I want more out of this world. I want this world to be kinder, more compassionate, and empathetic. I need the world to be better because the people I love deserve better. I am what I want to see in the world because the people I love deserve that effort. I am going to be an environmental engineer because our natural world deserves that effort. Human passion and willpower is one of the strongest forces in the universe, and I choose to focus my passion and willpower on being a positive force in the world. Something that I have dedicated over half my life to is music. I love performing and executing difficult music. In fact, my love for music says a lot about who I am. My journey with one piece of music illustrates this best. Odessa by Matthew Lorrick was my Moby Dick for nearly a decade of my life. This is the most beautiful piece I have ever heard written for instrument, and I had to play it. Even as my love for music waxed and wanned as I grew up, my love for this piece never faltered. When I first discovered the piece, being good enough to actually play it felt like an impossible feat, but I kept reaching, working, and pushing myself to be impossibly good to play this piece. Now, playing this piece is like breathing to me; its in my bones. My love is an unstoppable force driven by my willful passion.

For a long time, I thought I wanted to help people through whatever career I choose. Now, I understand it is a little bit more complex than that. I want to create a world I am proud to be a part of. I want to live in a world where the default condition compassion, generosity, and empathy. At the moment, I do not know exactly how I will achieve this, but I have been living in compassion, generosity, and empathy my entire. Currently, I am creating this future by actively living it in the present; I hope to influence those around me to do the same. I want to create this future because I hate how we conduct ourselves currently. We make war, we make suffering, and we make a world where empathy can not survive. This suffering and pain is preventable, but we choose to be engulfed by it every day. We choose this by bringing selfishness to power. The people unable to care about others receive the most power in our world, and I hate that. I truly believe people are good and want the best for those around them, and I want our world to reflect that fact. I have loved science and math my entire life, and my career choice reflects this love for STEM. I am going to be an environmental engineer. I have been admitted to the University of Tennessee for environmental engineering, and I can not be happier. A couple years from now, I hope to be engrossed in some environmental research topic communing with people made of love who hold hope for our future in their hearts like me. After dawning my cap and gown to celebrate the end of yet another chapter of my life, I will most likely do it all over again to pursue my masters or possibly even doctorate. I will do this because I want to be a part of the leading edge of discovery. There is so much more for us, and I want to use my life to reach for that more.