When I was your age, my brother brought home a book about the periodic table of elements. The book was full of pictures, so naturally, that was all I really looked at. I loved flipping through the pages and seeing the colors of Neon and the shine of Aluminum. Chemistry, to me, looked like art. So I fell in love with it. Simple as that.
As I read more about chemistry, I realized that every leaf, flower, and stem around me was made up of a very special pattern of the elements. In order for every leaf, flower and stem to grow correctly, this pattern must be maintained. I began wondering how that happens, how do things grow? The answer came in my first biology class in eighth grade: enzymes!
You can think of enzymes as the construction workers of nature. Enzymes are what build things up, but also what tear things down. And get this, the way they work is purely through chemistry. How magical. Enzymes are nature's construction workers, but also nature's little magicians. They are awesome.
Growing up in Eau Claire, I loved every tree around me. Our nature is beautiful, and something I've always wanted to protect. I thought again to the special chemical pattern in every leaf, flower and stem around me.
