I am a student with immense ambition and strong drive, and that's because I've learned the true, priceless value of hard work. I've discovered that I'll gain more from failing a difficult task repeatedly than I would from simply succeeding in an easy task. In my mind, failing to reach a goal doesn't matter as long as I've grown somehow while attempting to reach it. Even when I know something is going to be challenging, I strive for it if it'll make me stronger, smarter, or better somehow. I became the valedictorian of my high school last year after working harder than I'd ever worked before. I exhausted myself by putting extreme amounts of time and effort into each of my classes, all while I balanced extracurriculars and part-time work. I was mentally and physically depleted by the end of the school year, but I have no regrets because I know that I put every ounce of effort into that goal and I know that I'm better because of it. I've recently adopted a new routine where I'll wake up early, go to the gym, eat healthily, eliminate distractions, and get to sleep at a good hour. Nobody is doing it with me, I'm the only one pushing myself and holding myself accountable. I'll be better because of it. I've applied this ambitious mindset to my studies in college too, and I'm pushing myself hard as I pursue my degree in computer science. When I was young, my house was practically decorated with computer parts. They were always scattered around the house, with a majority of the clutter dispersed across the dining room table. My Dad has been an IT Systems Engineer since before I was born, and he's always known practically everything about computers. Most times when our dining room table was cluttered with components, they were being used to repair a friend's or neighbor's computer. My Dad would do these repairs for free, and I always thought it was just to lend a helping hand, but that wasn't the only reason. Building and repairing computers was one of my Dad's hobbies, it was something he truly enjoyed and was passionate about. This was therapeutic for him in a sense, it still is to this day. That always fascinated me, and now, I've come to share his passion for computers, fixing things, and helping people. Majoring in computer science allows me to focus on all of those passions simultaneously. I have big goals in mind for the future. I want to help revolutionize industries and reinvent them to operate with the speed and power of our modern, technological world. Computer science is an excellent field for somebody as ambitious as myself because it is overflowing with opportunities and potential. There are endless new ideas that are emerging, and those ideas will help develop meaningful technology that can make the world a better place. I've become very interested in programming, data analysis, website development, and cybersecurity. I hope to someday possess the skills in those areas to accomplish my goal of revolutionizing industries with algorithms and websites. Industries like healthcare that impact the lives of people worldwide will greatly benefit from increased efficiency and speed. I hope to help provide those kinds of improvements that will leave the world better than it was before. Most importantly, I am who I am today because my family, friends, and girlfriend always have my back. Everything I am and everything I do is because of them. I strive to make them proud and to support them just as much as they support me.

The fourteen years I've spent practicing Kempo karate have taught me invaluable lessons that greatly influenced the development of my discipline, respect, and ambition. In the dojo, I was trained to obey my superiors, treat them with respect, and work as hard as they did (if not harder). It took quite some time to instill these ideals in me, seeing that I was only four years old when I began training, but as I grew I began seeing the importance behind those concepts. I started to grasp what the honor of a black belt around one's waist meant, and once I fully understood the strength, dedication, and relentless persistence necessary to be worthy of that honor, I became deeply motivated to earn one myself. I paid close attention to those who knew more than I did, observing their actions and listening carefully when they spoke in hopes of learning from them. Every strike and kick I'd throw was thrown with every ounce of my force, just as strong or stronger than the one before it. The mindset I possessed in the dojo also translated very well into the classroom. I paid close attention to my teachers and treated them with respect as I sought to get everything I could out of each lecture. I poured countless hours into my assignments to better my knowledge and to better myself. I was persistent and extremely ambitious, and I eventually obtained a black belt and became the valedictorian of my high school class.

