I did not know anything about chess until I was nine years old, when a friend introduced me to it. I remember sitting on a chair for twenty minutes straight, looking at the 64 black and white squares, and the 32 black and white pieces, and saying to myself: “This is going to be a life-changing journey.” Six years later, I am a U12 World Chess Champion, a New York State Junior High School Champion, a New York City High School Champion, and a member of the 2018 and & 2020 All-American Chess Teams. I have also co-founded chess4unity.com, a website-based program aimed at expanding opportunities for young chess players. Yet I am someone who takes more pride in the journey than in the destination. After all, awards only serve to validate the work you put in. Chess is a game that requires critical thinking, abstract reasoning, and strategic planning. In addition, off-the-board attributes of character such as sportsmanship and calmness are just as important as chess knowledge. Learning to respect all of your opponents, regardless of their playing strength, is a good tactic on and off the board. Chess has also taught me how to look at situations from multiple perspectives. As a chess player, you must be open-minded in your evaluations and decisions. Keeping your emotions in check is also crucial in chess. Translating this concept to life helps me make better and more rational decisions. Another key skill is knowing how to react when adversity hits. Both on the board and off the board, adversity shows up all the time, and when it does, you must maintain composure and prevent your emotions from driving you to make regrettable decisions. To compete at a high level in chess, a player must be consistent. Consistency does not mean you must play in a conventional way. It simply means that you must get up when you fall down. Chess tournaments usually consist of multiple rounds. In other words, you have multiple opportunities to bounce back, particularly after a loss. But too many times, a loss results in another loss, then another loss, and then, before you know it, you end up losing more than half your games. Trust me: I have experienced this phenomenon multiple times, and it is not fun. Losing is much easier than winning. Descending is much easier than ascending. This is why consistency is so important. Losing once is no big deal. But you cannot let the bleeding continue, as rising back up requires ten times more effort. My long-term goal is to major in psychology, as I always had a fascination with the human brain. We have only scratched the surface of the human brain and I hope to strive towards unlocking its full potential. Soon we will discover the mysteries behind laughter, dreams, and memories. Becoming a psychologist is at the top of my list of professions. I strongly believe that utilizing skills I learned from chess such as objectivity, patience, and consistency will help me stand out and rise to the top.