We need to understand black holes, dark energy, and dark matter. It is essential to find out why the universe expands if there is more dark matter. There must be another form of energy that pushes things apart even faster. If we understand what dark matter is made of, will that change the physics we know today, will we need Quantum Physics 2.0, and will Einstein's Theory of Relativity still be correct? Thomas Kuhn and other philosophers say that physical theories are always wrong. They point out that when the theories were written, they seemed correct, e.g., people believed planets moved in circles, then Kepler proposed ellipses. Next, Newton used gravitation and then Einstein's relativity. However, as we get more data and make more observations with better technology, those physical theories have always been replaced with more modern theories. It is interesting to read about new discoveries and understand how scientists put together teams to make sure we have better, and more relevant theories to replace the old ones. Astronomers explain that there are many galaxies like ours, many of which have a planet like the Earth, where life could also be happening. Our closest star Alpha Centauri is 4.25 light years away, and NASA's Voyager would reach it in 40,000 years; however, the proposed light sails, which would travel at 15% of the speed of light, would reach it in 25 years. Those light sails would have probes, or possibly what people now call "conscious AI" instead of human beings. So, if there are other forms of life, we must design a way to explain who and what we are because all they will see are the probes on the light sails. It would be exciting to design something like the Rosetta Stone that aliens would understand. The philosopher John Searle said that if beings aren't carbon-based like we are, then they may not have the capability of being conscious. In his philosophy of the mind, he said that Mental states are identical to brain states; all mental states have to have carbon-based brains like us; if this is right, then aliens made of silicon, or other elements, cannot have mental states. In addition to learning what aliens might be made of, or their mental states, how can we design experiments to find out what they experience, see, smell, taste, do they have feelings and how can we read their intentions? So, with our technology, we can only send little probes over vast distances to other galaxies that might have life. How can we detect small probes from other civilizations far away? It is fascinating to design what would be on light sails and what we would show aliens or probes from faraway civilizations if we find them. I want to work on the visual or sound aspects of what we might send or show to other civilizations. Many researchers at SETI are working on similar projects, and it is excellent to listen to their talks. I look forward to learning more about Interstellar Travel and what the probes to Alpha Centauri might be made of. Interstellar Communication is also very interesting because we need to find a way to send messages to and from the Moon, Mars as well as the light sails in a timely manner.

I try to maintain a balanced diet to stay healthy and reduce stress; I also try to meditate, exercise and dance for at least one hour daily. I will tell you now why I think what I do helps. Elizabeth Blackburn, who won the Nobtnger. In The Telomere Effect, which Dr. Blackburn wrote with USCF psychiatrist Dr. Elissa Epel, they recommend a plant-based diet that includes fresh vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts, and legumes. Author Dan Buettner analyzed the diet of the people who live in the Blue Zone areas of the world; they are areas where people live longer because of their natural diets. People in these areas eat more fresh vegetables, legumes, and whole grains; they eat fewer dairy products and meats and use less sugar than the rest of the world. After reading The Telomere Effect and about the Blue Zone diet, I stopped using sugar; I do not order lattes or cheeseburgers anymore; I eat plant-based burgers and drink herbal teas without sugar. I bought a bread maker and baked grain-based bread with natural yeast, which is much more nutritious than the bread in the stores. I sometimes use the wheat of Sardinia for baking their Pane Caraseau, which is delicious occasionally. From Nicoya, I now add black beans to my diet; they are a source of vitamin Bs and fiber. Sometimes I can find the Costa Rica oranges, Maranon, which has five times the vitamin C of regular oranges. Breakfast is usually oatmeal, granola, and a slice of multi-grain bread. Lunch is typically a salad; dinner could include soup and salad, fish, and sometimes rice, and dessert could be a fruit-based smoothie with whey protein. I rely on many snacks from Okinawa: seaweed, daikon radish, bamboo shoots, and Chinese okra if I can find them. I feel much better since I started following the Blue-Zone diet and Dr. Blackburn's and Dr. Epel's recommendations. I wrote a paper about the effect of meditation on the brain. fMRI imaging showed that Buddhist monks control the Default Mode Network (DMN) of their brains, which is the brain's intrinsic network. The DMN is the area responsible for depression. fMRI imaging showed that sports people use the Extrinsic Brain Network and so tend to have depression because they are always active. I was glad I wrote this paper because now, every time I meditate, exercise or dance, I know that I am learning to control my DMN and will control stress and be able to avoid depression. The exciting thing is that these recommendations are part of what is now called the "longevity diet," Dr. David Sinclair describes in his book Lifespan. I do not know if the diet will make me live longer, but Dr. Sinclair, Dr. Blackburn, Epel, and other researchers discovered that this diet helps keep our telomeres longer, and long telomeres are symptoms of a healthier life, with less stress than normal people.

