During childhood, I rarely interacted with a disabled person. I just focused on my schoolwork and activities. Because of that, I thought nothing could go wrong in life. When I got older, after interacting with people who have less mental and bodily functions than I do, I realized that they and their relatives did experience something wrong in their lives. However, there was one person I repeatedly met that gave me my first perspective on disabled people, which was my cousin. I came to my aunt’s house to visit him. Whenever I saw him, I thought of him being his usual self. He sat in his room playing video games all day. When I talked to him, he responded in muffled nonsense. Even though I never understood him, I didn’t think much about it. When I finally met people like him, I made connections between them and my cousin. My next interaction was when I was a preteen, and my family came to visit a disabled elder. He was Nigerian like us but was confined to a wheelchair. He didn’t have food in his fridge. We bought a lot of food from Walmart and gave it to him. Hours went by in his house until he asked my sister if she wanted a bagel. Even in his lowest, he still wanted to assist another human. This prompted me to seek other opportunities like this later. My latest interaction was during high school when I had a random thought in my head to sit at the same table special needs students ate lunch on. Around the same time, I was preparing to join the Foreign Language Club, which focused on language and cultural activities. I connected these two details together because one of the things required to learn about culture is to be in other people’s shoes. I took the chance. What spawned during that trip was a conversation between a girl who survived a car accident and a girl who rode the same bus as me. This happened because I stepped out of my comfort zone. This all started with me interacting with my mentally challenged cousin and progressed to feeding a disabled elder and making friends with a couple of special needs students. I encourage others to interact with a disabled person who wants to be understood. You may make an unlikely friend and understand more about their condition.

I want to be a mentor at a company that helps others who look like me develop their careers in the tech industry. Being a mentor is a tough task for an introvert like me, but when it is paired with Computer Science, I am willing to teach others a few things about it. And I think a company will propel me to think more creatively about how I teach. Even if this company doesn’t exist yet, I would gladly contribute to its creation by laying out the educational path potential clients would follow. I want to teach these people how to build programming projects like apps, databases, and computer software. These projects will have something to do with the development of our community. For example, I would love to see an app that would educate others about the U.S. founding. Having consistent practice is important to me and others because it is the most effective way to grow in our skills. It is the way I’ll grow in my mentorship of my people, so they’ll make an impact. Lastly, I want to teach them how to sell their projects. I would want them to sell something that would bring the most positive impact & inspiration to our community. This impact would be a financial & cultural one. The money made from these projects will improve the community’s education of local students. Hopefully, these projects will also get students to start thinking about their potential futures as workers in the tech industry.

Can an introverted girl become one of the most successful leaders in the tech industry? I’ve been introverted all my life. This was a huge jump from me being shy to being a confident visionary in fields like computer programming or software development. To answer this question, let me share the significant progress I’ve made to break out of my shell during my high school career. These things include being a secretary for SkillsUSA, being the president of the National Honor Society, and being the president of a writing club. These tasks were challenging in their way. I was a secretary for SkillsUSA at Rockdale Career Academy. Being a secretary was an interesting experience as all I had to do was record our meetings into readable notes. Rockdale Career Academy has a student body that is driven to start their careers early, so I was bound to meet great people along the way like the team of officers I was a part of. My ability to watch people during meetings strengthened my view of how presentations ought to work in a team of goal-oriented people. In the tech industry, I would need this skill to appeal to people with the same goals as me when we work in teams. Additionally, I would have to make sure to share my notes with people! Next, I was recently made president of the National Honor Society at Salem High School. Since last year, I was only a member. Suddenly, I was made a president because our former president couldn’t be in the school anymore. I was shocked by the news when I got to lead a club whose core values were leadership, character, service, and scholarship. Since then, I’ve been giving suggestions to our club advisor on what community service acts we should do, like cleaning up the park and teaching children to read. This experience gave me the courage to act whenever possible. I would need this in the tech industry where every project is action-packed. Lastly, I was the president of Salem High School’s writing club, Writer’s Oasis. This club was started last year when I gave my former NHS advisor the idea to start it. Ever since, I’ve been an eager and active president, writing my work and hearing others’ ideas through prose and poetry. You may be wondering how a writing club would help me succeed in the tech industry. One of the most alluring things about the field is that not everything has to be tech-based. There was creativity in projects that later became popular in the tech market. My writing talent will contribute to story-driven projects like games. I imagine that I won’t have to write on paper anymore but to transfer this idea from my head to the computer. Now that I’ve listed evidence of my growth, could I become a successful leader in this industry? I am confident. And as you could see, I don’t plan on having one role in the industry. I want to be a team member, programmer, software developer, game designer, and leader. The scholarship money will contribute to these goals. Until then, I’ll continue to practice being a leader.

