The thing that has helped me most in staying optimistic during my lifetime has been my faith. I am confident and content in the knowledge that no matter what happens to me or to those around me, ultimately it will result in the greatest outcome for G-d's plan. This acceptance of whatever will come allows for a peace that most cannot even understand. When I was young I went through a few hard months while the doctors were discovering my diabetes and my health was horrible because of that. When I finally was taken to the hospital and they figured it out and provided the needed resources for me to fix it however, I shocked everyone there, even my parents. I remember the social worker asking me "How do you feel about having diabetes?" My answer was, "Well, if I have it, then G-d gave it to me, and if G-d gave it to me it's the best possible thing that could have happened. So I won't go out of my way to try and fix this situation, I'll just go where it leads me." This idea is the sum of why real Christians have so much peace, and why no matter what happens I am content and satisfied to wait for the future.

What legacy means to me is how your life has impacted the future lives of people and families around you. You pass your legacy on to your children, work environment, and friends. The critical question isn't what is a legacy, but what will MY legacy be? I hope in my life to be an honest, hardworking man who loves those around him and passes on my moral values to my children - this is the essence of what I want in life. Some may say their career aspirations and accomplishments are the legacy they desire, but for me, those are just a means to an end. Like anyone submitting a scholarship application, I have high hopes and dreams for my future; I want to do theoretical mathematics and physics and be a voice for intellectual Christianity in an atheist-dominated scientific community. If I think about this essence, however, what I'm looking for in my legacy is to show my family's moral quality, to demonstrate that Christians aren't blindly religious and anti-science. The essence of a good legacy is leaving your name in history as someone people respect. I was raised in a good regular Christian home; my parents have taught me the value of respecting myself and others; more than that, I've learned the necessity of respecting and holding to one's own beliefs. I want my legacy to respect this respect for my beliefs, and inspire others to also admire, if not accept, them as well. Some of my greatest heroes have been Christian scientists, people like Kent Hovind who debates the theory of evolution, Isaac Newton, and Galileo Galilei. Today people would say DESPITE their faith they made these discoveries, I however wish to show BECAUSE of their faith. In prior centuries Christianity was the religion of science, why not, if God created such a wonderful world you might be able to understand that God better by understanding his creation. Nowadays the reputation of Christianity has been ruined by radicals who refuse medical treatment on a "religious basis" or those who deny science with theories like flat earth. As a result, society now assumes this is the stance of the average Christian believer, this is a lie, some of the biggest opponents of anti-science Christians are other believers. In conclusion, I just want to show the world that I am an honest and respectable Christian and that I am as capable of scientific accomplishments as anyone else, and hope that I can continue this legacy through my children in whatever interests they will have. (Kent Hovind, my dad and I) (Albert Einstein) (Socrates)

One of the most fascinating discoveries is Isaac Newton's discovery of gravity. Newton discovered gravity by observing the simple act of an apple falling from a tree he was sitting under. The genuinely fascinating finding from his research about gravity is that it is a constant, not affected by mass as seems intuitive. The only difference in the fall speed of a feather and a bowling ball is the slight air resistance of a feather. Newton's definition of gravity is "any particle of matter in the universe attracts any other with force varying directly as the product of the masses and inversely as the square of the distance between them." The force of Earth's gravity is ALWAYS 9.807 meters per second per second. Newton's discoveries about gravity, while common sense today, were groundbreaking heresy at his time. He broke all scientific preconceptions about mass and sincerity with his theory. He changed almost all of Physics with his ideas, with Newtonian Physics. It took from 1687, when Newtonian Physics was invented,d until 1905-1915, when Einsteinian Physics took over as the explanation for the inner workings of reality, over two hundred years to come up with any other answers better than that of Newtonian Physics. This does not discredit Newtonian Physics but is a more well-rounded and better-formulated explanation.

