By Kara
Growing up, I always knew two things: I knew I was smart, and I knew I loved the ocean. I’m not trying to gas myself up, but I do want to acknowledge that I enjoyed learning and growing my knowledge about the world.
When I was in 5th grade, I started SCUBA diving and began working on projects related to marine science. It was the best thing that had ever happened to me so far in my short life! As I entered middle school, I was still having the time of my life learning and helping with STEM-related projects. However, my peers began to have a different image of me. I was called “weirdly obsessed” and “pushy” when all I wanted was to learn and share what I learned with my peers.
For a while, I stopped talking about what I was doing. I still went diving every weekend and even did STEM fair projects about coral reefs and water quality. But when I was at school every day, I didn’t really have anyone to share it with. In fact, most of the people I used to talk with became the “popular” crowd and soon created the image that learning wasn’t cool.
Looking back, I realize how sad this makes me. Sure, not everyone is going to love everything taught at school. But when you find something you are passionate about and enjoy having experiences with, you shouldn’t be thought of as “uncool.”
For as long as I can remember, “nerds” and “geeks” have been seen as awkward and unpopular- especially girls. Schools teach that it’s great for boys to grow up and become doctors, scientists, or astronauts. Rarely are the same careers promoted for women. Instead, we are taught from a young age to aspire to be models, dancers (not that there's anything wrong with these careers), or, worst of all, to stay at home and live our lives as mothers who cook and clean.
We desperately need to break out of these societal norms. More and more women are getting into science, technology, engineering, math, and other previously male-dominated fields. Everyone can put in work to show our next generation of girls that being smart, getting into STEM, and having a passion is super cool!
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