How does compound interest apply to daily life? Compound interest is the “interest you earn on interest” (investor.gov). In other words, it is making money work for you. To me, this is a valuable concept people must learn. It contributes to generating wealth. For example, if you deposit $200 and you will earn 2% of interest yearly, after five years, you’ll get $220.82. Even though the process will take a while, this is an easy way to earn money through the acceleration of compound interest. Plus, this is money you won’t be working for as it is working by itself. It also helps you to build good habits. By understanding compound interest as a concept, you would see that it would apply to daily things like habits. The equivalent of compound interest is the 1% rule by James Clear, in which doing a 1% change to your habits builds up over time, making it a lot easier to stick to your habit. Personally, what I’ve gotten from this rule is that you could do things bit by bit to accomplish big goals. As you can see, compound interest doesn’t have to only apply to money. It could apply to building habits and could help you achieve your goals. Apply this rule to your own life as well. Your results would be clearly seen in the future.

I want to be a computer programmer, app developer, and game developer. I want to do all these activities because I am passionate about what I can create using programming languages. With a language like Java, I could create a website, database, and app. But to work in the industry, I need a Computer Science degree or something similar. To get a Computer Science degree, I need to pay for the program that is going to help me become a computer programmer. The program I want to be in is at the University of Georgia, a school I just got accepted to. According to my net calculator, I would need about $28,000 to attend this school. To enter that program, I plan to apply for as many scholarships as possible. For the past few months, I’ve been searching heavily and applying for scholarships across the internet. I even kept a list of the scholarships I’ve applied to. I list the requirements and indicate whether I received the money or not. I also add the completion date of that scholarship. Next, I completed the FAFSA. At the time I completed it, I didn’t earn any scholarships yet. Even though I didn’t like the idea of paying back student loans, I completed the application anyway since I thought of it as another way to pay for college. I hope that once I receive enough money through scholarships, I don’t have to use FAFSA’s money anymore. Lastly, I want to start making my own money. Since I became a teenager, I’ve been interested in making my own money through the products I create like books and software. When I was 13, I tried selling three books I created. And currently, I’m creating a medical database that could be sold to a business when I finish it. Something other than a fast-food job would look great on my resume. All of these will contribute to my future in Computer Science. Even if I had debt after graduating from college, a job in the technology industry would bring a lot of money to cut down the debt quickly, which is another good reason for me to pursue a Computer Science degree. Additionally, I could sell the things I create with programming languages and software tools. When I get this degree, I hope to work for a company that helps people get jobs that earn a lot of money like Computer Science jobs.

My favorite book is Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. The central theme of this book is that success is not what we thought it was, and the secret lies deeper, in which Gladwell explains: our background, opportunities, and cultural legacies. For the concept of backgrounds, one quote that supports it is “She signed up for it herself and walked to choir practice on her own." (pg. 104). This emphasizes the child, Katie Brindle, that she grew to be independent, which was influenced by her family’s status, poor. A second quote regarding chances is “How many high schools in the world had access to a time-sharing terminal in 1968?” (pg. 54). This emphasizes Bill’s opportunity at the time and how nobody else could get it, meaning everybody’s chance at opportunity is unique to them for reaching their dreams. Another quote regarding cultural legacies is “No one who can rise before dawn three hundred sixty days a year fails to make his family rich.” (pg. 224). This is emphasizing the power of cultural legacies in the chapter on the legacy of rice paddies, where farmers had to work hard to care for their rice, leaving Asian cultures a print to work hard for their wants. Outliers should be on top of your reading lists. Why? It was all based on the key factors listed, our background, opportunity, and cultural legacies. Gladwell explained how they relate to success in ways I couldn’t understand, and I got it in the end. Like his explanation of backgrounds, which was my favorite, he presented the factors that would make up our future success, when we were born, our parents, and the values we were given.

