “There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.”

    – Will Rogers

    We’ve all been there. You dive into a new skill, armed with books, tutorials, and a healthy dose of optimism. Maybe it’s golf, maybe it’s fixing a leaky faucet, or in my case, trying to resurrect a stubborn lawnmower. You read the manuals, you watch the videos, and you start to feel… confident. Perhaps even a little too confident.

    My own journey began in my instrumental chemistry courses in college. Dr. John Walkup had the following advice when applying for a laboratory position – “If asked if you can operate a piece of instrumentation, just say ‘Yes.’ Once hired, you can take the instrument manual home and study it.” This fostered a sense of overconfidence in my abilities in me. Not realizing at the time that while a manual can certainly help you ask semi-intelligent questions and avoid appearing utterly clueless, it often serves as a dangerous enabler. Believing I knew more than I actually did, I’d inevitably encounter what Will Rogers affectionately calls the “electric fence moment,” proving my self-proclaimed expertise was, shall we say, premature.

    And here’s my confession, I honestly believe there’s a lot to be said for “peeing” on that proverbial “electric fence.” I’ve certainly had my share of “shocks.” And while the metaphor is a bit crude, for me, it perfectly summarizes the process of discovering all the ways something wouldn’t work.

    Making mistakes, and analyzing them, provides tremendous insight. It cultivates a deeper understanding and a firmer retention of knowledge than simply reading a book or passively watching countless YouTube videos ever could. The learning process can be painful, of course. No one enjoys making mistakes; it can wound our pride and occasionally make us feel utterly foolish. However, I would strongly argue that hands-on experience, complete with its inevitable missteps, is far superior to any amount of book learning.

    So, the next time you find yourself grappling with a new challenge, don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty, to experiment, and yes, to even “pee” on that “electric fence” a few times. Those moments of “shock” might just be your most effective teachers.

  • Weekly Quotation: August 26, 2025: The Smartest Person In The Room Complex

    Weekly Quotation: August 26, 2025: The Smartest Person In The Room Complex

    For your consideration:

    “Just knowing you don’t have the answers is a recipe for humility, openness, acceptance, forgiveness, and an eagerness to learn—and those are all good things.”

    – Dick Van Dyke

    Over the years, I mistakenly believed I had all the answers and was the “smartest” person in the room. My arrogance was compounded by my eagerness to dominate conversations and express my views, which only highlighted my lack of knowledge. However, with age came the understanding that true intelligence involves actively listening to others’ opinions and perspectives. There is much to gain if I simply take the time to listen. By humbly acknowledging my shortcomings, refraining from imposing my opinions, and remaining open to alternative approaches, I can cultivate humility and grow in wisdom.

  • Weekly Quotation: August 20, 2025: Awe And Wonder

    Weekly Quotation: August 20, 2025: Awe And Wonder

    He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.
    – Albert Einstein

    Awe is a powerful emotion defined as a feeling that what we are witnessing is beyond our current understanding. But our perception of awe and wonder evolves throughout our lifetimes. For example:

    As children, our curiosity and wonder are fueled by the pure joy of discovery. A messy papier-mache volcano built on the kitchen table, or a curious question about the stars, is enough to stimulate our search for answers.

    As we get older, our perspective shifts. The world begins to measure us, and we, in turn, begin to measure ourselves. Our sense of worth becomes tied to external rewards—such as grades, test scores, titles, and salaries. The process of learning and discovery becomes a means to an end, rather than a joy in itself.

    We get so engrossed in our daily routine—rushing to appointments, ticking off to-do lists, and worrying over expectations—that we overlook the wonder in the world around us. Consider how often you’re in such a hurry while driving that you fail to notice your surroundings. Do you recall the turns you made, the roads you took, or anything that happened during your commute? 

    Now in my sixties, I consciously strive to appreciate life’s beauty and complexity, taking the time to marvel at nature. This includes the intricate details of plants and flowers in my garden, as well as observing Jupiter’s inner moons or the Pleiades constellation through my telescope on a clear night. This past Friday, at 5 a.m., while walking our dog, I noticed the stunning alignment of Venus and Jupiter on the eastern horizon. This sight filled me with such awe and reminded me of the insignificance of my daily concerns—what I needed to do that morning or what I hadn’t accomplished the day before. It reaffirmed my faith in God and highlighted my small place within these mysteries.

  • Weekly Quotation August 13, 2025: Being Comfortable In Silence

    Weekly Quotation August 13, 2025: Being Comfortable In Silence

    It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.