Writing! Without books, where would we all be today? Whether we write with pens, pencils, or computers, the ability to write and share our experiences has helped advance humanity. Today, investors in gaming companies believe that the best electronic game in the world is Word because the combinations of things you can write with this software are endless. Today, most people write on computers. The most significant thing we need to solve is how we read old file formats. Books on paper do not change, but if someone saved a book on a floppy disk 20 years ago, they would probably have difficulty finding a way to get that book from the floppy disk. In 100 years, people might use different software, so how can we ensure that they can read what we write today? It is exciting to think of how people could write books while on the Moon or Mars. Perhaps they will not use the same software we use, but it would be great if we could read the books they write. Writing and sharing our ideas, discoveries and experiences are reasons why the world is a better place.

Not one community in the US has successfully solved homelessness. I would like to see this problem solved. San Francisco mayors have looked at this problem from different angles for decades.. not one of these mayors since the 1960s has solved San Francisco's homelessness problem. This problem is now all over the country, and not one mayor or community has solved it. There should be some brains in this country that can help reduce - if not solve - this problem. The problem of homelessness has incredibly increased in the Bay Area. We now have tent cities all over the place. It is an incredible shame that we cannot solve this problem. It is even worse that we have elected officials for more than half a century who have not been able to solve this problem. Desperate times call for action among all the mayors of big cities like San Francisco so that they come up with solutions. I am unsure what I can do as a teenager to solve this problem. I will continue to write to mayors and call for action. I will continue to advocate to end homelessness. I will even run for office one day if this problem still exists when I finish college.

I had my first dog, Minnie Mouse when I was two. She was my best friend. We played together and raced with each other in the park. Minnie played hide and seek with my friends and me and made the game fun. It is amazing how she always found me first in the game. She always loved me and looked for me. My kindergarten school was three blocks away from where we lived. Minnie used to run away from home and go find me in school. It was funny that she would go to the school door and not leave until they let her in. Eventually, the school allowed Minnie to come on some days. I loved Minnie very much and never imagined that she would not be here. But being a Cavalier, Minnie had heart problems and died three years ago, when I was fourteen, and she was twelve. It was a sorrowful time for all of us because Minnie was family. Eventually, we got a new Cavalier, but this time we got a tri-color; Minnie was Blenheim. I love the Cavaliers, but I could not think of getting another Blenheim after Minnie. My new dog, Cookie, is adorable. She waits for me every day when I come back from school. I walk her as soon as I return, and we have great conversations on those walks. Dogs understand the tone of voice, and she can tell that I want to chat with her, and Cookie appreciates that I pay her attention and not just walk her. We meet other dog owners in the park, and Cookie has many friends; it is crucial to find time to be outdoors with Cookie. This time outdoors is essential for Cookie and my well-being. I am fortunate to have several parks nearby and many dog owners in my neighborhood for Cookie to play with. If it weren't for Cookie, I probably would not have spent an average of two hours a day outdoors walking Cookie. Cookie's love and friendship and the time we spend walking make me much happier and more optimistic.