When we help others, it gives them an idea to help people like them who're struggling. Several years back, my family visited a man with the same origins as us except he was stuck in a wheelchair. When he was struggling to fill his fridge with food, my family and others gave him all kinds of food, from bagels to pasta. And one memory that stuck to me was when our family and the man were watching TV. Out of the blue, the man opened a bag of bagels and looked at one of my sisters. He said, "Do you want one?" My sister shook her head. The man then said, "It's good" as he was referring to the bagels. Even though he was the one that we were trying to help, he became the helper when he offered my sister a bagel. It showed me that throughout our lives, we could switch positions anytime.

Don't focus on the things that don't benefit you or others. For some reason, most people spend too much time on the things that don't matter. Why everyone should keep this in mind is that they have a limited time on this Earth, and you'll use it for the things that matter to you. A human lifespan is different for every person. Even then, most people would say life is too short. Let’s say you’re one of those people. If you value your life, would you say the things you regularly spend your time on are worth it? If you don’t think so, here is something you could try. To get your time back, recognize the things that you spend your time on. Look at them closely and tell whether they will benefit you. If not, will they benefit others? If not, stop doing that task. Once you do that to all your tasks, you may realize you have more time in the day than you thought. Lastly, what will you use that time for? You can use it for the tasks that you deem valuable. If you’re sure that whatever thing you spend your time on will benefit you or others, you must get to work on it quickly. You’ll never know if you’ll get this time back again.

I have specific career goals that relate to four years of my technology education: Introduction to Digital Tech, Computer Science Principles, AP Computer Science, and my internship at RCA Engravings. By winning this scholarship money, I’ll earn a Computer Science degree and work at a specific company, work on my projects, and sell what I’ve built. I want to work for a company that helps others develop their careers in the tech industry. Like how my schools helped me develop my skills, I want to do the same for others who look like me. And even if that company doesn’t yet exist, I would be glad to contribute to the creation of that company. Secondly, I want to work on apps, games, computer software, and websites. Having consistent practice to develop my career-related skills is important to me and the company I’ll be working for. And from this practice, I’ve already built a medical database, a character list app, my portfolio website, and a Flappy Bird copycat. Lastly, I want to be able to sell the highest-quality project I’ve built. I most likely want to sell a game where it would impact the community I’m serving and inspire others. This ripple effect I’d create would then urge others to create things and raise that 2%. These things would make my career for about five years down the line. Service to me includes using my tech skills to help others develop their tech skills. To explore my creativity, I intend to build my projects. And to improve my business skills, I intend to sell my projects. These values shall constitute my mind when I learn at Georgia Tech.

I have a natural talent for writing. I started creating books at six years old. At that age, I was particularly interested in how people made physical books in the first place. In 2017, I wrote three books in three months, publishing all of them in the last month. Even though I don’t have that speed anymore, I intend to claim it again because I displayed the potential of my prolific abilities. Secondly, I enjoy many parts of the process. Some things I think about when it comes to writing are world-building, drafts, planning, reading, and book covers. When it comes to world-building, which is the process of creating a whole new world for your story, the thing that most fascinates me is the possible sight of seeing a world that came from your mind come to life. And in writing stories, creating multiple drafts is part of the growth. If you compare your older drafts and newer ones together and see the change, you’ll see your progress. Another important thing about writing stories is planning. I typically start writing without a draft to get my ideas out. Then, I plan the necessary things like the characters, plot, and the world. And the most important thing when it comes to writing besides getting started is to already read books. When you read, you gather ideas from a variety of authors, sculpt all the knowledge together, and sprout your knowledge and style. Lastly, when it comes to selling your books, it’s not the writing that attracts them. It’s a great book cover. So I would occasionally imagine what my book covers would be like. Although this isn’t important in writing, it is important in selling.