    – Mark Twain

    Truer words have never been said. Learning to be an active listener, and be comfortable in our silence is a valuable skill that most of us, myself included, need to practice daily.

  • Weekly Quotation: August, 6, 2025: Rethinking Education to Prioritize Personal Growth

    Weekly Quotation: August, 6, 2025: Rethinking Education to Prioritize Personal Growth

    “We are a culture that worships the winning result: the league championship, the high test score. Coaches are paid to win, teachers are valued for getting students into the best colleges. Less glamorous gains made a long the way – learning, wisdom, growth, confidence, dealing with failure – aren’t given the same respect because they can’t be given a grade.”

    – William Zinnser (On Writing Well, 30th edition) (pg. 253)

    I wonder if the same can be said about the process of personal growth. I am absolutely certain that there are teachers whose passion lies in seeing they’re students grow as people of substance, encouraging their passion for learning, challenging students with inquiry-based lessons. I know this because I have worked alongside many of them. However, the pressure to meet state and federal established testing benchmarks by which schools are judged and state curriculum standards leaves little time for creativity and discussion in the classroom. So many feel like they are fighting a losing battle. And it not only these restrictions that affect the development of our students’ personal growth in the classroom.

    I have also experienced a paradigm shift in the STEM students I work with. While there are still some who are open to new ideas and are willing to explore and develop the foundations of personal growth: curiosity, a passion for solving problems, and a passion for learning. There is a growing majority of students whose primary interest is in just getting the grade, whose focus is on getting the highest ACT score possible, not through learning the baseline knowledge to support the score, but only in the quick techniques to “cheat” the test with the least amount of effort. And, with minimum ACT test score standards being implemented in school systems as graduation requirements, schools now offer courses teaching these methods. ” Memorize and forget” is now the status quo for many of our students.

    We are doing a disservice to our students. For when they get to college, and especially when they graduate and join the workforce without a solid foundation in knowing how to deal with failure, learn from their mistakes, develop a strong support network, to be resilient and to persevere – essential skills and traits that cannot be given a grade – I guarantee you they will struggle.

  • Weekly Quotation: July, 30, 2025: Random Acts of Kindness

    Weekly Quotation: July, 30, 2025: Random Acts of Kindness

    “Carry out a random act of kindness with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.”

    – Princess Diana

    It is very easy to get so caught up in our own lives. Spending time to cultivate relationships, work on our day-to-day interactions with others, or pausing for a simple act of kindness can seem to be an inefficient use of our time in a world of texts and emails, and rapid digital information. The constant rush of our “microwave society” leaves us with less perceived time for deliberate acts of empathy and compassion.

    Students juggle demanding class schedules, extracurricular activities, part-time jobs, and social lives. They are often genuinely stressed, tired, and mentally preoccupied. When overwhelmed, people tend to conserve their energy, and sometimes, basic courtesy can be overlooked in the rush.

    That being said, there are some easy ways to practice empathy and compassion every day:

    Be open and friendly to everyone you meet. Simple things like holding a door, offering to help them a task, or really listening to their ideas or opinions without judging can make a big difference. Holding a door for someone struggling, or offering a kind word to someone who looks down, can make a huge difference in a person’s day.

    When you see someone, whether you know them or not, start by saying “hello”. A warm greeting, with eye contact, and a real smile go a long way to make them feel important and noticed. And remember, it’s really easy to send rude texts, emails and other digital communication since you don’t see the other person face-to-face, so be mindful.

    Show others that you sincerely care about them. Don’t just ask “How are you?” out of habit. Actually listen to their answer without interrupting. And a sincere “thank you” always makes people feel appreciated. These small acts help build stronger connections and relationships.

    Be willing to share what you know If you’re good at something, maybe help a classmate out with a difficult concept or tutor them. It can really help them learn and stress less.

    And finally, always try to make someone’s day better and leave a positive impression with little, unexpected gestures. This could be anything from picking up some trash to leaving a nice note or giving a genuine compliment.

  • Weekly Quotation: July, 23rd, 2025: The Choice We Need to Make

    Weekly Quotation: July, 23rd, 2025: The Choice We Need to Make

    For your consideration:

    “We are still in the position of waking up and having a choice. Do I make the world better today somehow, or do I not bother?”

    – Tom Hanks

    We are the architects of our own personal growth, and only we can determine what kind of person we will become. How will you define what personal success looks like? What do you desire? What is your true reward? Is it a high paying position or personal recognition, or is it becoming a person of value who makes those around you better?