My primary goal for my future is to become a voice in the scientific community for Christianity. I want to do the best of my ability to represent my faith as more than just religion, but something mutually corroborative with scientific thought, not in diametric opposition, as many argue. My goal isn't to create a legacy for myself or my family, but for my religion itself, to show that Christians aren't weakened by their faith but empowered. I want to accomplish this plan with my mathematics and physics, to show the beauty of reality found within these disciplines. From this point I hope to use my philosophical experience to help me argue and demonstrate this faith and strength to the world around me. My argument and belief about the whole of reality is that mathematics and physics are so beautiful because they are a raw reality of what G-d has created. In my further study of these topics I plan and hope to better understand this beauty and thus be better able to convey this to others.

There are many things I think of that give me hope, patriotism, advocacy for national improvement, and honor and respect displayed in ordinary people outside of current political conflicts. Still, as a Christian, my ultimate hope comes from the bible and the promise of Jesus' second coming and my place in eternity. The promise in Revelation 21:4 is that "...There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Furthermore, in eternity, Christians are promised eternal salvation and a place in G-d's kingdom. This promise is one of the primary sources of hope for me in my daily life; no matter what happens, I have won the ultimate battle as long as I hold to my faith. All that matters in life is that I hold to my beliefs and do the best for those around me. What I am currently striving for is to become a Christian scientist in Mathematics and Physics so I can better understand and thus follow my faith and also be able to share my faith with people in the scientific community as one of their own. In this way I am doing the best of my capabilities to do the best for those around me and for my own beliefs. As long as I continue on this path I am confident that whatever happens in my life will be the best for the long term resolution of G-d's plan. So whether or not life is going my way right now or in the near future, I know that ultimately everything that happens is for the good of those who follow Christ. I will continue to stand for my faith for as long as I am physically able to, and then if I must I will sit for my beliefs. In the end after this life is over I will be able to look back with some amount of pride and accomplishment for what I've done, and every hardship I have overcome will be quickly forgotten.

The beauty of math is everywhere. Problem-solving, theoretical concepts, and the nature of reality itself is what math teaches us. I recently had the pleasure to participate in my school's student math league contest, where all of the problems require insight and incredible amounts of forethought. Problems like this are what has drawn me to math for most of my life, not simply processing and applying a formula, but having to create your own understanding of a concept from the ground up for a problem. More than any of this however the true beauty is discovered in its commentary on nature and reality. Everything in this world is in some way mathematical, the beauty created by a C major chord on the piano is caused by the relation of the string lengths at a specific ratio. The Golden Ratio influences humanities perception of beauty, the Fibonacci Sequence is the formula for astounding amounts of patterns in nature, and even in the spirals of our galaxy and beyond. Math is essentially the hidden language of our universe. Everything can be explained, even if only indirectly, by a mathematical concept, formula, or undiscovered idea. By learning more about mathematics we are able to understand our reality and ourselves as a whole much better. It's important that not only math and STEM majors like myself learn mathematics, but everyone be encouraged to learn at least algebra, because without it we are left lacking intellectually and... spiritually. As a Christian I believe math is one of the true gems in this world my God has left for humanity to find. It's the only thing that is consistent and always true, even other sciences can have their inaccuracies at times and theories are never FULLY verified. Mathematics however is different somehow, it seems to have originated from something greater than us. By studying mathematics we are able to see the true beauties of reality God has left for us to observe if we are only willing to take the time and make the effort to uncover these hidden gems of intellectual beauty. Mathematics isn't a field of simple application and understanding, but requires a large amount of insight to truly be able to apply and understand the concepts. The farther into the field of mathematics you are, the less you begin to understand. It becomes less obvious and formulaic, almost to the point of becoming philosophical in the area of theoretical mathematics.

