My dream is to continue my education in STEM. Success to me looks like knowledge, happiness, opportunity. I have a library of my own, I can think in as many languages as I can imagine, and I am liberated. I want to be an airline pilot for American Airlines. My father could never complete his dream of being a pilot and my goal is to complete this in a way where he can vicariously live through my success. I want to be the youngest female captain at American Airlines. I want to do two checkrides in one day, and I want a perfect, unblemished pass record. I am enamored by learning and making progress in my field despite struggles. The toughest struggle I have ever had was to keep going. Allow me to explain. I had an instructor who burst out laughing when I asked him ‘what am I doing wrong?’ He was notorious for not working well with students, much less the female students. He made it very clear that I would not solo. And yet, here I am, with a private pilot’s license. I spent hours studying every day, to get the same response. I was heartbroken. I began my studies at a different school and did my first solo a few hours later. And it was so incredibly worth it. It has been so tough but taught me so much. I had to sell an old wedding ring to afford my textbooks, and I had to quit my job as a math instructor to focus on my studies. Throughout all of this, it has made me more dedicated than ever before. I stick to my mantra and remember that everything that is worth having, will be also worth fighting for. I am currently hoping to graduate with an aerospace degree or something related. I’ve adored the subject ever since I was little, and would travel quite often. My father took my brother and me on these little day trips throughout the country. I’m fond of science and learning new languages so it seemed fitting. I’m currently at a very narrow stage where I am nearing getting my instrument rating. I am unfortunately waiting for the weather to get better and it has not been so great, but I plan on doing a stage check sometime soon for my instrument rating. I want to be a female pilot because I love the idea of being in the minority in my profession. I love that my older male roommate told me to ‘give up.’ The rejection makes me want to continue. I healed, as we all do with time, and put my efforts into my studies. I feel that the career I aspire to thrive in might be better suited for women. They tend to make better ADM (Aeronautical Decision Making), not get involved with weather that is being reduced to minimums below visual, etc. My female instructors have always been calmer and more patient with me and have helped me smooth out my flaws (specifically making smoother, precise turns and remembering certain checklists). I believe the future is female. And I believe my education will flourish because I have already surpassed the expectations of my previous instructor who told me I lacked ambition. I appreciate your time to read my essay.

Where do I begin? Cartesian coordinates. But before I introduced precise positioning, what is a coordinate? We know that space and time are closely connected and you could even represent gravity or an attractive force as the curvature of space-time. But how do you pick this exact point? Well, a security guard in the fifteenth century Rene Descartes came up with a unique idea while staring at a fly that was bothering him on a wall. You could figure out where the fly was in a negative space idea and you calculate its distance from the walls. The length, the width, the height, and finally the time. Graphically this would be (0,0,0,0) where the fourth coordinate is plotted on the Z axis or time. It would never be identical due to even replicating its position means that you could not replicate the time. Your birth was at a unique cartesian coordinate that can never be repeated. That hospital might be moved around, the rooms might be taken apart, the hospital could even be relocated or maybe you weren't even born in a hospital. But more importantly, that time and date are no longer tangible and the only proof that it ever happened is your existence in that precise timestamp. Cartesian coordinates are how we can plot all events, but it comes into effect with something I love to study called GPS or global positioning system. It encompasses a system of 24-31 (including spares) satellites. They are fixated so that five of them are in view on any orbital plane. And they communicate by sending ephemeris data in the form of pseudo-range measurements and a coarse/acquisition code to the next satellite. The next satellite is programmed with an atomic clock that injects hydrogen atoms into a resonance cavity for it to be incredibly accurate which is then sent to a ground station (we only have two or three in the U.S.) This process allows you to travel anywhere you want to by following a blue line. Fascinating! Right?

I desire education, in any form that I can find; whether through languages, books, history, astronomy, or botany, I want to be powerful in the comforting feeling that research will ensure safety and security in my future.

