One afternoon, a friend asked me what I do for work. I responded, “I work as an energy researcher,” and elaborated on my research interest for the year. Usually, the conversation dies there because who would want to hear about research, right? Of course, unless you are a researcher.
But this fellow was seemingly interested in the conversation. He shared what he knows about solar energy and solar panels and asked me what I know about them. So I responded with what I know, like how we have solar power plants across the country, and there would be more in the next decade.
He further asked questions until we got to nuclear energy and he asked me what I thought. So I responded with what I know, including my recent trip to a local nuclear power plant (built but was never energized) and a nuclear energy talk I attended.
As the conversation became full of energy (unintended pun 🤪), I was surprised to find another person joining in the conversation (saying she finds the discussion interesting) and another (saying that she can’t help herself join in the conversation), making the exchange of ideas more lively than it began.
What started as one person’s interest led to a vibrant group discussion, which made me realize that you can find people interested in discussing energy topics, even in an unlikely place like a coffee shop.
I left the place smiling after I gained friends and learned things from new perspectives.
jessa 