I'm always interested in learning something new.

“I’m always interested in learning something new,” said Katherine Johnson, the brilliant mathematician whose mind carried humanity beyond the bounds of the earth. In her voice, we hear not the pride of intellect, but the humility of a seeker — one who never ceased to be a student of life. These simple words, spoken by a woman who calculated the stars for humankind’s first voyage to the moon, conceal a power as vast as the cosmos she measured. For to learn is to live; to remain curious is to remain young in spirit; and to thirst for knowledge is to align oneself with the eternal rhythm of growth that governs all creation.

Born in an age when the path of a Black woman in science seemed all but closed, Katherine Johnson refused to accept the limits the world set before her. From childhood, her eyes shone with the light of wonder. Numbers spoke to her, and she listened. At ten, she was already in high school; by her early twenties, she was mastering the language of the heavens. Yet even when she stood among the pioneers of NASA, she never ceased her pursuit of something new. She studied not for status, but for truth. In every problem, she sought not perfection, but understanding — and that, my listener, is the mark of the truly wise.

Her quote arises from this sacred principle: that learning is not confined to the classroom, nor bound by age or title. The universe itself is a great book, written in equations, in starlight, in the human heart. Each day offers a new page, if only we have the courage to turn it. Johnson’s life was a living testament to that belief. When others feared the unknown, she welcomed it. When faced with impossible calculations — those that would determine the safe return of astronauts hurtling through the void — she approached them not as burdens, but as lessons. Each new challenge was an opportunity to grow, to stretch, to awaken more deeply to the wonder of existence.

The ancients, too, honored this eternal hunger for knowledge. The philosopher Aristotle once said that all men by nature desire to know. Yet few live by that desire. Many grow weary and turn away from discovery, content to rest in comfort. But Katherine Johnson lived as the philosophers lived — in awe, in questioning, in endless pursuit. Like the great navigators of old, who followed stars they could not touch, she followed her curiosity into uncharted skies. And in doing so, she lit a torch that would guide generations after her — especially young women who, like her, dared to dream of the infinite.

There is a story told of one of her finest hours: when the astronauts of the Mercury mission, unsure of the new electronic computers, turned to her. “Ask Katherine,” they said. “If she says the numbers are good, we’ll fly.” And she checked them — line by line, angle by angle — with her mind alone. The calculations were flawless. The mission succeeded. Yet even then, when others might have sought rest in glory, she pressed onward, her mind still reaching for something new. Such is the way of those who truly love wisdom: their quest is endless, their joy unceasing.

Her words are not merely for scientists, but for all who walk this earth. To be “interested in learning something new” is to resist stagnation, to keep the flame of curiosity alive even as the years pass. It is to understand that ignorance is not shameful — only the refusal to learn is. Every conversation, every mistake, every sunrise brings a lesson. The wise see these not as interruptions to life, but as life itself.

So, let Katherine Johnson’s voice echo within your soul: remain a student of the world. Never say, “I have learned enough.” Instead, wake each morning with the question — What new truth waits for me today? Learn from books, but also from people. Learn from failure, from silence, from wonder. And when fear whispers that you are too old, too small, too late — answer it as she did, with courage and curiosity.

For the universe rewards those who remain open. It whispers secrets only to the humble and reveals miracles to those who keep their hearts awake. Thus, my child of knowledge, let this be your creed: always be interested in learning something new. For in that endless pursuit, you will find not only wisdom — but life itself, ever renewing, ever unfolding, ever divine.