Crash! The chess pieces fell off the board onto the floor loudly. I had lost to my father once again. My four-year-old self couldn’t bear to lose, as I flung the chess pieces into the air. After learning the wonderful game of chess at my Pre-Kindergarten school, I began to challenge my father daily. Winning against my classmates with ease, I had the daunting goal to beat my dad. Fortunately, at my elementary charter school, chess was a part of the curriculum to develop our young minds. As I faced friends and teachers, I developed a passion for the game. I learned tricks and traps, and eventually, when I was six, I could consistently defeat my father at chess. Over my elementary years, I fell in love with the tactical game, constantly reading books, attending chess lessons, and competing in local tournaments. I met chess Grandmasters like Hikaru Nakamura and Maurice Ashley. I wanted to be the best. Soon, I began competing at state and national levels, even getting 5th place among 3rd graders in Texas. I continued to play chess in elementary school; however, once basketball entered the picture, my interest in chess began to dwindle. Eventually, I stopped playing entirely, as I found other interests such as coding and playing piano and drums. However, in the past summer, I began to play online chess with the start of the pandemic. I quickly became hooked once again. I started watching Hikaru Nakamura’s Twitch streams and even had the opportunity of playing him during an online tournament. From this reinvigorated excitement, I decided to start an online chess club, in the midst of virtual school. Though informal, my peers and I were able to play matches, review games, and take a relaxing break from online school. I was ecstatic to share my passion with the students in the club, helping them add to their repertoire. After playing chess for over thirteen years, my mind is now engraved with a myriad of chess openings, tactics, and games. However, aside from the obvious “planning ahead” or “time management,” lessons in chess, the most important lessons I have learned from chess are: take risks, be decisive, and don’t let past obstacles or mistakes hinder your future. As a child, I often played passive; I utilized openings such as Italian Game and Four Knights Defense, often leading to drawish games, where whoever blunders first, loses. However, as I became more experienced, I tried out new openings, such as the King’s Gambit and Fried Liver Attack. I sacrificed pieces for the chance to find clever attacking patterns. Here, I was in my true element - being decisive and taking risks, even when victory was not guaranteed. Although it was the most risky, I enjoyed games the most and even found great success. In the past year especially, I have applied this aspect of chess into my own life. I joined other school clubs, I performed hymns for online church services, I composed my own music, and competed in my first programming competition. In addition, chess has taught me to learn from mistakes of the past and move forward. Just as each new chess game is a new slate, filled with possibilities, I experience life through that same manner. Mistakes are inevitable and obstacles are daunting, but each new day is a new chess board, brimming with opportunity. This particular lesson has greatly aided me recently. Just a few months ago, I was involved in a serious car accident; although no parties were physically hurt, I was left traumatized. I constantly replayed the scene in my mind - the bright flash, the feeling of weightlessness, and the panic of being trapped in a flipped car. To move forward, I found myself searching for things to keep my mind occupied. I found a productive distraction in learning how to code in Python. From YouTube videos to online lessons, I learned to code basic programs and small games. Soon enough, I was free from my stagnation. A bad game or a scary accident, all is in the past, and it is up to me to learn from my blunders and tread forward. My ultimate goal in life is to be an inspiring leader through my career and volunteer work. Career-wise, I want to become an innovative Artificial Intelligence engineer. From Machine Learning to autonomous vehicles, I would like to utilize and expand Artificial Intelligence to aid society in any possible manner. Oddly enough, I was first intrigued by Artificial Intelligence from arguably the greatest chess player ever, Garry Kasparov. After watching his TedTalk, I was inspired to work in tandem with intelligent machines. Coupled with my recent car accident, I am set on delving deeper into the field of autonomous vehicles in order to work towards an improved future with safer roads. In addition to my career, I would like to continue my volunteer work in the community. My brother’s dedication and enthusiasm towards chess inspired me to teach more children, and I hoped to incite a similar sentiment. By hosting free online chess lessons, I was able to teach a variety of ages and skill levels and facilitate my students’ learning and growth. I watched them slowly employ tactics and excitedly tell me about their games. I was ecstatic and confident that they would continue to improve in their strategic and creative skills. In the future, I would like to start Computer Science camps for youth who may not have access to programming courses in school. Through these camps, I hope to foster enthusiasm for coding in the next generation. I want to continue to inspire, teach, and aid others, cultivating a benevolent community poised for continual growth. As I finish high school and look towards college, I am excited for what the future holds. Although I will face inevitable challenges, I will strive to apply my experiences from the past year and continue to plant the seeds of dedication and knowledge in those that I meet.