I have specific career goals that relate to four years of my technology education: Introduction to Digital Tech, Computer Science Principles, AP Computer Science, and my internship at RCA Engravings. By winning this scholarship money, I’ll earn a Computer Science degree and work at a specific company, work on my projects, and sell what I’ve built. I want to work for a company that helps others develop their careers in the tech industry. Like how my schools helped me develop my skills, I want to do the same for others who look like me. And even if that company doesn’t yet exist, I would be glad to contribute to the creation of that company. Secondly, I want to work on apps, games, computer software, and websites. Having consistent practice to develop my career-related skills is important to me and the company I’ll be working for. And from this practice, I’ve already built a medical database, a character list app, my portfolio website, and a Flappy Bird copycat. Lastly, I want to be able to sell the highest-quality project I’ve built. I most likely want to sell a game where it would impact the community I’m serving and inspire others. This ripple effect I’d create would then urge others to create things. These things would make my career for about five years down the line. Service to me includes using my tech skills to help others develop their tech skills. To explore my creativity, I intend to build my projects. And to improve my business skills, I intend to sell my projects. These values shall constitute my mind when I learn at Georgia Tech.

Have we all possessed the ability to be indifferent to the bad things that happen to us all along? I’ve been thinking about this question for a year, and the side effect evolved to be one of my best qualities. It was staying in the present moment. First, what is the present moment? I define it as the state of mind in which you only focus on what is in front of you. It is a state of mind a few master. I attempted to reach this state many times. I’ve had plenty of opportunities to exercise this practice, starting when I was 13 up to the present. What I meant by indifference was the ability to detach from external events and remain calm on the inside. I’ve considered this since mid-2021, but what fueled this thinking was my endeavor in studying Stoicism, which is the philosophy of maintaining virtue despite worldly changes. How I’ve been improving this skill was by studying this philosophy, focusing on the things in front of me, and dealing with the obstacles that prevented me from doing so. What I’ve found from doing these things was that it wasn’t easy at all, but it was worth the discomfort rather than being consumed by the things that commonly stole my joy like my past failures. This quality impacted my life in many ways. When I attempted suicide at 13, I was with my mom at the hospital. She said, “You didn’t have to kill yourself. Today, you could’ve just done your homework, talked to your siblings, and enjoyed life.” Thinking about this five years later finally made sense to me. After the hospital visit and mental institution, I resumed life and focused on what was in front of me. Soon, my downfall became a distant memory. Nowadays, I don’t worry about my bad grades like I used to. I paid more attention to my surroundings than before. I had more focus on my siblings as opposed to the past summer when I barely spoke to them. This quality also pushed me to do more. Starting from 9th grade, I've participated in four clubs. My most important club is the National Honor Society. This club pushed me to think about others who are having tough times. Since I've joined, I've made cards for seniors and come up with numerous community service ideas. Even though this will be my last year in the club, I don't plan to stop helping others as I'll pursue a Computer Science degree and teach others who look like me technical skills to help them get good jobs. After my answers to the last two questions, my answer for the first question would be a broad yes. Of course, some people experienced worse things than me. If that’s the case, what would they be focusing on at that moment? Whether they realized it or not, they had the option to focus on multiple things. Life is not one thing but many. And nowadays, I see that we are not the things we experience. We are the same beings that existed before we were born and after.

Can an introverted girl become one of the most successful leaders in the tech industry? I’ve been introverted all my life. This was a huge jump from me being shy to being a confident visionary, especially in fields like computer programming or software development. To answer this question, let me share the significant progress I’ve made to break out of my shell during my high school career. These things include being a secretary for SkillsUSA, being the president of the National Honor Society, and being the president of a writing club. These tasks were challenges in their way. I was a secretary for SkillsUSA at Rockdale Career Academy. Being a secretary was an interesting experience as all I had to do was record our meetings into readable notes. Rockdale Career Academy has a student body that is driven to start their careers early, so I was bound to meet great people along the way. My ability to watch people during meetings strengthened my view of how presentations ought to work in a team of goal-oriented people. In the tech industry, I would need this presentation skill to appeal to people with the same goals as me when we work in teams. Additionally, I would have to make sure to share my notes with people! Next, I was recently made president of the National Honor Society at Salem High School. Our club has always been made up of a few people due to the difficulty of getting into it. Since last year, I was only a member. Suddenly, I was made president because our former president couldn’t be in the school anymore. I was shocked by the news when I got to lead a club like the National Honor Society whose core values are leadership, character, service, and scholarship. Since then, I’ve been giving suggestions to our club advisor on what community service acts we should do, like cleaning up the park and teaching children to read. This experience gave me the courage to act whenever possible. I would need this in the tech industry where every project is action-packed, from building databases to creating apps. Lastly, I was the president of Salem High School’s writing club, Writer’s Oasis. This club was started last year when I gave my former NHS advisor the idea to start it. Ever since, I’ve been an eager and active president, writing my work and hearing others’ ideas through prose and poetry. You may be wondering how a writing club would help me succeed in the tech industry. One of the most alluring things about the field is that not everything has to be tech-based. There was creativity in projects that later became popular on the tech market. My writing talent will contribute to story-driven projects like an app and computer games. I imagine that I won’t have to write on paper anymore but to transfer this idea from my head to the project. Now that I’ve listed evidence of my growth, could I become a successful leader in my chosen industry? I am confident that the answer is yes. And as you could see, I don’t plan on having one role in the industry. I want to be a team player, programmer, software developer, game designer, and leader. The scholarship money will contribute to these goals. Until then, I’ll continue to practice being a leader.

