1) Over time, I have walked and transcended, noticed and tracked, and listened and embodied the particles of life. * * * Meraki— a Greek word— means “to do something with soul, creativity, or love,” to leave a piece of yourself in your work. Crunch of celery. Fresh pages of a book. Birds chirping to the new day. One part of me hums while the other anticipates the new growth aches for the day. * * * Sonder - the notion that each person has a life as complex as your own - is seen with every visit to Joy’s Kitchen, an organization that distributes food to thousands of families, in Denver. A nuance that granted me awareness. An awareness that opens new doors of knowledge that push the bounds of my limits. * * * Linked Lists - a computer science data structure - means “a value and reference to the next node.” When I became Director of Works at Techies 4 Nonprofit and Head of Open Curriculum Writing Development, I was guided by “a reference” to a greater value - one in the community - to foster a kinder world through innovation. One that crafts a scalable website/code to fix membership check errors. * * * Law Scales of Justice - a symbol of order and harmony - guides my role in society and my pursuits in debate. By studying the morality-based Lincoln-Douglas debate, I have mastered delicately crafting rebuttals and strikes of logic. As a varsity debater, I mentor novices on the same. This balance of order (respect) and harmony (oneness) is the foundation of my values. It is the fuel of my curiosity as it intermingles with a vast array of subjects from computer science to public speaking to even quantum computing. * * * Light - the essence of life found everywhere - molds the passion that motivates me to grow daily. It is through this light that I wish, I yearn, to discover and to innovate. I would live in balance with life in nature while marveling at the intricate designs of this world and the whispers to be discovered. 2) My life is the epitome of “whys” and “hows.” From counting to the Pythagorean theorem to Multivariable Calculus, my innate curiosity is fueled by the intricacies of the world. Similar to me, cognitive science, computer science, and quantum computing also embrace the “whys'' and “hows.” Cognitive Science - a crossroad of knowledge across computer science, psychology, and many more - will give me an insight into how humans perceive, learn, reason, and solve problems - the “whys'' and “hows.” I will leverage this knowledge to design more intuitive user interfaces, develop better algorithms for human-computer interaction, and create systems that align with human cognitive abilities. It would also allow me to develop more robust and interpretable machine-learning models and AI systems. This would pave the way for quantum computing even more. With its application in computer science, it will be easier to apply to qubits (similar to computer data bits that can be used to calculate complex problems more efficiently) and develop new-age technology. I will be able to embrace a new world of “whys'' and “hows” through this new lens of thinking. In the Boulder area, numerous companies are paving the way in computer science and quantum computing, specifically qubits. Berkeley, California-based Atom Computing is one of at least three quantum hardware builders in the area focused on qubits. The others are Inflection and Broomfield’s Quantinuum, previously called Honeywell Quantum Solutions. Whether it be internships during college or employment after college, these three companies have truly piqued my interest. What caught my attention was their race alongside IBM to build a computer with more qubits. Recently, Atom Computing took the global lead after announcing it went from 100 qubits to 1,180 qubits, which will be available next year. IBM’s 433-qubit processor is currently the largest commercially available today. Not only would I be able to apply computer science, but I will also be able to work in quantum computing with these three pillars of companies in the field. 3) “What if it doesn’t work out?” As whispers of the creeping phase plague one's mind despite all the preparation, this is doubt - the silent obstacle of many. Some may even call it imposter syndrome. As beats of sweat trickled down the tense lines of my face, I could feel the gears in my head clogging. My hand - which had tirelessly scribbled notes and solved problems just the day before - now lay frozen, unable to move. This is paralyzing doubt - one of the greatest challenges I’ve had to overcome that gripped me during critical moments. As I realized how critical it was to overcome this and heal this portion of me, I began to realize that it was just as important to face the root cause. It wasn’t the question “what if” that was hindering me. In actuality, it was overlooking what I had due to comparison. Then and there, I began each morning as soon as my eyes woke up and ended each night before sleeping with a thankful prayer to remind myself of everything I had. As I began this process four years ago, I also began to trust my instinct by not putting myself down after a failure, but instead, looking at it from an observational point of view and dissecting what needs improving to reach my end goal. This took honesty and forgiveness. As days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years, the gears in my head began spinning easily, and my hand began performing an easing ballet. This is my story. The one where I overcame paralyzing doubt. The one where I allowed myself to embrace my unique qualities. The one where I got to know myself.