I love the feeling of when I finally understand how to work out a new problem and use that knowledge to help others through their math questions. I love showing off my newfound intelligence to my family and building up my image as the "smart" child of the family. But most of all, I love the escape math gives me. My life has always felt like it was going a thousand miles per hour, like a life experience speedrun. However, math has acted as my mind's release from all the stresses of regular life. The repetitive nature of long equations like the quadratic formula and distance formula to the shorter ones like the point-slope and slope-intercept keep me focused for a longer amount of time, allowing my mind time to rest. The thing with math is that, unlike literature, there is always a defined right answer, no guesswork, no confusing grammar rules, just a clear answer. No other subject measures up to math in my opinion, even subjects like biology, creative writing, or history with hundreds of repetitive terms don't have the repetitive focus my brain looks for. The only other subject I think could come close to math would be physics, I love physics as well.

During the beginning of high school, I was transferred to a completely online curriculum that had no teacher or peer interaction. The excess time I had became occupied with the internet where I explored new ideas and online forums. It started with fantasy, movies like "Avatar" and "The 100" pulled me in with their sci-fi storylines, which in turn introduced me to more scientific possibilities like reversing epigenetics and splicing DNA. However, I can confidently say that the major contributing factor to my current interest was the SCP Foundation. A fictional, collaborative organization that aims to secure, contain, and protect anything from locations, people, or entities. Surprisingly enough, learning about this oddly intriguing piece of fiction is also what made me interested in astrophysics and molecular biology. However, genetics has been the subject to steal my heart. I have always compared myself to my parents and siblings, seeing who I take after the most. In my curiosity, I mentally accounted for all the characteristics I shared with the people around me which led me to question whether personality traits could be passed down. All my half-siblings have personalities that align with their biological parents, even if they have spent very little time with them. I found this very interesting because I had always been under the assumption that someone's personality was developed solely by their environment, not their DNA. If there was a way to replicate or edit genetic sequences then perhaps someone's physical or mental qualities could be reversed, hastened, or changed completely. If the differences between humans and other species are just down to a few lines of code then it may be possible to splice some characteristics from one species and input them into the next, or maybe there is a way to predispose someone's personality type by rearranging their sequence. Perhaps there is a way to reverse the aging process like moon jellyfish or regenerate limbs like salamanders, and maybe even replicate the asexual reproduction some sharks use. I plan to one day take part in these areas of research to not only satisfy my curiosity but to also help those whose time was cut short. I have met so many who have had dreams only for them to give up from a lack of time, my parents included. If I could crack the code to epigenetics, then not only could their time be extended but diseases similar to Alzheimer's, chronic kidney disease, and blindness could all be reversed and return someone to their prime. It is a big wish of mine to one day understand the mechanisms and complexities that define us all so that one day I may be able to help my loved ones and those suffering from incurable diseases.