Can an introverted girl become one of the most successful leaders in the tech industry? I’ve been introverted all my life. This was a huge jump from me being shy to being a confident visionary, especially in fields like computer programming or software development. To answer this question, let me share the significant progress I’ve made to break out of my shell during my high school career. These things include being a secretary for SkillsUSA, being the president of the National Honor Society, and being the president of a writing club. These tasks were challenges in their way. First, I was recently made president of the National Honor Society at Salem High School. Our club has always been made of a few people due to the difficulty of getting into it. Since last year, I was only a member. Suddenly, I was made a president because our former president couldn’t be in the school anymore. I was shocked by the news when I got to lead a club like the National Honor Society whose core values are leadership, character, service, and scholarship. Since then, I’ve been giving suggestions to our club advisor on what community service acts we should do, like cleaning up the park and teaching children to read. This experience gave me the courage to act whenever possible. I would need this in the tech industry where every project is action-packed, from building databases to creating apps. Lastly, I was the president of Salem High School’s writing club, Writer’s Oasis. This club was started last year when I gave my former NHS advisor the idea to start it. Ever since, I’ve been an eager and active president, writing my work and hearing others’ ideas through prose and poetry. You may be wondering how a writing club would help me succeed in the tech industry. One of the most alluring things about the field is that not everything has to be tech-based. There was creativity in projects that later became popular on the tech market. My writing talent will contribute to story-driven projects like app and computer games. I imagine that I won’t have to write on paper anymore but to transfer this idea from my head to the project. Now that I’ve listed evidence of my growth, could I become a successful leader in my chosen industry? I am confident that the answer is yes. And as you could see, I don’t plan on having one role in the industry. I want to be a team player, programmer, software developer, game designer, and leader. The scholarship money will contribute to these goals. Until then, I’ll continue to practice being a leader.

I usually forget to express gratitude toward something. I do this because I only consider the purpose of something and not because of how special it is to me. In my efforts to increase my gratitude, I pay extra attention to the things I have and record three things I’m grateful for in my journal weekly. To increase my gratitude, I put more focus on the items that I’m using or are near me. An item like my computer is the perfect thing to start with. Instead of only thinking about its purpose, I think about how it served me well in the past and how many others don’t have a computer like this. I could do it with other items too like my pencil box and journal. I can also think about people in the same way. Secondly, I record three things I’m grateful for once a week. Three things may seem too low for you, and the kicker is I do it once every week! But three things are enough for me because if I had the option of more things, I would put in items that would seem less important according to the grand scheme of my life. And making this a weekly practice is a good thing for me so I could look back on my week and see the most important things that turned out to be important instead of only focusing on one day and having a limited insight. These don’t seem like much to you, but they serve as an extra mile for me. Doing these practices increase my gratitude, compassion, insightfulness, and productivity. You can try them too! But you don’t have to do the exact things I did.

The historical person I admire the most was no small person. He was an emperor and a philosopher at the same time. He was Marcus Aurelius, and I admire him because of his life, work, and values. Aurelius was born in Rome. He was destined for social distinction. He was adopted along with his brother by Antoninus Pius, the emperor at the time. He was marked as a future joint emperor at 17 although he wasn’t to succeed until 40. While being an apprentice to Antoninus, he read “Diatribai (Discourses)” by Epictetus. In this way, Marcus was able to find philosophy as his chief interest. When he became emperor, he was able to work through wars, the plague, and the demoralization of the people even while he had a chronic illness. I interpreted his story as an example of the mindset he had and other people like him. Another great thing about him is that he wrote “Meditations”, one of the most important philosophical works that came from his era. This book kept a record of his thoughts during his chaotic reign. In it, Marcus told himself unattainable goals he had and tied himself down to service & duty. It contained how Marcus saw the world, which was a reflection of the philosophical school called Stoicism. This philosophy is what I’m currently studying and I’ve already experienced the benefits it had on me. It can be seen in “Meditations” that he valued virtue, kindness, love, duty, & service. I think these are values we can all possess. Even 2,000 years later, the ideas in “Meditations” are still relevant.

