My favorite aspect of Minecraft is building and sustaining a custom world, particularly in the Survival Superflat mode. Unlike the standard Minecraft experience, where resources are abundant and landscapes are pre-generated, starting with just three layers of dirt in a Superflat world offers a unique challenge that resonates deeply with me. It’s about creating something meaningful from almost nothing, a process that mirrors real-world challenges of resource management and environmental conservation. This connection became clear during a twelve-day backpacking trek in the New Mexico wilderness. On the toughest day of the trek, as I trudged through the arid forest, mentally and physically exhausted, I found myself thinking about the world I wanted to create in Minecraft. The loose dirt, sliding rocks, and the scarce water supply reminded me of the finite resources in the game. I began to visualize the terrain I wanted to build, inspired by the natural landscape around me. This visualization not only shifted my mindset from exhaustion to excitement but also deepened my appreciation for the parallels between the virtual and real worlds. Building my custom world in Minecraft was not just a creative endeavor; it required careful planning and resource management. I spent hours trading with villagers, crafting tools, and building farms to gather the necessary blocks. This meticulous process was more than just gameplay; it was a way to explore ideas of conservation and sustainability, concepts that are critical both in the game and in real life. Minecraft’s ability to simulate resource limitations and the need for sustainability is what makes building in a Superflat world so special to me. It’s not just about constructing a virtual landscape—it’s about understanding the importance of conserving and replenishing resources, a lesson that has fueled my interest in studying environmental science. Just as I strive to create and sustain my Minecraft world, I aim to be an active participant in conserving our planet’s resources, using technology to address the challenges of pollution and depletion. This is why building in Minecraft resonates so deeply with me—it’s a perfect blend of creativity, challenge, and a reflection of real-world issues that I’m passionate about addressing.

I was introduced to the concept of being conservation-minded in order to adhere to the Boy Scout's Outdoor Code in first grade as a Cub Scout. At that time, I did not fully understand what conservation was. I was essentially pulling weeds and cleaning up hiking trails for conservation projects. I still continue to volunteer for various conservation projects in my community beyond pulling weeds. However, I have gained a better understanding of what being conservation-minded means – practicing good conservation of soil, water, forests, minerals, grasslands, wildlife, and energy. In the summer of 2022, I completed a twelve-day backpacking trek at the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. This trek included a Demonstration Forest program, where I learned that conservation is the way to maintain the environment so that future generations could visit. The ranch previously adopted a preservation policy, in which humans were not allowed to change the landscape. However, after multiple wildfires devastated the area, they turned to a more of a conservation standpoint. Through conservation, they reduced the amount of dead foliage on the ground, which therefore minimized the risk of wildfires. The concept of conservation piqued my interest because I can proactively engage in the proper use of the environment rather than merely preserving it. Through conservation, I can manage the structural well-being of an environment, minimize any alterations, and most importantly, extend its life for future generations. Last summer, I worked as a paid intern for the Student Conservation Association. Although the work was physically challenging, I experienced and learned many conservation practices, such as determining native versus invasive plant species, building trails to conserve the environment, and regenerating depleted soil. As the weeks progressed, I saw the benefits of my work: native plants were able to flourish as invasive plants were removed, and visitors stopped trampling over them. Through these experiences as an intern and a Boy Scout, I have learned that I must actively conserve the environment, not just preserving it but also finding new, innovative ways to improve conditions for humans and the environment. My personal goal is to continue my conservation efforts and to conserve the environment through engineering. As an environmental engineer, I hope to design a sustainable environment promoting strong communities while conserving the natural resources and to specifically focus on communities having access to clean drinking water. As an environmental engineering major, I will be able to apply sustainable engineering tools and practices, mathematical models and calculations, and concepts from natural science such as chemistry. I also hope to use the knowledge that I would gain from research and internship opportunities such as in water reuse, desalination and sustainable urban development. A combination of my coursework and research/internship opportunities will help me to achieve in helping a community to conserve its environment and more importantly, its natural resources such as water.

A hundred twenty blocks in the air, I stand alone in my Minecraft Survival Superflat World, feeling invincible. Building my first virtual world from merely three layers of dirt and overcoming challenges posed by Minecraft was not easy. Trying a different way to play Minecraft would not have happened without the journey of my strenuous twelve-day backpacking trek in the New Mexico wilderness. On the fourth day of the trek, which was the most grueling, I was utterly drained, mentally and physically, from the previous day’s activities – waking up at 4 a.m. to start a conservation project, hiking over 10 miles with an elevation gain of over 1,800 feet with a 40-pound backpack, and setting up the campsite in the dark. Without the adrenaline of the adventure, trudging in the arid forest was a constant reminder of the heavy backpack, sore muscles and throbbing feet, and a rapid depletion of my water supply. Doubts of completing the trek began to set in; I needed to change my mindset. Loose dirt slid down the slope at every step I took forward, which reminded me of Minecraft. While hiking, I began to visualize the landscape that I wanted to create. I started to think about the type of terrain and resources I would need to build my world based on my trek experience thus far and what I saw in the wilderness – different patterns of tree trunks, the porousness of rocks, and the root system for water sources. Soon, my exhaustion and doubt were replaced with excitement, as I looked forward to finding the next natural resource to include in my Minecraft world. I realized then that resources, especially water and natural materials, in the real world are as finite as in the Minecraft world. With every step to reach the plateau, I reflected on what I needed to build my world and how to conserve and replenish these resources. Focusing on the resource needs of my Minecraft world and figuring out ways to conserve them alleviated both my mental and physical exhaustion and motivated me in reaching my final destination for the day, Davis Lake, where freshwater and fish were abundant. Upon reaching the peak, in awe, I entered a portal to a magical thriving world; the arid forest transformed into a meadow with lush green grass and wildflowers under the forest canopy. A herd of elk roamed in the distance, munching on the grass. Ahhh… this was the landscape that I wanted to create and protect both in the Minecraft world and in real life. Building my virtual terrain in the Minecraft Survival Superflat World was more challenging and took much longer than just playing in the Minecraft-generated world. I needed a solid plan and great organization skills to gather the blocks for this immense project. Time was spent trading with villagers, building farms to efficiently gather more resources, and crafting blocks and tools. Investing this time was worth it not only to create the virtual terrain, but also to expand on ways to conserve resources. My journey of hiking over 90 miles in the wilderness and overcoming mental and physical challenges with Minecraft landscape ideas, as well as completing my own virtual Minecraft world aroused my interest in natural resources in our environment. I want to pursue my college studies in the field of environmental science using technology to conserve resources especially from pollutants and depletion. As in my Minecraft world, where I needed to actively create and collect resources, I also needed to be an active player in real life to conserve and craft valuable resources.