One of the most important personal finance lessons I learned was to invest in myself. Investing in myself means that I treat myself like a corporation. Corporations are constantly finding ways to reduce cost, increase profit, and reinvest in themselves to create more revenue. Therefore, every action they take has a purpose. In practice, this means making a budget to keep track of my income and expenses, creating a personal brand, and investing time and money into improving my skills to present a better “product” to businesses and consumers. This lesson is so pivotal if you apply it to the fullest extent because it makes you more intentional and strategic about your financial future. Most people are disorganized in their finances, spending frivolously and neglecting basic economic principles. Implementing this mindset and running your life like a business forces you to evaluate all your financial actions to make sure they support your monetary goals.

Reading about the concept of deliberate practice completely changed my perspective on learning and mastery. Deliberate practice refers to a form of practice that is systematic and effortful. It is performed with focused attention to improve performance. Before I learned about this concept, I would always waste my time performing mindless repetitions of skills I already knew how to do, wondering why I hit so many plateaus on my journey to improvement. But upon studying this concept, I began to go into practice sessions with a clear vision of what I wanted to achieve in that allotted time. I started identifying and improving my weakness and learning new content. With this method, I’ve become a better musician, learned music production, learned chess, improved my writing, and even created my first programming applications. This concept has taught me two valuable lessons. The first one is always to find your edge. Always push yourself out of your comfort zone because that is the only way to grow. The second lesson is that greatness is learned. All the most outstanding performers, artists, athletes, and academics used deliberate practice to improve their skills. Without the attention to detail and focus they applied to mastering their craft, they wouldn’t have achieved the level of success.

As a mentor, I hope to open my mentees’ eyes to what they could achieve if they gave their best effort. Most young people of this age lack direction. With a lack of focus comes anxiety, confusion, and even apathy. I have experienced the perils of not having a clear vision of my future. But as much as aimlessness haunted me, committing to a plan frightened me even more. Fortunately, with the help of family and older friends, I committed to a path and have attained much more peace of mind and confidence in my future success. Helping younger kids become more goal-oriented has been an excellent tool for bolstering their confidence. For example, when I was a student leader for my high school’s marching band, me and two others held practices for our small group. We made the goals of each practice session very clear. For example, one day, the plan would be to learn to march forwards and backward; on another day, the goal would be to memorize a few lines of the show music. When we accomplished the plan, the younger kids would get more confident in their abilities. As the sessions started accumulating, the newer students became more competent marchers and musicians and were more optimistic about the large group practices. As I enter college and beyond, I hope to share this goal-oriented frame of thinking with others who seem lost or aimless. Teaching someone to create plans and stick to them is one of the most effective ways to build confidence and independence.

The biggest problem we are currently facing is a lack of introspection. Introspection means to look inward to analyze your motivations, fears, desires, and thoughts and their connection to your decisions and actions. Many would staunchly disagree with my assertion, as problems such as poverty, global warming, and war seem much more urgent. But all of these problems stem from the lack of awareness. Introspection provides the understanding we need to tackle these issues. Self-reflection allows you to understand why you do what you do and uncover the solutions to problems in your life. One who does not introspect is doomed to repeat their mistakes and let life and outside influence dictate their path forward. "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." Introspection is the tool that allows us to reflect on history productively and learn from the mistakes of the past. The question now is, how can we start introspecting more? The number one opposition to introspection is a distraction, which in this age is more abundant than ever. Social media and entertainment consume the minds of the masses. A great way to start introspecting more is to set aside periods where you are physically isolated and without social media. An hour a day with no distractions is a monumental step in improving your day-to-day decision-making. The collective decisions of individuals created our society. If we as individuals can gain more clarity in our thinking and act with more awareness, together, we shift our trajectory to a more positive future.

There are many gimmicks out there about escaping debt and attaining financial freedom. People are often sidetracked by new trends in the social media financial space, neglecting sound advice. The most powerful piece of financial advice, which I think is the key to achieving financial freedom, is to live below your means. Living below your means is simply spending less than you earn. As straightforward as this advice sounds, many people struggle to follow this advice, which is understandable in the current era. People have gotten caught up in the lifestyle of living extravagantly and trying to look the part to show off on social media and to their friends and family. It can be challenging to decrease frivolous spending while everyone else around you is eating out frequently, buying depreciating assets, and ultimately, spending money they don’t have. It takes tremendous discipline and planning. But, once you have established a lifestyle where you can comfortably live under your means, the magic starts to happen. You begin to accrue a surplus of money you can then put to work, whether that is through investing, facilitating further education through courses and certifications, or working on new ventures and side hustles. In addition, living below your means forces you to give more thought to the purchases and financial decisions you make. You become more mindful of how you might not need a new car, that new gaming system, or the new 4k HD TV you have wanted for so long. Maintaining a frugal lifestyle puts things into perspective and helps you appreciate what is truly important in your life.