1. I deserve this scholarship because my parents believe in me, and my mother has always had the utmost confidence in me and my intellectual talents. Therefore everyone should have faith in me and my abilities because mothers are never wrong. 2. I don't know what I want to do yet; I just want a high paying job that I'll be able to brag about to my friends and get a hot girlfriend with. Ideally I'll be self employed though because I can't stand working with others or under supervision from a boss. 3. The other day I was struggling but I was able to drive my truck over this really big bump in the road. I had to back up and get a running start but I was able to make it over eventually.

Calculus is one of the most critical topics for many STEM majors, not just because of the multitudes of necessary applications, but also because of the critical thinking taught and learned in calculus courses. This semester of calculus especially has taught me some creative problem solving concepts. In calculus 2 this semester I learned the concepts of integrals and limits of series. In these two topics there are expansive amounts of formulas and applications, from trig subs and u subs to integration by parts. Similarly for limits of series there are an expansive amount of possible solutions with geometric series, root test, p series test, etc... Calculus also provides real reasons behind the formulas learned in algebra and earlier math. My calculus 2 teacher told the class that his wife working in a pregnancy clinic uses a simplified version of an equation for flow rate when looking at unborn babies and inspecting the function of their hearts. Many of the general formulas used such as the equation for a sphere (4 pi r^2), the flow rate for a liquid X, better understanding distance, speed, velocity, and acceleration, and even population growth (on a simplified version). Engineers use calculus constantly for mass calculations and distance problems, as well as much more complicated problems about structure and support. Calculus is actually an integral part of understanding many mathematical concepts from other disciplines. Calculus doesn't just serve to explain previous math equations, but also prepares the student to learn bachelors level and above mathematics. Integration is an essential building block for differential equations problems. Rather than just being able to apply the concepts, calculus prepares the learner for much more complicated theories of mathematics and their applications. From what I have learned and experienced, calculus is to higher mathematics as arithmetic is to algebra, and algebra is to calculus. Each previous math discipline is used as the basic arithmetic function for the next. Examples of this are: in arithmetic you learn that 2+2 = 4, you apply this in algebra in an equation like X - 2 = 2, (solving X = 2 + 2, = 4). For algebra you learn and become familiar with x y and working with variables, preparing for calculus 1. Calculus 1 is an essential part of every Calculus 2 integral problem, as the integral is essentially the anti-derivative. One notable example of Calculus 1 in Calculus 2 is in Integration by Parts [int(UdV) = UV - int(VdU)] In conclusion, Calculus can explain basic formulas, be applied for multitudes of problems in every field, and is the basic learning block for higher levels of mathematics.

One of my favorite talents and most used hobbies is learning languages. I have an exceptionally strong audible memory and am able to quickly pick up on most languages with a bit of self-instruction. When I was young, I spent a short time studying greek because I loved the culture so much. After that, I became fascinated with learning how to speak different languages. Since then, I have spent three years learning Latin and have a gold and a silver award from the yearly National Latin Exam. I learned Hebrew and got to a conversational level for our family trip to Isreal when I was 13. I was able to cant all the blessings for my Bar-Mitzvah by myself in front of my family in the apartment we stayed at in Isreal. I recently became conversational in Spanish studying at college, despite not having many opportunities to speak with others in the language. I also recently became very obsessed with kpop (Korean pop) music and have spent a few months learning it as well. I am nowhere near the level of fluency yet with Korean, but I have a decent understanding of grammar, forming verbs and basic sentences, and have about a hundred words learned. I plan to learn Korean while outside of college semesters, go back and become fluent in Hebrew again, and learn a few new languages. The languages I am currently hoping to develop and learn: are Russian, Greek, Hebrew, Korean, and Japanese, as well as the fictional languages Klingon and Lord of the Rings elvish.

