Let’s play a game. I’m thinking of an object in common use today. Transparent, discreet, and easier to use than its metal counterpart, I would not be surprised if you’re wearing a pair right now. Did you guess it? I’m thinking of Invisalign. In my opinion, Invisalign is an impressive invention, but it’s interesting to me that NASA actually engineered the material used to make it. Originally, this material, called translucent polycrystalline alumina (or TPA, since NASA loves acronyms), served to cover and protect sensitive parts of trackers that detected heat-seeking missiles. NASA then realized that TPA had many other uses, and so Invisalign came to be. In this example, orthodontists used a material that aerospace engineers originally developed. While orthodontists used TPA simply to create a better dental device, NASA used it for safety because it was a component of an important defense system. When it comes to aerospace engineering, which I hope to study, safety is one of the most important factors in engineering. Since aerospace engineers create designs for new aircraft and spacecraft (which will more often than not carry humans), they must always focus on safety. While many people do not even know what constitutes aerospace engineering, it has shaped our lives far more than we realize. Many of us are probably still alive today because of a safety mechanism invented by an aerospace engineer. In the future, the effects of aerospace engineering will be tangible: humanity will live on the moon, Mars, or both, and we will always be looking for the next place we can go--and because of everything aerospace engineering has accomplished and could do, I want to be a part of that.

The clock reads 05:15. I’ve only been awake for fifteen minutes and I’m already overwhelmed. I’m staring at my planner, trying to figure out where I can fit an assignment that will take me an hour and a half to complete. Hmm… it can’t go in the afternoon any day this week because of robotics and color guard practices, and there’s a robotics meet on Saturday that will take up the better part of the day… I guess I’ll skip going to Dunkin’ Donuts with my friends on Wednesday morning and complete it then. Slumping back into my chair, I try not to think about the stressful day ahead of me: my schedule today consists of an Honors class, four AP classes, and a long robotics practice that I have to lead. On top of all that, I have two tests to study for this week. This was a typical day during my first semester of Junior year. My schedule choices were ambitious: I went over my school’s AP cap, had extracurriculars every weekday after school, and became the Chief Engineer of the robotics team. Even though my workload frequently overwhelmed me, my ambition pushed me to persevere. I have always been ambitious when setting goals. Many competitive students attend my school, and we have always pushed each other to perform at our best, whether we are competing against each other or working in a team. Even though I grew up in this environment, I had never taken on this many activities and challenging classes before. However, that didn’t stop me--I had a goal to do as well as I possibly could in my classes and extracurriculars, and all I had to do was find the right method to reach my goals. I started off by making a plan. Each Sunday, I would refresh my personalized planner that I created in Google Sheets, gradually learning how to prioritize certain tasks and time block my activities to make sure I had the time to complete everything. I also learned how to weave break times and stress-free activities into my schedule to make sure I didn’t become burned out, just as I was that one morning in Junior year. After I had crafted my planner to my liking, I realized that I enjoyed creating schedules--once I knew that I had enough time to do my work, I became less overwhelmed. The next step was to motivate myself to get my work done completely and on time. I constantly reminded myself that “future Marin” would thank me for being proactive, and I kept myself from procrastinating by telling myself that I only had to do one task at a time. If I wanted to do well in something, I couldn’t let myself quit. Looking at where I was at the beginning of my Junior year and where I am now, I realize that I’ve taught myself how to persevere. I learned that ambition is nothing without hard work, and as I grow older, I’m beginning to reap the benefits of that hard work. I feel prepared to finish my senior year strong (even though senioritis lurks right around the corner), and I’m excited to see what I’ll be able to accomplish in college. Even though I’ll have more stressful days in my life, I now have the perseverance to finish them to the best of my ability.