Learning is essential to me; life-long learning is fundamental to many people I admire, like Emily Dickinson. I love Dickinson's poem The Brain—is wider than the Sky, because, as she says, if we put the brain and the sky side by side, our brain will easily wrap itself around the sky. The poem then says The Brain is deeper than the sea; and that the mind can quickly soak up an entire ocean. How can anyone not continuously try and soak their brain with learning new things? I am lucky to be curious. Curiosity is why I read a lot and try and learn new things. We are blessed that we live at a time when technology makes it possible for us to have millions of books and museums online. In Dickinson's time, her poem 263, "There is No Frigate Like a Book," points out how books are essential and are a frugal way to travel. Imagine today when anyone can tour all the world's museums from home. I will not only tour the Earth's museums, but I will also be one of the first on the Interplanetary Internet and perhaps correspond with people on the Moon and Mars. Curiosity made me look up Nissan's Nuro, their new car driven by brain waves; who would have thought that possible? We are on the cusp of amazing new things, and our lives will change with many of the inventions that are happening now. In the Age of Living Machines, Susan Hockfield predicts that we are in the middle of a massive biology revolution. I plan to learn about it and keep learning because this revolution will not end; it is just starting. I am also optimistic and believe that many researchers working on new technologies want the best for humanity. They are inventing driverless cars because they will be safer; they are inventing new medicines that will improve our health; people today live longer and healthier than they did 100 years ago; how can I not keep learning about all the new advances in science and medicine, in AI and Engineering? Though many people write about the downside of using technology, I believe that technology is helping humanity, and not just me, become life-long learners.

The definition of healthy eating habits evolves with time. Many researchers have written about the benefits of a balanced diet. However, since Elizabeth Blackburn won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2009, more research has been published about how stress, and the right food, can affect the length of our telomeres. In The Telomere Effect, which Dr. Blackburn wrote with psychologist Dr. Elissa Epel, they recommend a plant-based diet that includes fresh vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts, and legumes. Author Dan Buettner analyzed the diet of the people who live in what he called the Blue Zone areas of the world; they are areas where people live longer because of their natural diets. The Blue Zone areas include Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy and Nicoya, Costa Rica. People there eat more fresh vegetables, legumes, and whole grains; they eat fewer dairy products and meats and use less sugar than the rest of the world. After reading The Telomere Effect and the Blue Zone diet, I stopped using sugar; I do not order lattes or cheeseburgers anymore; I eat plant-based burgers and drink herbal teas without sugar. I bought a bread maker and baked grain-based bread with natural yeast, which is much more nutritious than the bread in the stores. I sometimes use the wheat of Sardinia for baking their Pane Caraseau, which is delicious occasionally. From Nicoya, I now add black beans to my diet; they are a source of vitamin Bs and fiber. Sometimes I can find the Costa Rica oranges, Maranon, which has five times the vitamin C of regular oranges. Breakfast is usually oatmeal, granola, and a slice of multi-grain bread. Lunch is typically a salad; dinner could include soup and salad, fish, and sometimes rice, and dessert could be a fruit-based smoothie with whey protein. I rely on many snacks from Okinawa: seaweed, daikon radish, bamboo shoots, and Chinese okra if I can find them. I feel much better since I started following the Blue-Zone diet and Dr. Blackburn's and Dr. Epel's recommendations. The exciting thing is that these recommendations are part of what is now called the "longevity diet," Dr. David Sinclair describes in his book Lifespan. I do not know if the diet will make me live longer, but Dr. Sinclair, Dr. Blackburn, Epel, and other researchers discovered that this diet helps keep our telomeres longer, and long telomeres contribute to a healthier life.

First, we must ask if we have better mental health today than we had three thousand years ago. Today more people suffer from depression and anxiety and modern-day diseases that increase with urban isolation, stress, confinement in small apartments, spending minimal time in nature, or looking at the sky or stars. Instead of asking us to avoid urbanism and avoid using technology, the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the most significant association of astronomers in the world, is asking us to think about the Intersection between Astronomy and Mental Health. The IAU has several programs that advocate using Astronomy to find happiness in observing the sky and learning about the stars. I avoid stress and mental exhaustion by meditating and spending several hours a week looking at the stars, contemplating, and listening to music. Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb advises people to study astronomy and cosmology because by looking at the Universe, our problems become insignificant. I also think that exercise, dancing, singing, or any physical activity is essential to avoid continuously thinking about problems. People who use the extrinsic part of the brain are generally happier than those who sit at home, worrying and using the 'default mode network' of the brain. So, to achieve mental wellness, I use the extrinsic part of my brain by doing physical activities, limiting the time I have to spend worrying about problems.

