It is important for us to feel like we belong. Looking for people who you feel comfortable with is essential to living a healthy life. Sometimes it may be hard to find those people. Your interests might be very obscure, or straight up go against the norm. This is the case with a lot of people online. The internet allows us to find people similar to us without much problem. There are no barriers such as distance that prevent you from meeting new people. As a result, distinct personalities and practices can be created. The quote "The phenomenon of people within online gaming forums discarding the common accepted social norms of civil discourse and actions and its effect on real-life social interaction" makes me reflect on the experiences I've had online. There are a lot of people whose personalities and jokes cannot cross smoothly to the real world, or they cross with no problems. I have played video games from a young age. Being exposed to this medium can severely affect you in the future. Not everything you learn is bad, but some things can cause problems. I do not think I am alone when I say that they can cause socialization problems. Often time in schools, those who spend most of the time alone are those who are interested in video games. This can be explained in many ways. One reason would be that they are not interested in their classmates. They might be used to communicating with people of similar interests via chats or forums. Their classmates, who do not understand them, provide no social value for them. As a result, social interaction in the real world is reduced to a minimum. When there is an interaction, it may not be suited for a face-to-face environment, leading to misunderstandings. As more people are exposed to the internet, some of its culture can leak into the real world. This is not uncommon nowadays. It feels like every day a new word is created, one that older people struggle to understand. This usually starts with an individual who is part of a community. It can be either a random person who does stuff for fun or a big influencer with thousands of fans. In both cases, certain words or phrases can quickly spread amongst people with similar likes. Eventually, it reaches an outsider. The term seems like an inside joke, and out of curiosity, he seeks to understand it. If the outsider can successfully crack the code, the gates open for more people to understand it too. A chain reaction occurs until suddenly, the word has been mentioned on national television. Sometimes practices are created in a small internet community that is not considered normal. Eventually, it can spread to people all around the world. If it interests a bigger community there is a chance that it becomes the new nationwide trend. If no one is interested in it, the people who participate in those activities may be seen as weirdos by people in the real world. Either way, these practices and actions can make us feel like we are a part of something bigger.

When I saw a visual explanation of the Pythagorean Theorem, I was in awe. Teachers do not show you that kind of stuff. There is a big issue with our current school system. School makes math seem boring. It makes it look like a chore. In reality, there is a lot to enjoy about it. I love math because of the satisfaction it gives me. I love math because it is universal, and can be applied in many ways. At a young age, I had little interest in math. I wanted to be an astronaut, but I changed my mind once my mom told me that astronauts had to be good at math. I did not have a problem with that, but children are constantly being exposed to the idea that it is hard and bad in many ways. As I grew up, I realized that it wasn't all that bad. I did well in my math courses, better than all of the others in fact. My interest shifted from history and literature to science ad mathematics. It grew on me during junior high and only continued to do so during high school. As I entered my senior year, I was looking forward to Calculus. There was just something so satisfying about math. Seeing everything come together was the best. Few experiences can compare to that feeling when something you saw several years ago can help explain a problem you are struggling with today. The beauty of math is that everything is linked, and calculus made this even better. I am now in college, and my love for math is still great. I am pursuing degrees in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Engineering and Mathematics share a lot of things, but the applications of math just won me over. I hold a lot of respect for those pursuing a degree in Mathematics, it was one of my options when I thought about what major to choose.

Ever since the United States put men on the moon for the first time, support for space exploration has been on a decline. People no longer find justifications for the high risks and costs. We want changes and innovation to come immediately, but that is just not possible. There is a lot to do in space. Not everything about space exploration is doing something cool. There is genuinely a lot to learn, and it can benefit the human race in many ways. I am pursuing two degrees, one in aerospace engineering and the other in mechanical engineering. They go hand in hand together, which will allow me to be more efficient at my future job. I chose these majors because it is my dream to put space in the spotlight again. Man will eventually go back to exploring the stars, and I want to play a part in it. From a young age, I held an interest in outer space. As I grew older I also came to love other fields, like mathematics and engineering. I was skilled at math and logical thinking and problem-solving. I like creating anything and seeing it work the way I intended. I wanted to work with machines when I grew up, and I was forced to choose a career path as college approached. I initially chose aerospace engineering, as making rockets and other space-dwelling machines is a viable career path. I chose mechanical engineering as my second major once I realized that my university offered a double major program. I am planning to graduate in December of 2026, with experience gathered from internships and school projects. I will seek employment in the aerospace industry, working with pioneers such as NASA, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin. Not only do I like science and engineering, but I believe they are important for various reasons. Us humans are curious by nature; we seek explanations for everything. Science can reveal the answers to a lot of our questions. Getting answers not only increases our knowledge but can also make our lives easier. There are several examples throughout history. Today, climate change is a very relevant topic. Using science, we are developing new ways to produce energy without releasing greenhouse gases. Science has good effects on society. Without it, we would still be living in small tribes, traveling across the world looking for food. Science makes society possible. As an aspiring mechanical and aerospace engineer, I hope that science becomes a priority in the future. We live in a very advanced age, but we have not even scratched the surface. If we change our focus, our society may have things such as flying cars, quantum computers, and artificial intelligence to make our lives easier. It all starts with the children. If we show them all of the benefits of science, we might have a future where STEM careers are more abundant than ever. I saw the ISS being built and the Space Shuttle launched for the last time. Kids nowadays might see humans returning to the moon, or going beyond it.

When I first saw Halley's Comet I was very young. I did not see it on the night sky, I saw it on my TV. I was watching a National Geographic documentary on comets and other celestial bodies. My mind was impressed. It was the start of an obsessions. I started watching documentaries about Jupiter, extraterrestrial life, the Space Shuttle, and everything in-between. Several years later, I find myself studying Aerospace Engineering. My mother is an Industrial Engineer, but she never really talked about her job or education. I decided to become an engineer on my own. She knows that I have loved space since I was a child. My main goal in life is to make her proud, and I believe that this will not only complete that objective, but also make me happy. She is very supportive of my decision. Everybody I know is, it is a respectable career after all. Some may doubt whether I am capable or not, but I am sure I will do great. As I have already mentioned, I have loved outer space since I was little. As I grew, It slowly faded away from my memory, but it came back over time. By the time I was at middle school I was starting to fall in love with math. Some 5 years later and I became really interested in engineering, especially mechanical engineering. As I approached college I had to make a final decision. I started getting into outer space again, and made up my mind. I was going to study Aerospace Engineering. I've always loved STEM, but a lot of people say it can be pretty hard. I know about the risks involved, but I am still determined to make this work. My main goal is to create amazing machines that will aid man in everyday life, and most importantly, help us explore and understand the universe.