Quantum Mechanics
The first time I learned about quantum mechanics was at the breakfast table. My dad placed an article titled “Quantum Entanglement” on top of my eggs and toast. Exchanging scientific articles with my dad is a life-long tradition where he prints articles about prehistoric mammals or microscopic bacteria to spark my curiosity with science. Usually I would disregard the papers — everything he handed me I’d already learned in school — but the quantum entanglement article was different. This egg-stained piece of paper ignited my interest in quantum mechanics and fundamentally shifted my worldview.
Quantum mechanics showed me that I’m a small part of a larger whole. Quantum physics was the most difficult topic I’d encountered, and it required me to ask some daunting questions: Where did the universe come from? How was the first atom created? What is time? After combing through endless physics books from Barnes and Noble, I started to understand the unfathomable enormity of the universe. Thinking of something that much bigger than myself was a humbling experience that helped calm my anxieties, particularly with track. If I was feeling nervous about a track meet, considering how miniscule that moment of anxiety was compared to the magnitude of time helped me regain focus. Keeping that mindset helped me to run a US #15 time during a Florida hurricane.
Quantum mechanics also taught me that the world is never static. One of the main principles of quantum physics is that everything is always in motion. This opened my eyes to the reality that the world never stops. As a society, we cannot press pause on current issues to comfort us; we need to confront them before our irresponsible habits become detrimental. Inspired by the pollution of Earth’s waters, I founded my school’s first Climate Change Club. Not only were my co-founders and I able to present information about global warming to our high school, but we also proposed the use of plant fiber utensils to decrease the amount of plastic within the school’s community.
The most important thing I’ve learned about quantum physics is to value the state of uncertainty. While reading my first quantum mechanics paper, the complexity discussed in its paragraphs caused my head to detonate with confusion. I was upset with myself for not immediately understanding the material. At the time, I felt like I had to know everything, and my naivete left me craving certainty. After doing some research, I realized that human beings spend most of their lives feeling uncertain about the future. Instead of living an anxious life worrying about negative outcomes, I needed to appreciate the moments of uncertainty. Being a student athlete comes with an overwhelming amount of anxiety, especially regarding failure, but I have found that welcoming moments of uncertainty about a track time or a chemistry grade allows me to see failure as an opportunity for future success.
Like quantum mechanics, life is a complicated subject I may never fully understand. As a competitive teenager, I naturally want to be right about everything. For me, the feeling of uncertainty is almost as uncomfortable as responding, “You too!” after a waiter says, “Enjoy your meal.” It is difficult for me to accept that sometimes there’s no definitive answer. But in that moment of vulnerability, when I acknowledge that I’m only a tiny part of a humongous, unstoppable, and uncertain world, I find that a new opportunity arises: to think differently.