Science & Tech Quote by Linda M. Godwin

There is a quiet radicalism in how unremarkable Linda M. Godwin makes her origin story sound. In a culture that loves to mythologize astronauts as pre-ordained geniuses or thrill-seeking superheroes, her line lands with the plainness of a lab notebook: I was interested; I liked it. That understatement is the point. It frames a path into one of the most elite professions on Earth as something built from sustained curiosity rather than destiny, bravado, or a cinematic epiphany.

The intent feels pedagogical without turning preachy. Godwin isn’t pitching a slogan about STEM; she’s normalizing the pleasure of competence. “Big interest” suggests a durable, growing appetite, not a momentary spark. “Math and science” come as a paired language of understanding, the twin tools of spaceflight. Then she punctures any aura of exceptionalism with the simplest motivation available: enjoyment. That’s a subtle rebuke to the narrative that difficult fields must be endured through sheer grit. She’s implying that liking the work is not a luxury; it’s the engine.

Context matters: Godwin came of age when women in technical tracks were still treated as anomalies, and NASA’s astronaut corps was only beginning to reflect broader society. Her sentence sidesteps the gendered drama often demanded of women achievers - no obligatory tale of defiance, no inspirational crescendo. The subtext reads: you don’t need permission, and you don’t need a grand story. Interest is enough to start; liking it is enough to keep going.