There are a few things I want to do in the future. And part of the reason for this is that only 2% of people working in the gaming industry are black. I could not believe my eyes when I saw that statistic on the internet. If I made it into the tech industry now, I could be part of less than 5% of people who are black. I have specific career goals that relate to four years of my technology education: Introduction to Digital Tech, Computer Science Principles, AP Computer Science, and my internship at RCA Engravings. With a Computer Science degree and programming & development skills, I want to work at a specific company, work on my projects, and sell what I’ve built. I want to work for a company that helps others develop their careers in the tech industry. Like how my schools helped me develop my skills, I want to do the same for others who look like me. And even if that company doesn’t yet exist, I would be glad to contribute to the creation of that company. Secondly, I want to work on apps, games, computer software, and websites. Having consistent practice to develop my career-related skills is important to me and the company I’ll be working for. And from this practice, I’ve already built a medical database, a character list app, my portfolio website, and a Flappy Bird copycat. Lastly, I want to be able to sell the highest-quality project I’ve built. I most likely want to sell a game where it would impact the community I’m serving and inspire others. This ripple effect I’d create would then urge others to create things and raise that 2%.

There are a few things I want to do in the future. And part of the reason for this is that only 2% of people working in the gaming industry are black. I could not believe my eyes when I saw that statistic on the internet. If I made it into the tech industry now, I could be part of less than 5% of people who are black. I have specific career goals that relate to four years of my technology education: Introduction to Digital Tech, Computer Science Principles, AP Computer Science, and my internship at RCA Engravings. With a Computer Science degree and programming & development skills, I want to work at a specific company, work on my projects, and sell what I’ve built. I want to work for a company that helps others develop their careers in the tech industry. Like how my schools helped me develop my skills, I want to do the same for others who look like me. And even if that company doesn’t yet exist, I would be glad to contribute to the creation of that company. Secondly, I want to work on apps, games, computer software, and websites. Having consistent practice to develop my career-related skills is important to me and the company I’ll be working for. And from this practice, I’ve already built a medical database, a character list app, my portfolio website, and a Flappy Bird copycat. Lastly, I want to be able to sell the highest-quality project I’ve built. I most likely want to sell a game where it would impact the community I’m serving and inspire others. This ripple effect I’d create would then urge others to create things and raise that 2%.

Everywhere you go, people always need help, including you. I remember a time when I thought I didn’t need help and that I should do all my assignments myself. Until a teacher’s assistant told me that I did need help with an assignment, I gave in and accepted the help. Nowadays, when I look at other people who are struggling with their projects, I become more aware of their need for help. Thus, I helped contribute to the Foreign Language Festival where each of our projects looked good to outsiders. And I’m currently working on being more aware of my own need for help. When we help others, it gives them an idea to help people like them who're struggling. Several years back, my family visited a man with the same origins as us except he was stuck in a wheelchair. When he was struggling to fill his fridge with food, my family and others gave him all kinds of food, from bagels to pasta. And one memory that stuck to me was when our family and the man were watching TV. Out of the blue, the man opened a bag of bagels and looked at one of my sisters. He said, "Do you want one?" My sister shook her head. The man then said, "It's good" as he was referring to the bagels. Even though he was the one that we were trying to help, he became the helper when he offered my sister a bagel. It showed me that throughout our lives, we could switch positions anytime.

My nickname is Simi. The 'S' is for secretive. I don't tell others about my business. When I do, it would be in text form. The 'I' is for imaginative. I daydream all the time, but I have a tough time translating my thoughts onto paper. 'M' is for mindful. I am quite aware of myself. Evidence for this is having multiple journals that serve as a record of my experiences and thoughts. It is easy for me to know a lot about myself through them. Lastly, 'I' is for insightful. Even in everyday things like my computer, I can connect them with philosophical ideas.

