I believe that I've had to overcome more challenges than most 18-year-olds at my point in life. Almost my entire life, I've struggled with Tourette Syndrome, an incurable neurological disorder that causes unwanted movement and vocalizations. At one point in my teens, I was in bed most of the day because my muscles were too exhausted for me to get up and do anything. However, I didn't let that stop me from studying and doing well throughout high school. I took a few dual enrollment classes, graduated with a 4.0 GPA, and was granted entry into the honors college at my school. In addition to this, I learned martial arts and eventually gained my black belt, even through my disability. I also taught at my Taekwondo school so that I could help others achieve their goals as well. I want to further my education for two reasons: the fact that I've always loved to learn, and my dad. I have always had a love of learning and started schooling early as a young child. I taught myself how to read by age 4, and I continued to teach myself various things as my interests grew throughout my schooling. In high school, I looked for as many engineering opportunities as I could in order to grow my knowledge. By the time I was 17, I knew how to solder circuits together and I could identify each of the components of a circuit. Ever since I was a kid, I've been taking things apart so that I can study the inner workings or use them for a new application in whatever project I was working on at the time. I have always been striving for more knowledge in engineering, because engineering is my true passion in life. My second reason for furthering my education is my dad. I was very close to him throughout his life, but he passed away during my senior year of high school. I want to make him proud of me by entering the engineering field. My dad was always very supportive of me, whether it was encouraging me as I ripped apart our broken dishwasher to scavenge for parts, or just doing well in school. He often encouraged me to follow my passions or hobbies, and for that I will be thankful because he taught me to be determined. Because of this, I want to do my best in school and pursue my dreams to make him proud.