Hi Ownen,
I would not say it was any one particular thing. As a kid I was
interested in science-y type stuff, especially, like many kids,
dinosaurs. I got interested in astronomy when I was still in grade
school. I was especially interested in other planets and when the
images from the Pioneer and then Voyager probes started coming in I
found those really exciting. I did not really decide to go into
science until college though, where I ended up majoring in physics
because I enjoyed it. I certainly had some good teachers along the way
and a good experience in an high school level amateur astronomy group.
Things add up to make a difference.
cheers,
Terry