As I was sitting at the homework table with my computer open, my mom entered the room and showed me these sheets of paper. It was my hospital bill that listed the number of $1000. “Simi,” my mom said, “If you continue to visit the hospital, we’ll be in debt.” Right after I went back to school, my mom was sorting out the remnants of my first suicide attempt. When I was at the hospital, I didn’t know my visit would cost that much. The reason I attempted suicide was that I never accomplished anything big in my life yet. I had my perfect A’s and exemplary student track record, but I still viewed myself as too ordinary to accomplish anything big. And I thought my family’s situation had something to do with it. But despite all this, I dreamed that one day, I would accomplish something newsworthy like creating a successful gaming company in under-served communities. And I thought that to do it, I would need to invest in quality materials that we didn’t have the money to buy at the time. That fateful day of seeing that hospital bill made me realize that suicide wasn’t the answer. Remembering it daily was all the motivation I needed to keep going. What I should’ve done on that day afterward was use that computer and look for Computer Science materials that would get me to a future I want. This future would include elevating my family up to successes we couldn’t have imagined yet.

Have we all possessed the ability to be indifferent to the bad things that happen to us all along? I’ve been thinking about this question for a year, and the side effect evolved to be one of my best qualities. It was staying in the present moment. What I meant by this was the ability to detach from external events and remain calm on the inside. I’ve thought about this since the middle of 2021, but what fueled this thinking was my endeavor in studying Stoicism, which is the philosophy of maintaining virtue despite worldly changes. How I’ve been improving this skill was by studying this philosophy, focusing on the things in front of me, and dealing with the obstacles that prevented me from doing so. What I’ve found from doing these things was that it wasn’t easy at all, but it was worth the discomfort than getting consumed by the things that commonly stole my joy like my past failures. The rewards that came from this skill were plenty. I didn't worry about my bad grades like how I used to. I paid more attention to my surroundings than before. And I had more focus on my siblings than when I rarely talked to them in the past summer. And I suspected that if someone took this up too, they would see immediate results. My answer to the indifference question was a broad yes, but not everyone will find this so clear or easy. What they can do about it is try the exercises I’ve listed above and see what happens. Even it causing a small change in our moods is a great indicator that it is worth doing.

I knew I had to go to college because most people in my family went to college. That is why I learned quickly that you don’t just go to college so you can get an education, you must be able to do something with that education. There are a few things I want to do in the future. And part of the reason for this is that only 2% of people working in the gaming industry are black. I could not believe my eyes when I saw that statistic on the internet. If I made it into the tech industry now, I could be part of less than 5% of people who are black. I have specific career goals that relate to four years of my technology education: Introduction to Digital Tech, Computer Science Principles, AP Computer Science, and my internship at RCA Engravings. With a Computer Science degree and programming & development skills, I want to work at a specific company, work on my projects, and sell what I’ve built. I want to work for a company that helps others develop their careers in the tech industry. Like how my schools helped me develop my skills, I want to do the same for others who look like me. And even if that company doesn’t yet exist, I would be glad to contribute to the creation of that company. Secondly, I want to work on apps, games, computer software, and websites. Having consistent practice to develop my career-related skills is important to me and the company I’ll be working for. And from this practice, I’ve already built a medical database, a character list app, my portfolio website, and a Flappy Bird copycat. Lastly, I want to be able to sell the highest-quality project I’ve built. I most likely want to sell a game where it would impact the community I’m serving and inspire others. This ripple effect I’d create would then urge others to create things and raise that 2%. These things would make my career for about five years down the line. Service to me includes using my tech skills to help others develop their tech skills. To explore my creativity, I intend to build my projects. And to improve my business skills, I intend to sell my projects. These values shall constitute my mind when I learn at Georgia Tech. I have gotten admission to Georgia State University, but I hope to get into Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech has promised me admission If I can take pre-calculus class from Georgia Virtual School and pass which I am currently taking and I am sure of getting an A in the class. In the past few years, college tuition fees have greatly increased, and it is necessary to get scholarships to go to college these days and that is why I have worked so hard to attain a G.P.A of at least 3.8. Thank you very much for reviewing my application and thank you for allowing me to go to college and pursue my dream.