I've always been hooked by the cosmos; swirling clouds of dust, supernovae that herald a star's last last hurrah, the infinite abyss. From a young age, I wanted to understand it- truly understand it, to be more than just a passive observer. I suppose that explains why I'm going into astrophysics; a field that allows me to break outer space down into its key parts. Astrophysics would allow me to contribute knowledge to one of my deepest passions, to never stop learning about a frontier that can never be fully comprehended. There's a certain universality (pun not intended) to physics that always appealed to me. To understand physics, a student needs a base understanding of chemistry; chemistry often requires basic knowledge in biology. Physics would allow me to experience a lot of what science has to offer, while astronomy would allow me to focus that knowledge into a subject I'm truly passionate about. It's a culmination of two things I dearly want to understand more about. And that's worth something to me. I want a career where I never stop learning, where everything that happens is an experience to derive information from. That ties into my ideal job; I'd love to go into a research position. Perhaps at a university or somewhere of that ilk. Being able to zero in on something and effectively get paid to learn (and to share that learning with others who take interest in it) would be a dream for me. The constant feedback loop of learning and applying that knowledge, searching for something that no one's seen before, is a draw that positions in research almost uniquely hold. To have a chance to find something truly new, to have the reward of knowledge, to make a mark in science itself. It's sort of an idealistic dream, sure, but going into research would help me take a few steps closer to seizing it. It'd be possible. It'd be attainable. Even if it was only a chance, it'd still give me a unique chance to complete part of the puzzle of the universe. To conclude, astronomy draws me to it because of its broad appeal; there are so many ways that someone can make a meaningful impact on our understanding of space, just depending on how they focus their knowledge. The way I wish to contribute to this is as an astrophysicist, doing research in hopes of understanding the nature of the universe we make our home in.