Emily's DIY

"Hey, you do Engineering! Can you fix this for me?"

I'm here to eliminate any preconceptions you might have about me and my ability to fix things.

This is mainly directed at my mum.



They always morph into questions about household chores. Apparently I'm more qualified for those too!

The truth is, I'm no more able to fix the barracuda than my older brothers. My mechanics lecturers have never taken a barracuda apart in front of the class. Perhaps I could understand the theory behind a few of the mechanisms better than most people, but really the only thing that separates me from my brothers is curiosity.

I chose to study Engineering because I'm curious about how systems work. Systems like barracudas, buildings and power plants of course, but also systems made up of humans. I like learning about new systems and I'm definitely more willing than my brothers to start taking something apart and investigating. I just can't guarantee that I can actually make it start working again...

So mum, next time you have something you want me to fix for you, please don't expect me to have some sort of special knowledge. I'll probably be able to figure it out for you, just don't look at me like I have super powers.

I'll leave you with a picture of a fix my housemates and I have inflicted on our house. Our fixes generally consist of hair ribbons holding things together because we're resourceful and fashionable like that!

Here is a ribbon helping our washing machine drain water.



See, Engineering can be pretty!

Love, 
Em