The traditional education system has sapped the joy of learning for many students. This system necessitates that students are taught a subject for a short period and assessed on the knowledge and skills they retain. Though this seems to be an effective system at first glance, what results is a culture that promotes “learning for the test” or memorizing facts taught in class only to answer questions on the final assessments. Such systems of learning discourage the development of critical thinking and creativity, two crucial mental skills necessary for professionals at the cutting-edge of technology and innovation. In addition, many students in the traditional education system are often left clueless about their plans for employment after high school simply because they are denied the necessary time and freedom to explore their passions. For these reasons, I believe a shift towards a self-paced, interest-based education system would be a great start in improving the education system for future generations. In this new education system, children will have more freedom early on to investigate topics that intrigue them. There will be less emphasis on traditional assessments and more an emphasis on project-based learning. The system would require that students reach proficiency in reading, writing, and mathematical skills. There are no additional requirements unless the topic or discipline the student desires to explore requires other skills. In a case like this, the student is supported in developing prerequisite knowledge or expertise. Around the middle school age, when students have selected a few disciplines and areas of interest, the system will expose their potential careers in their desired fields. The projects the students undertake will become more and more akin to the types of things professionals would be tasked to accomplish. In high school, there will be an even greater emphasis on career planning and real-world projects that will give the students an authentic taste of the work they will complete in the professional world. In addition, students will also become familiarized with the job application process, which students taught in the traditional system are often unfamiliar with. This interest-based system will create high school graduates with several years of expertise in the field they are passionate about and a solid career plan. Most importantly, students graduate from the system with their curiosity and love of learning still intact, two things that will propel us forward as a society. Though implementing a system like this would require an overhaul to the education system that seems implausible now, enacting even parts of this new system could drastically enhance the students’ experiences in school and their careers.

In 1884, inventor Nikola Tesla emigrated from Smiljan, Croatia to New York with only 4 cents in his pocket, a few of his poems, and calculations for a flying machine. Soon after, prominent engineer Thomas Edison hired Tesla, who impressed Edison with his work ethic and genius. Unfortunately, Edison broke his promise to pay Tesla $50,000 for the design of his DC Dynamos, and Tesla quit soon after. Tesla quickly started a new venture and found investors to support research into alternating current. During 1887 and 1888, Tesla was awarded over 30 patents and caught the attention of George Westinghouse, an affluent competitor of Edison. With the capital Tesla had accrued, he invented many great technologies ‌such as the Tesla coil, electric oscillators, and improved lights. However, Westinghouse’s backers forced him to renegotiate his contract, stripping Tesla of capital. Additionally, in 1895, his New York lab burned down, destroying years of progress. Despite this, Tesla picked himself up again and found financial backing from banker J.P. Morgan. In this partnership, Tesla created a global communications network on Long Island, leading to impactful advancements in wireless communication. He had come a long way from his humble beginnings in Smiljan. I admire Tesla because he let his passion for technology pull him through his darkest moments. Despite being fooled by Edison, he cut his losses and continued improving his inventions. Faced with his falling out with Westinghouse and the destruction of his lab, he found a way to continue actualizing his goals. Tesla has shown me that, above all else, an exciting vision of the world ‌propels one to success. As an aspiring engineer, I hope to create even a fraction of the impact he created.

“I’m not smart enough. I won’t fail if I don’t try. I’m not good enough.” I used to tell myself these statements when I had a fixed mindset when I believed I couldn’t develop myself beyond my inborn talents and abilities. Fortunately, I have acquired habits and applied strategies to terminate these negative thought patterns and develop a growth mindset that has contributed to my success. The most impactful habit I acquired to combat my fixed mindset and maintain my growth mindset was meditation. I used to allow my negative thoughts to dictate my emotions and actions. These thoughts prevented me from taking risks or opportunities that would’ve helped me grow. Practicing meditation has taught me that I do not have to take my thinking seriously. It also taught me to control the interpretations I put on situations, making it much easier to take risks towards achieving my goals. Another important strategy that I employ is to acknowledge my past successes. When I had a fixed mindset, I downplayed my success, which lowered my confidence in my abilities, preventing me from accepting new challenges and opportunities. For example, in middle school, I refused to take a chance and join the Jazz Band. I was afraid that I was not talented enough. Eventually, I acknowledged the amount of work I had put into improving my skills as a musician, which gave me the confidence to join the jazz band and take multiple solos. The tactics I have discussed played a key role in transforming my fixed mindset into a growth mindset. I hope others implement these tactics to improve themselves as I did.

Creation is the ultimate form of expression, and through it, one transmutes their inner desires, impulses, and inspirations into something of beauty or utility. Many of the historical figures that I admire for their impact on society, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, and Nikola Tesla, achieved this impact through acts of masterful creation. I am grateful that I was exposed to creating at an early age through my musical training. I began taking piano lessons at age five. Once I had mastered basic technique and music theory, a whole new world of musical expression had revealed itself. My training granted me the freedom of improvisation, where a musician plays freely within the context of a particular piece. Improvising has shown me how rewarding it is to combine knowledge with imagination, and my experiences have proven to me that the combination of these two things can create outstanding results. These facts only became reinforced when I began playing saxophone for my school band in sixth grade and developed in my improvisation faculties in the jazz band. As I have advanced in my math and science classes, (my favorites being AP Chemistry and Calculus BC) I have begun to understand the parallels between STEM and music. Innovators in these domains first needed a thorough understanding of previous discoveries. But once they have built this understanding, they have the freedom to build upon this knowledge base and pioneer groundbreaking conceptions and inventions. Their creativity and imagination, coupled with their extensive knowledge of STEM and its applications, are what allowed these people to make a profound impact in our world. This is why I am passionate about STEM: it combines my love of creative expression with knowledge and skills that can create a positive impact in the world. I plan to pursue a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, and there are many fascinating subdisciplines in this field. Mechatronics engineering is one of the subdisciplines I find most fascinating. This field integrates mechanics, electrical engineering, computing, and robotics to create efficient, more intelligent manufacturing systems. This field has the potential to optimize and automate a vast number of mechanical and electrical systems that we interact with within our everyday lives, and by doing so, it could make products far more affordable and reliable for the average consumer. Leaving a significant mark in this field through my work is a dream of mine, and I am grateful to have the privilege of entering such a groundbreaking field. Thank you for this opportunity.