Gaming and online gaming are very addictive. fMRI imaging of people addicted to online gaming shows that the brain's Default Mode Network (DMN) is always dominant while gaming. fMRI scans of Buddhist monks show that their DMN is dormant because meditation teaches them to control their DMN. People who exercise and have a lot of outdoor activities use the external network of the brain, as opposed to the DMN. Like the monks, they are generally happier than people who sit most of the day gaming or worrying about their problems. Good behavior sometimes disappears when stress dominates a person's life. Consider, for example, road rage or PTSD cases. Like most addicts, online gamers are usually under self-imposed pressure; gaming addiction makes them more self-absorbed, and they often forget to eat, and subsequently, they forget good manners. On reflection, if the essay topic continues to begin with "the phenomenon," it implies that the issue is challenging to solve. However, we change the word phenomenon to symptom, then we acknowledge that we are dealing with a problem, or disease, that is easier to solve than a 'phenomenon.' Perception is essential, and Plato often argued that we need to avoid judging issues by perception and continue to search for the truth because it is then that we can solve problems. I took a course this summer about Neuroinvesting, and we studied gaming and fMRI imaging of gamers. Neuroscience research argues that online gaming is an addiction, based on comparing the fMRI images to the brains of other addicts. We need to find ways to help them and classify their behavior accordingly. Online gamers, like other addicts, need help, and quickly.

I'm Still Standing

I plan to major in biology as an undergraduate and continue to study medicine. I want to be a physician to help improve other people's lives, just like my uncle did when he helped cure Hepatitis C in Egypt. My uncle, Imam Waked, is one of the leading liver physicians in Egypt; he always dreamed of curing Hepatitis C because one in every 10 Egyptians had the disease. In 2013, Gilead started marketing Sovaldi to treat Hepatitis C in the US. My uncle and other liver physicians in Egypt convinced Egypt's Ministry of Health to negotiate with Gilead to make generic Sovaldi in Egypt. Gilead obliged and gave Egypt the drug at a 99% discount. As a result of this agreement, Egypt will cut its number of Hepatitis C patients by half by 2023, and Egypt might eventually eliminate Hepatitis C. This story proves that Helen Keller was right when she said: "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." If my uncle had only worked in his clinic, he would have treated a few thousand patients. However, he teamed with other liver physicians, Gilead, and the Egyptian Ministry of Health. As a result, Egypt successfully organized a Hepatitis C screening of 49 million Egyptians between 2018 and 2019. My uncle and his colleagues reported the results in "Screening and Treatment Program to Eliminate Hepatitis C in Egypt," NEJM, March 19, 2020. This screening helped cure millions of Egyptians from Hepatitis C. In the US, the Sovaldi dosage required to treat one Hepatitis C patient costs $84,000; in Egypt, the generic dosage costs less than $100. Approximately 17% of the US prison population has Hepatitis C. California treats the acute cases, but states like Arizona do not treat them, citing high treatment costs. I wanted to help the prisoners in California get the generic Sovaldi from Egypt, so I contacted the office of Willie Brown, the former 3-time Mayor of San Francisco, and he suggested working with grassroots organizations. I reached out to the former Mayor because I thought State governments could have faster results. As I continue my education, I want to work with AMA's Physician Grassroots Network to help advocate for healthcare affordability. I am interested in neurology; studying how the brain works and how motion affects the brain is exciting. Leonardo da Vinci studied movement and depicted his Vitruvian Man as a figure with arms superimposed in a circle. Circular motion is the basis of many dance steps, and the Whirling Dervishes whirl a few hours every week and do not get dementia. I am interested in Harvard Professor Daniel Tarsy's work on how dancing helps Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients because more than one million Americans have PD. Also, I am interested in the 2020 clinical trial in Los Angeles about the effect of focus ultrasound on ADHD. I plan to work with research teams to improve public health and, hopefully, help eliminate a few diseases.