I was a curious child. If you had asked me when I was 11 what I had planned to do, I would have told you “I want to be in school forever! I want to take every science course I can until I run out of science courses, and then I will be a professor!” After 4 years of STEM education, I now realize “every science course” was a bit ambitious.
Freshman year I would have told you, “I want to save the world. I believe that everyone has a slightly different global challenge the are passionate about, and mine is climate change. I am going to make the next generation of solar cells!”
The core me still contains these two elements. I am innately curious about the technical workings of the world. How do glaciers form? Why are different molecules different colors? I still want to devote my life to preserving the amazing biodiversity on this improbable blue marble. However, I have expanded upon my core by adding confidence, independence, and positivity.
I discovered a love for physical and mental challenge through mountaineering and rock climbing. I have had some of my most memorable experiences in cold, wet, rainy tents and hanging on sheer rock faces. Nothing draws me close to people as fast as smiling and laughing through a storm, or the teamwork and trust of summiting a final spire to look out across a sea of ridges. It’s not about the climbing, it is about the personal and interpersonal connections climbing fosters with myself and with others.
So what do I plan to do with my life? I am sure that many seniors are wondering the same thing as me. I know I want to save the world--but how? I know I want to go to graduate school--but to study what? What is my next step? My next step is deep personal exploration through solo travel and reflection. Once I set my sights on a definitive goal, the technical skills I have learned will serve me as a toolbox with which to tackle tough mechanical or interpersonal problems.
Freshman year I would have told you, “I want to save the world. I believe that everyone has a slightly different global challenge the are passionate about, and mine is climate change. I am going to make the next generation of solar cells!”
The core me still contains these two elements. I am innately curious about the technical workings of the world. How do glaciers form? Why are different molecules different colors? I still want to devote my life to preserving the amazing biodiversity on this improbable blue marble. However, I have expanded upon my core by adding confidence, independence, and positivity.
I discovered a love for physical and mental challenge through mountaineering and rock climbing. I have had some of my most memorable experiences in cold, wet, rainy tents and hanging on sheer rock faces. Nothing draws me close to people as fast as smiling and laughing through a storm, or the teamwork and trust of summiting a final spire to look out across a sea of ridges. It’s not about the climbing, it is about the personal and interpersonal connections climbing fosters with myself and with others.
So what do I plan to do with my life? I am sure that many seniors are wondering the same thing as me. I know I want to save the world--but how? I know I want to go to graduate school--but to study what? What is my next step? My next step is deep personal exploration through solo travel and reflection. Once I set my sights on a definitive goal, the technical skills I have learned will serve me as a toolbox with which to tackle tough mechanical or interpersonal problems.