I have been really struggling with the coming of the New Year. Normally, this is a season that I love. I like goal setting; I like the idea of washing the slate clean – of starting over.
But this year – the new doesn’t feel better; it honestly doesn’t even feel new. It just feels…like January.
That’s why in my quest to come up with an exciting New Years Resolution I have decided to be an octopus.
Okay – maybe not literally (although…that would be kinda cool).
But I did get inspiration for my New Years Resolution from the loveable octopus.
You see, while octopi and humans look very different, there are some things that we both have in common.
For example, we both can navigate mazes, use tools, solve problems, play, learn, and remember things (although I still have no idea what I went into the living room for earlier). But this is to say that the biggest thing that we and the octopus have in common is: curiosity.
And that’s my actual resolution for the new year: to be curious.
I found myself recently reminiscing about school. I realized how much I miss going to school. Not so much the homework part, or the math part, or the math homework part – but the active learning part. I miss getting to pick electives and learning new stuff every semester, I miss assigned reading and discussing what we thought the author meant during a specific chapter of a book, I miss researching things I was interested in.
But you see – I then realized that I don’t have to be in school to do those things. I just simply stopped doing them. I stopped being curious.
Like many adults, I got wrapped up in my career, relationships, social expectations, and responsibilities. I prioritized productivity over curiosity.
But I don’t want to do that anymore.
Curiosity is so important. It keeps our minds active, boosts memory (which I need apparently), and encourages creative thinking, and problem solving. It can also help you get “unstuck” in whatever you’re feeling stuck in, and empowers autonomy.
For example, I normally set a reading goal for myself each year. I say I’m going to read X number of books. But this year, my goal is to just read more deeply. I want to highlight quotes I love and make notes in the margins (not my library books, of course). I want to explore more nonfiction – and read more scholarly articles. I want to explore different points of view and maybe read more material that encourages me to look back at history and not just think about the future.
I want to read things that make me curious about myself, the world I live in, and the people who also inhabit it.
Just because the year doesn’t feel new… doesn’t mean I can’t learn new things.
Thankfully – I work in a place that has built its foundation on curiosity.
Here are some ways you can foster your own curiosity here at the library:
- Check out a book. If you’re stuck – maybe check out Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt.
- Explore an interest through one of our databases – I particularly like Gale General Onefile for exploring general interests.
- Attend a program – we have so many to choose from! But if you are also wanting to learn more about the octopus, we have a couple of opportunities to learn about the amazingly cool creature from the Hatfield Marine Science Center.
So – join me in being an octopus this year – and be curious.