A little boy with scars over his body. He always looked up into the sky. To dream a farfetched fantasy of life he could live. A hope that one day, he could do more than survive. He always looked up, the skies abundant and indifferent yet calm and soothing. I live this boy's dream. I see my past self almost like a stranger. I used to find myself despicable, foolish and unworthy of anything, but when I looked up, I could see the hopes and dreams I carried myself with. To see that all I ever wanted is at arm's length now. The same scar, now darkened, speaks to me the words of the past and the images of the future. The sky was always there for me; now, I want to be one step closer. Thus began a life of new beginnings. The ending to the tyrannical nature of a monster I called my father. Stifled creativity and demoralized intellect was a thing of the past, and I found myself striving for goals much bigger than myself in aviation. My career goal within “Earth” is to combat anti-intellectualism in the Philippines. Let kids know that being smart is good and that no one should ever be shamed for being smart. That has always been my goal growing up and my motivation. Through my story and books, I want to inspire kids that you don’t need to be the most intelligent guy in the room; you need to trust yourself. I plan to persevere, to think about all the lives I could impact within my lifetime. That feeling of being that inspiration for someone else. It is a feeling I had in those dark days. I used to ponder the stars and wonder about the man looking and praying for me. In my lifetime, I want to be someone’s star, and I will do anything to be that one source of hope. I have dedicated my time and effort to my community growth, such as acquiring an officer position in the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers and hosting events at my campus. Moreover, as a team lead at Texas Spacecraft Lab, I get to guide future engineers and teach them the importance of teamwork and mentorship. My academic goal is to focus on nanostructures and nanomaterial and their applications in aviation. Last summer, I interned in microstructures and material science and learned the base knowledge of materials in aviation and aerospace. This summer, I will intern at Boeing to deepen my knowledge and experience of material science in aviation. My goal is to continue to walk this path; I want to go back into research next summer (hopefully at Jet Propulsion Laboratory) and then nanoengineering at Rice University. However, often I still look up into the sky. I think about the boy I used to be, the troubles and doubts that perpetually controlled my life, and I let go. The sky has taught me that I must let go to go genuinely. And here I will go, as far as the sky will take me, and maybe one day I can inspire someone to do the same.