After weeks of sitting in my bedroom playing video games and lying in bed watching TV, feeling bloated and gross from the unhealthy meals I'd just eaten and lack of exercise, I felt shame and disgust in myself. I don't know how I originally fell into that detrimental way of living, this way of living that would decimate my physical and mental health, but I do know it wasn't the first time. I couldn't ever stop myself from falling into it, this massive lack of effort and overwhelming wave of discouragement, it would always come out of nowhere and consume me for weeks. I've just recently broken out of it again, and this time, I will do everything I can to ensure it doesn't happen again. I'm determined to make that the last time I fall into this vicious cycle because I refuse to let it keep stripping away my drive and ambition. I've begun practicing a healthier lifestyle over the past month, and it's been incredibly relieving and successful. I built this new healthy lifestyle with some big considerations in mind. I know that to break this cycle for good, I'll need to push myself harder than I ever have. 100% of my focus needs to go towards bettering myself physically and mentally, and to do that, I felt it'd be necessary to rid myself of anything that distracts me from my goal or tempts me to give up. I've run into burnout before though, and if I run into it again I'd likely fall back into the cycle, so to prevent that I've made sure I'm not completely deprived of things I enjoy. I left my gaming computer, video games, and TV at home instead of bringing them to my college dorm this semester. That way, I'm without those distractions the majority of my time, but whenever I come home for a weekend I can play games and prevent deprivation and burnout. While I'm at school, I haven't had games or excessive TV to distract me, so 100% of my time has been put towards productive activities like schoolwork, my social life, and fitness. This increased productivity has greatly benefitted my mental health throughout this first month. Another major part of this lifestyle that I thought was necessary was the development of a consistent, healthy daily routine. Monday through Thursday I wake up at 6:45 AM, go to the gym, and then get breakfast at my college's dining hall. Before I started this routine, I researched specific muscle groups and exercises that targeted them, and I built myself a workout regimen for each day I go to the gym. Additionally, I am careful to avoid unhealthy foods/snacks, so every meal I've eaten has been healthy this past month. Starting my days early with challenging workouts and well-balanced breakfasts has been game-changing. I have felt much better physically and I've been motivated throughout the entirety of every day this past month. I've done a great job with classes so far, and I've been much more social since I don't have video games or TV distracting me in my dorm. I make sure to go to sleep by 11:00 PM so that I've got enough energy to keep it up the next day. I'm very optimistic about this lifestyle and I'll do everything in my power to maintain it. Support from family, friends, and my girlfriend has been extremely valuable as well, I'm incredibly grateful for them. My ambition and drive have never been stronger, and I'm confident that I'll break the depressive cycle for good with this healthy lifestyle.

When I was young, my house was practically decorated with computer parts. They were always scattered around the house, but the majority of the clutter was dispersed across the dining room table. My Dad has been an IT Systems Engineer since before I was born, and he's always known a ton about computers. Most times when our dining room table was cluttered with components, they were being used to repair a friend's or neighbor's computer. My Dad would do these repairs for free, I always thought just to lend a helping hand, but that wasn't the only reason. Building and repairing computers was one of my Dad's hobbies, it was something he truly enjoyed and was passionate about. This was therapeutic for him in a sense, it still is to this day. That always fascinated me, and now, I've come to share his passion for computers, fixing things, and helping people as I pursue a degree in computer science. I have some big goals in mind for the future. I want to help revolutionize industries and reinvent them to operate with the speed and power of our modern, technological world. I'm a very ambitious person, and computer science is an excellent field for somebody like myself because it is overflowing with opportunities and potential. There are endless new ideas that are emerging and will continue to emerge, and those ideas will help develop meaningful technology that can truly make the world a better place. I've become very interested in programming, data analysis, website development, and cybersecurity. I hope to someday possess the skills in those areas to accomplish my goal of revolutionizing industries with algorithms and websites. Industries like healthcare that impact the lives of people worldwide will greatly benefit from increased efficiency and speed. I hope to help provide those kinds of improvements that will leave the world better than it was before. I believe I'm the best candidate for this scholarship because of my immense ambition and powerful drive to do better, to BE better. I've learned that I'll gain more from failing a difficult task repeatedly than simply succeeding in a simple task. I became valedictorian of my high school last year after putting extreme amounts of time into each of my classes, and I'm better because of it. Now, in college, I'm continuing to be persistent and do more work for my studies than I necessarily need to do. I'll be better because of it. I've recently adopted a new routine where I wake up early, go to the gym, eat healthily, eliminate distractions, and get to sleep at a good time. None of my friends are doing it with me, I'm the only one pushing myself, and I'm the only one holding myself accountable. I'll be better because of it. I'm extremely ambitious and I have big goals for my future, and I'm not going to reach those goals by doing the bare minimum. To be better, it is essential to give it my all.