As a Christian, the answer is obvious: "The purpose of man is to glorify and enjoy G-d." Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil." My goal in my career and in life is to show others G-d's glory and help them see our reality's wonders. I aim to accomplish this in my career and field of study. I see wonders beyond imagination within mathematics and physics. I can't explain what draws me to my two majors exactly, but what I do know is I quickly become obsessed with a complicated math problem or a fascinating physics concept. Like anyone my age, I am obsessed with video games and media entertainment. For some reason, I am unable to explain when I find an incredible math problem on a test. Everything else pales in comparison to its beauty. I want to accomplish the ultimate goal of glorifying G-d by allowing others to share in viewing his wondrous creations, and encouraging others in the scientific world to recognize the truth of our reality and its creator.

One of the biggest problems in today's modern world is a lack of trust caused by a lack of maturity. Many of us cannot find common ground on even the most specific subjects for good reasons or not. The political problems of the past were about policies. Many of the issues hotly debated in recent years are news sources, election validity, and even candidates' viability. Whether it's questions of Joe Biden's mental health or Donald Trump's ulterior motives, everyone on both sides has lost faith in the most fundamental parts of our country. Both sides are so convinced that the other side is untrustworthy and trying to hurt them that debate and civility have become things of the past. This is not how democracy should function; this is not how people get together to make the world better and safer. What the world wants, what it needs, is for the essential moving parts of democracy to be trustworthy again. Without even being able to trust the news to be accurate, it becomes a daunting task to decide what is best, and even more impossible a task to debate what is good for the country with other Americans. This problem isn't just in America, but in every country, with a democratic system, it seems the balances and checks for power have come into question themselves. While we as citizens can wait and hope the politicians fix the system on their own, I think it is vital for everyone to be vocal about their opinions and make sure we are heard. It isn't about squelching one type of politics but instead about allowing politicians to be seen in an accurate light unhindered by media editing.

Years ago, when I still lived in California, I used to go rollerskating at least once a week with my best friend. One day his parents decided to bring their youth group to the skating rink we frequented. We had a great time for a while, and my friend and I showing off our skills. After a while, we got bored of skating as always and decided to go to the arcade section. We were having a great time back there when suddenly my friend noticed a kid about the age of seven being pushed around and seemingly bullied for his quarters by another kid about eleven. My friend Chris is the best man I know, and maybe the best I ever will know, so he did what would only be expected of good Christian boys like us - he walked up and stood up to the bully with me behind him. I hadn't noticed what was going on yet, my friend's decision was enough. The older boy did not back down from my friend. While wanting to stop the bullying, Chris didn't want to get into a fight and hurt anyone, so he turned around and told me to make sure the kid didn't leave and that he would be back with one of the skating managers that was right around the corner. The moment Chris began leaving, I made the mistake of grabbing the kid's arm, only to hold him so he wouldn't run away, mind you, and then he started to try and attack me. Being only twelve myself and never having seen a fight, I was lost in what to do. I tried my best to de-escalate the boy, just grabbing him from behind and trying to calm him down. However, he panicked. He ended up biting my left arm, and as I recall, there was even a small amount of blood. I dropped him in utter shock, and he ran off to his parents, who were sitting at a table not too far from where Chris' parents were. Chris came around the corner with one of the staff a few moments later, and I explained what had happened to them. Chris and I ran to go and explain the situation to Chris' father, who called my dad as well, seeing as I was the only party with any injuries. Chris' dad was then left with the responsibility of dealing with the kid's father. He ended up having a stern talk with Chris and me after, and I have realized since then that he wasn't mad about why we had gotten in a fight. He wasn't mad that Chris had gotten in a fight. He was mad that he was forced into an awkward and scary situation. He didn't want to have to stand up to the kid's father, who was notably tall and muscular. When he eventually talked with the father, I don't remember the words or what happened, but I know he didn't stand up for his son. When my dad came a half hour or so later, he stood up for us and was able to make the father stand down. What I have learned from this experience is that you can't trust people for merely their words. Before this, I had thought of Chris' father as a strong Christian man who would stand up for what was right, but when it came down to standing up for his son... he failed. I have vowed to myself to never back down from standing up for truth simply because it is the hard thing.