Why do I love math? Without math, we would lack numerous experiences, opportunities, and skills that we consider essential in our daily lives. I appreciate math because it unites people of all cultures, provides abundant opportunities for marginalized communities of women, and improves our critical thinking skills. What I love the most about math is how it unites people from different backgrounds. The history of mathematics spans nations. While algebra was developing in ancient Persia, equations were being formed in ancient Egypt. While India began the first use of the number zero, China began to incorporate the use of negative numerals. As the years have passed, nations have intertwined their discoveries to contribute to the study of mathematics. In the modern age, no matter our different backgrounds, the mathematics we use will always be similar and unite us as one. Furthermore, I love how math has given women like me opportunities to pursue. It all began with Hypatia, the first woman to become a mathematician. Despite the discrimination she faced for her identity as a woman in ancient Egypt, she prevailed and pursued her career as a mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher. Since the time of Hypatia, many women followed courageously in her footsteps including the likes of Sophie Germain. Despite disapproval from the societal standards of womanhood and her parents, Mrs. Germain spent her time studying mathematics throughout her childhood. She bravely pursued a career as a mathematician. Through her diligent studies, she became a pioneer of the elasticity theory and the first mathematician to devise a plan for successfully proving Fermat’s Last Theorem. Math has provided women like me to pursue numerous career opportunities. In addition, I love math as it has improved my critical thinking skills. Mathematics is an essential part of every day-to-day task. Without the thinking skills math has provided us with, we would struggle to complete simple tasks like preparing meals. Even something mundane as this involves specific measurements and calculations that only the critical thinking skills provided by mathematics can offer. Mathematics is an essential component of enhanced critical thinking. In conclusion, I love math for several reasons. Without math, we would lack many of the experiences, opportunities, and skills that we consider to be essential. I adore math because it unites people of all cultures, provides abundant opportunities for marginalized communities of women, and improves and enhances critical thinking skills.

Has one ever overcome an obstacle that helped later in life? I have an example of an obstacle from my own life that has later gave me inspiration to pursue several musical degrees. Despite this obstacle, I persevered through this with my passion for music. When I was a child, I had a speech disorder, and I overcame this by singing in the choir. Growing up, I struggled with my speech. When I did try to speak, my speech was unintelligible and disorganized. Despite the speech therapy I received, I still struggled with speaking. I would mispronounce my words, and my peers had no problem pointing out my flaws, and because of this, throughout my childhood, I did not have a single friend. Throughout my childhood, I struggled with these speech difficulties, which had an impact on my peer relationships. In order to overcome my speech difficulties, I joined the school choir. When I first had the courage to join choir, I felt very nervous since all my life I had been mocked for how I spoke. Despite this, I knew that joining choir was one of my last options to improve my speech, especially since no other choice seemed to work for me. It was in that choir that I discovered that I was not alone. Everyone struggled with speech in one way or another, whether it was diction or pitch. Through choir, I was able to overcome my speech difficulties and feel like I belonged. Though I struggled at first, after only a few months in choir, my voice and speaking abilities started to improve. Not only did I no longer need any speech therapy, but I began to far exceed my peers. I managed to stay in the top quarter of my class while taking rigorous honors, dual-enrollment, and Advanced Placement classes. Also, due to my hard work, I won many awards including the Elmira College Key Award for merit and the Lycoming College Faculty Award. Despite the struggles I faced, I managed to persevere and gain many achievements along the way. Through this experience I discovered my passion for music and developed my background in music. I continued to pursue choral music by participating in all-state honor, district, and county choirs. I also completed a semester at the Uptown Music Collective, a music school in Williamsport, PA. In addition, I pursued my interests in other instruments including the alto and tenor saxophone by participating in concert band, county band, and Mansfield University’s Saxophone Camp. This experience has inspired me to pursue music as a career, so that I may impact the lives of children who suffer from language disorders by improving the treatment for speech disorders. I will do this by continuing my research on the correlation between the childhood development of the Broca’s and Wernickle’s areas, the brain regions responsible for language production and comprehension, and music education. I plan on continuing my research throughout my years in college and my career as a music professor. In summary, I have overcome my speech difficulties by singing. Though I struggled with speech difficulties at first, through choir, I was able to improve, and as the years have passed, I have succeeded because of my efforts. This experience taught me how to cope with my emotions, and it gave me resilience. Both qualities have prepared me for challenges that I will face along with being a first-generation college student pursuing a bachelors and masters in music education and a doctoral of musical arts in choral conducting.