On Saturday I wrote one of my four final exams. At the end of the 20 page exam booklet was an open letter my professor wrote to all of his students.

After spending 2 hours answering physiological based questions about the environment, I was ready to turn the booklet in and leave. At that point my brain had gone to mush and  I was highly doubtful that I could retain anymore information. However, I decided to finish up my exam session by reading what my professor wrote.

About the second sentence into the reading the letter was the phrase “knowledge is power.” Right as I read that statement I begin to think about the effect of those words.

The more knowledge you have, the more power you have to use in the world. That power doesn’t have to be used to control people, but  can be used to help yourself grow.  Throughout our childhood we are constantly growing by asking questions, watching tv shows, going to school, touching newly discovered objects, and even putting things in our mouths. Once we hit a certain age I find that our quest to know isn’t as prominent. I think that it has to do a lot with our outlook.

As a university student I can admit to finding it easy to just attend a class and taking down notes between checking my Facebook posts. Until third year, I never quite lived in the moment as much as I should have. Now when I’m in class I turn off my wifi setting and just take notes without any distractions in order to learn and understand in the present.

In order to gain knowledge we need to be present in the moment and look at learning as something to help us grow and gain power.

I find that in a world were the answer to everything is so easily accessible via the internet, people still don’t take the time to gain knowledge of different things in the world. The world is an enormous place with non-stop information. Haven’t you ever wondered “why whales don’t have ears? “Or “how many types of dog breeds are there?” What about, “why do people get goosebumps? and, “how do leaves turn colour?” All of those answers can be searched on the internet in a matter of seconds. The internet is a great resource for learning about new things.

Here’s my challenge for you: Starting tomorrow, try and learn one new fact a day.

There are so many resources in the world where you can learn from. Magazines, books, YouTube, the internet, Netflix, or even just talking to someone else. This is how you’ll start to change your outlook on learning and eventually realize that the more knowledge you gain, the more power you have.

Knowledge is power. Want to learn, want to grow, and want to succeed.

The next time you complain or have a negative thought about learning, try and remember that knowledge is power, and that knowing will help you live your life to the fullest.

– Liv