When I was young, my house was practically decorated with computers parts. They were always scattered around the house, but the majority of the clutter was dispersed across the dining room table. My Dad has been an IT Systems Engineer since before I was born, and he's always known a ton about computers. Most times when our dining room table was cluttered with components, they were being used to repair a friend's or neighbor's computer. My Dad would do these repairs for free, I always thought just to lend a helping hand, but that wasn't the only reason. Building and repairing computers was one of my Dad's hobbies, it was something he truly enjoyed and was passionate about. This was therapeutic for him in a sense, it still is to this day. That always fascinated me, and now, I've come to share his passion for computers. As I've learned more about this field, I've begun to understand what is so appealing about it to people like my Dad. I'm a very ambitious person, and I'm very excited to be studying computer science because it feels as though there is no limit to how far I can push myself. This field is full of so many opportunities to create new ideas, to create meaningful technology that can truly make the world a better place. I've become very interested in programming, data analysis, website development, and cybersecurity. I hope to someday possess the skills to develop algorithms and websites that help revolutionize industries. In the healthcare industry, for example, efficient and optimized algorithms are crucial. The faster that data and results can be gathered, the faster they can be implemented. Furthermore, how that data is displayed is just as important because if it cannot be easily interpreted, then it doesn’t matter how fast it was gathered. Websites and interactive applications in which data and results can be easily reviewed and utilized are also crucial for the healthcare industry. This is just one example, one opportunity for computer science to improve the world. I'm fascinated by that, and it just makes me realize how truly amazing the power of a computer is. My curiosity and interest in computers grew thanks to my Dad, and I chose to pursue a degree in this field because all I can imagine are the endless possibilities that exist with computer science. I've been studying for less than a year, and I'm already thinking of the bigger picture; of how I can apply these concepts to make a difference. As I said, I'm a very ambitious person and I'm very eager to push myself in my studies. The more things I learn about, the more things I can do, and that idea makes me excited about the future.

How good can your life be if it isn't really YOUR life? For so much of my childhood, I didn't embrace my personality and my unique qualities. Instead, I spent years unhappy as I lived what was supposed to be MY life for other people. That's because I got picked on for being myself, for living my life the way I wanted to, and my solution to that when I was younger was to just erase that part of me. The part of me that loved Super Mario, video games, and being imaginative- it was too "weird", so it had to go. I thought it'd be better to fit in with the "cool" kids who were obsessed with sports, talking about girls, and making fun of people. Day after day I'd grow anxious as I tried to keep the act up, desperately hoping nobody would turn and start picking on me. Then one day, I met someone who would later become the best friend I've ever had, and likely ever will have, and he was so real. How he carried himself, he was so cheerful, honest, and genuinely happy. I decided I needed to be more like that, and so I dropped the act and took control of my life again. I started laughing more, I started smiling more. My life was once again MY life. Now, today, I am extremely proud of who I am. More often than not, I'll swim against the current rather than downstream with everybody else. That's because I've learned the value of hard work; it is priceless. I gain more from failing a difficult task over and over than succeeding in a simple task. Even when I know something is going to be difficult, I go for it. Most times there's no reason not to. I became the valedictorian of my high school last year after putting extreme amounts of time into each of my classes, and I'm better because of it. Now, in college, I'm being persistent and I'm continuing to do more than I need to do. I'll be better because of it. I've recently adopted a new routine for myself where I wake up early, go to the gym, eat healthily, eliminate distractions, and get to sleep at a good time. None of my friends are doing it with me, I'm the one pushing myself, and I'm the one holding myself accountable. I'll be better because of it. I'm extremely ambitious and I have big goals for my future, and I'm not going to reach those goals by doing the bare minimum. It is essential to push myself. I'm studying computer science, and that's because I hope to develop algorithms and websites to help revolutionize industries that would greatly benefit from increased efficiency, such as the healthcare industry. Speed is very important in the world of medicine, meaning that the faster data and results can be gathered, the faster they can be implemented. I want to help develop new and improved algorithms that will increase the rate at which medical studies and clinical trials can produce data. Furthermore, how that data is displayed is just as important because if it cannot be easily interpreted, then it doesn’t matter how fast it was gathered. I want to help develop websites and interactive applications in which data and results can be easily reviewed and utilized. Making these ideas a reality is important to me, and as I continue to learn and push myself, I know I'll be capable of doing this and more. I'll be better because of it.