I could tell you about how math has always been my best subject, or how math just comes naturally to me, but that’s not why I love math. Math is logical and has structure, with a right answer you always strive for. Math encourages problem solving, with complex word problems that need deciphering and creative thinking. Math requires perseverance, with the ability to keep trying to crack a difficult question after multiple failed attempts. Math challenges me, pushing me to work harder in a way other subjects don’t. I’m constantly building connections while using math, both directly and indirectly. In class, I answer a lot of my friends’ questions, helping them solve problems while furthering my understanding of the same concepts. I’ve made many friends and met many people at scholarship weekends who also have a strong love for math; our success in math helps us bond and relate to each other. Another reason I love math is the way it makes me feel. Throughout middle and high school, it’s been hard for me to take pride in myself and my accomplishments, but math is something I know I excel in, can rely on, and can draw confidence from. In college, I’m studying biomedical engineering, a path through which I hope to help so many people - with the help of math. I may use math to find the approximate length for someone’s prosthetic arm, the circumference of cardiac arteries in a pacemaker patient, the precise amount of anesthesia to give a patient before surgery, or the amount of radiation an x-ray should emit. Finally, the most important reason I love math and want to pursue it further in my collegiate education is because it drives inspiration and equality. You can’t “fake it until you make it” with math; you have to work hard to earn the skill. I’ll never forget the first time I watched the movie Hidden Figures and felt blown away by the expertise of the three women who were geniuses in math. I knew then that I could do so much with math, and hope to one day inspire other girls to follow their math dreams too.