I personally am very interested in aviation. It's impossible to imagine life without it. Obviously, there are a plethora of different ways that transportation can be done, but airplanes are by far the most efficient. Trains, cars, buses, trolleys, etc. have limitations in concern to their baggage, weight, and time allowances. It is more than overdue to accept the necessary improvements to aviation that can and will be accomplished. Allow me to introduce the lithium jets and their capabilities. Lithium in practical understanding is an alkali metal that is harmful to humans but can be used to construct and power very efficient mobiles. You might pose the question as to why we might even use lithium-ion batteries when we have been using nickel-cadmium as well as lead-acid batteries for a significant period of time. Well, allow me to explain. Although there is a sufficient cathode and anode system that supplies the electrical capabilities that we require for radios, lights, and primary flight displays, there are certain advantages to incorporating lithium. When creating a mission statement for a Lithium Jet, it is quite easy to create a new design that introduces both form and function and progresses aviation development.’ I imagine that passengers will now want to listen to music, have specific heating/cooling capabilities, etc. This could easily become a very popular idea due to the fact that it resembles a more realistic ‘flying car’. I am entirely excited to see the development of the Lithium Jet! Of course, this has not been fully put together, but I am an optimist and there are plenty of reasons to believe that aviation will improve with biofuel, fewer carbon emissions polluting the ozone layer, and potentially fewer ecocide rates altogether. Another important concern is how people living directly under trials of planes are more likely to exhibit stress and eight times more likely to have a heart attack. Lithium jets very well could combat this statistic and be quieter and produce fewer decibels of noise, thus preserving the health of those who live in the direct vicinity of these routes. Of course, this technology will be expensive, but it always is in the beginning. This aircraft will be much higher outperformance and capabilities compared to traditional aircraft. And this might be the future of everything great to come!

I have read every one of John Green’s books, and although ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ is moving and sincere, it is a tad overrated and cheesy. My favorite is ‘Looking for Alaska’. It, unfortunately, lives in the shadow of Green’s other works. It did not meet the publicity of his other works, which is only further endearing because I feel like the book is my own. I remember feeling lost and blank after finishing this book. I finished ‘Looking for Alaska’ on a morning before school, after having binged through his other works on spring break. The book focuses on an introverted, intelligent protagonist who decides he deserves meaning in life. He has lived an otherwise unimpressive life and wants an ‘experience.’ He throws a party to commemorate this decision. The decision in question is to attend boarding school. Upon doing so, he engages in social experiences. Alaska Young catches his eye in particular. To describe her as alluring is an understatement. Alaska wasn’t her birth name, it was a place her finger landed on when spinning a globe. The protagonist, Miles, is academically ambitious and writes a final essay on the importance of religion and how they all focus on the same concepts of death and renewal. However, he puts his ambitions aside due to Alaska’s nature. Alaska has underlying psychological issues and the second half draws a depressing conclusion. The best part is how abstract the book is. It’s like life because we don’t always receive closure. It is not clear how her life ended. She’s just an essence that our protagonist obsesses over, who disappears, and that is all that matters. The book makes my heart ache. It makes me crave wanting to meet someone like Alaska.

I have been an avid reader since middle school, and there are a variety of options to choose from. My favorite writers were Sharon Creech, John Green, and then Michio Kaku. But no writer brings me as much nostalgia as much as Green does. I have read every one of John Green’s books, and although ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ is moving and sincere, it is a tad overrated and cheesy. I would like to introduce you to a better book that lives in its shadow. My favorite is ‘Looking for Alaska’. It, unfortunately, is not as well known. It did not meet the publicity of his other works, which is only further endearing because I feel like the book is my own. It is my treasure that shows typical values of teenhood while dealing with serious issues such as self-representation, self-esteem, and death. I remember feeling lost and blank after finishing this book. I finished ‘Looking for Alaska’ on a morning before school, after having binged through his other works on spring break. The book focuses on an introverted, intelligent protagonist who decides he deserves meaning in life. He has lived an otherwise unimpressive life and wants an ‘experience.’ He throws a party to commemorate this decision. He specifically defines his life as incredibly mediocre. The decision in question is to attend boarding school. It is not explained why he wants this, but his intelligence alludes to multiple times of the book which maybe makes him so intriguing. He is fascinated with religion, and it covers an entire chapter where he talks about how every religion has an unique way of explaining death. Upon doing so, he engages in social experiences. Alaska Young catches his eye in particular. To describe her as alluring is an understatement. Alaska wasn’t her birth name, it was a place her finger landed on when spinning a globe. The protagonist, Miles, is academically ambitious and writes a final essay on the importance of religion and how they all focus on the same concepts of death and renewal. However, he puts his ambitions aside due to Alaska’s nature. Alaska has underlying psychological issues and the second half draws a depressing conclusion. The best part is how abstract the book is. It’s like life because we don’t always receive closure. It is not clear how her life ended. She’s just an essence that our protagonist obsesses over, who disappears, and that is all that matters. The book makes my heart ache. It makes me crave wanting to meet someone like Alaska.

