Looking at the burette on the desk, I started to consider the point of the observations I was making, wondering if the experiment had any real purpose. I was in 8th-grade chemistry and was completing a straightforward titration—a chemical method measuring the amount of base required to neutralize an acid. As I carefully let the base into the acid and waited for a change of color—indicating neutralization—I asked myself several questions. Why was I completing this experiment? What knowledge would I gain from an application of what I already knew? What would I recognize from a copy of the content I had previously been taught? Eventually, the solution changed color, and in the process of recording and analyzing the data, I began to realize the significance of the experiment. Despite its simplicity, the results culminated in a direct empirical application of the thought experiments and concepts taught in the class. It made me think of the extent of scientific ideas and their utilization in society, and how the progression of technology was a collection of thoughts and their applications. It was the first time that my education inspired and motivated me to reach an understanding beyond that offered in the classroom. Soon after that day, and especially during the summer of that year, I invested time into understanding deeper chemical principles and struggled. Online sources taught only certain topics, and I resorted to a chemistry textbook that extensively covered those that were more abstruse. At times, reading through the text became dull and difficult, but the constant revelations and shocking insights about the natural world—both historically and in the present day—kept me engrossed in the process. The book always discussed a topic’s significance; its application and development of presented ideas enforced my interest and dedication. In the process of understanding these principles, I taught myself more than just chemistry. I realized that what I'd really been doing is slowly developing an obsession with understanding how the world worked—one that wouldn't go away. Although my passion for science started with chemistry, it didn't stop there; instead, I went on to gain an interest in physics, mathematics, and eventually, computer science. Now, as a college student, I study what I find to be an incredibly intriguing and groundbreaking field: artificial intelligence. I find deep interest in replicating how the human brain works in computer algorithms, and I'm fueled by the ridiculous potential of these algorithms to speed up so many processes, and ultimately, help the world with tasks that were previously thought to be impossible to complete.