If the goal is to try to understand nature, make your own curriculum. Most people, myself included, initially believe the physics hype and believe that by study

If the goal is to try to understand nature, make your own curriculum. Most people, myself included, initially believe the physics hype and believe that by studying academic physics they will gain new understanding of nature. I believe this is not the right way. It is better to start by asking a specific question. For instance, I am curious about what matter is. So I ask myself What is matter? and try to answer this question. I divide my question into smaller questions. Until I find a question easy enough to answer. I take it from there. But if I enter a physics curriculum in a university, I won't be able to ask this question for 20 years. The answer will always be in the future.