Healthy living is ambiguous to me, but I have a series of rituals. When I'm upset, I ask myself what I want, and then what I need. It's a grounding maneuver, and it clarifies a lot for me. I try to think in my native language instead of English so that I can feel more mechanically and less artistically. But healthy living also means the physical aspects, drinking a lot of fruit smoothies. I've had issues with eating for a while now, so I have to get my dietary supplements through other methods. Being healthy means taking care of the elasticity of my skin and wearing a hat to protect myself from the sun. It means that I've been a lot more committed to exercise. Healthy living can be whatever you'd like it to be, that's the beauty of it. And it's important to slowly build on these topics rather than going 'all in'. That way, you'll actually create progress rather than give up because of how much work it's requiring. Healthy living is what you determine that you need in terms of water, sleep, exercise, or even how you think.

I am drawn to the simplicity of math. It can explain anything. Beauty is math. We abide by the golden ratio, where each increment equals the last two added together. Life is math. We like things that are symmetrical and have evenly divided parts, and no abnormalities. Medicine is math. Drugs are given in doses. Love is math, it is a series of chemicals and a number of dates and statistics that determine compatibility. Death is math. It is a series of accumulations of genetic errors and likelihoods of disease followed by a date that determines the exact number of days, hours, and minutes that you lived. You are a series of numbers. A series of social interactions, rejections, acceptances, molecules, and DNA strands. Understanding any STEM topic pieces together your understanding of the universe. My understanding of the world is entirely based on science. For instance, let us say that I am applying to college (not so hypothetical). I do the math, as one should, and I try to figure out the probability that I will receive full funding. I do my research and come to the conclusion that I likely will not receive full funding. Based on the analytics of other students of my demographic, the chances are not in my favor. This way, I have a piece of the future in my mind. I realize my chances are slim to none of this one particular thing that I want. On the other hand, I am an optimist. Let us say that I would like to believe that I will in fact receive a scholarship, at least to pay for a quarter of my education. And so I run the numbers, and I realize that the best probability of this happening is if I apply to 92 scholarships, (this is my 93rd). I have already changed my future. I am empowered by math because simple arithmetic gives me information about the future. Math is everything. It allows me to type this paper using a series of 1s and 0s (called binary code). My understanding of the world is a series of odds and stakes. The stakes are that I either lose or win, and I have nothing to lose in terms of going for my education. The odds are slim on their own, but if I put an immense amount of work into perfecting my scholarship applications, I have a significant chance of pursuing my education debt-free.

Everything can be reduced to a series of numbers only used by 1 and 0. It sounded impossible to me at first. Everything done online is written into information that is either ‘true’ or ‘false’. A pattern of two digits interprets this information. Claude Shannon, a bonafide genius, is responsible for a significant part of modern technology. In Bell Lab’s Research Journal he coined the term ‘bit’ as a reference to a binary digit. Because of this, we have ways of representing a human brain's capability of remembering information. Which Stephen Hawking explained to be ‘50 Harry Potter books worth of bits’. Information theory allows encrypted information to be on every product you purchase. This barcode explains what the item is, how much it weighs, and what it costs. When swiped at the front desk, this information is instantaneous. It is an efficient way of transferring information to benefit an economy. Shannon graduated from MIT with a double major in mathematics and electrical engineering. Years later, he went on to make advancements with AI and chess. He even predicted what is known as ‘Shannon’s number’. 10120 represents the entropy of a chess game is greater than the atoms in the universe. There are too many possibilities of how the game could play out. His abstract genius in numbers is my favorite scientific discovery by being ahead of his time. It enables me to type this essay and for you to evaluate it.