Question Everything by Tony

Question Everything by Tony - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

Mr. Potter taught early morning biology my junior year of high school. To began the lecture our first day of class, he presented a glass beaker filled with a murky yellow liquid. He told us the beaker contained water from the Yakima river, a polluted local waterway. He explained the various efforts made to clean the water and improve the environment. As he talked, we took studious notes to use on the promised future quiz.

He next revealed an additional container and deposited the contents into the beaker. The small, dark, bean-shaped objects promptly sank to the bottom. As he continued the lecture, we repeatedly watched them slowly rise, one by one, to the surface of the liquid and promptly descend.

Mr. Potter said these small organisms were a new discovery that absorbed pollution in water, turned it into innocuous gases, then released them into the air. He described the life cycle and living habits of these organisms and how scientists had released thousands of them into the river to clean up the pollution. All period we took page after page of notes on Mr. Potter’s demonstration in anticipation of the promised examination. Finally, at the end of the lecture the real lesson came.

Placing the beaker down, Mr. Potter said, “In science this year we will learn many different theories and ideas about how the world works. All of them are based on observation and research, but all of them are humankind’s best guess right now. Our understanding of the world changes everyday; you should never take anything at face value. QUESTION EVERYTHING!”

Then Mr. Potter held up the beaker and said, “This is not polluted Yakima river water and these are not pollution cleaning organisms. This is Mountain Dew with raisins.”

Perhaps it was the frustration of an hour of wasted note taking, but I have never forgotten Mr. Potter’s lesson. It has come up again and again as I have sought my place in this world. I “question everything” as I examine the religious beliefs and political assumptions passed on to me by my parents or new developments in health, science and technology, and social trends. Questioning everything has often led me to seek the other side of the story or a different person’s point of view. Sometimes my long-held beliefs withstood the scrutiny and my convictions intensified. However, sometimes I adjusted my world views in light of compelling arguments from a different perspective. In either case, my view has been broadened as I have applied this sage’s wisdom and scratched beneath the surface and to find another explanation, another aspect, another answer beyond the easy or seemingly obvious. What we knew as a society 20 or 30 years ago is nothing compared to what we know now. Imagine what we will know in in one more decade if we continue to question and expand our collective knowledge.