The mechanics of life will be engineered by your passion by Charles

The mechanics of life will be engineered by your passion by Charles - May 2023 Scholarship Essay

When I get to college, I will major in mechanical engineering. Growing up, I’ve always enjoyed doing various activities that involved repairing, constructing, or just using my hands in general. I found interest in tinkering with objects like pens, taking them apart, and figuring out which piece goes where. I also enjoyed trying to create new objects like pulleys and levers using cardboard. Whenever my parents need help setting up furniture and appliances that needed assembling or fixing a loose screw, I will jump at the opportunity to help them and enjoy spending sometimes hours assembling these objects or even just minor things like replacing a light bulb. This was an interest I developed while growing up and has become a major part of my identity. When it was my birthday or Christmas, I’d use the opportunity to ask for Legos just so I could spend hours putting them together. As I grew older, my interest in this hobby grew and led to me discovering mechanical engineering.

I was so excited that I found out there was a profession that exercised my interest; It's that same feeling you get when you find a pair of shoes or purse that perfectly matches your clothes. Now that I’ve found a profession that embodies my interest in repairing and constructing, I started to learn more about it online. I came across YouTubers like Mark Rober and “I Did A Thing” that made engineering look fun by creating extraordinary and interesting machines; machines like a soda dispenser made out of cardboard or a punching glove that shoots off your hand, similar to ironman. I look up to these YouTubers and aspire to do the things they do. This interest also got me into a fair bit of trouble sometimes because I would go out of my way to fix things that didn’t need fixing. For example, when the light switch at my house looked crooked but still functioned, I brought out my toolbox will the full intention of fixing the position of the light switch. This should be a piece of cake right? I felt like I knew what to do since I've been fixing and assembling things all my life. I was filled with confidence and can imagine after I fixing it my parents being happy with me for helping them for fixing something that didn't really need fixing. After removing the outer shell of the light switch, I started to feel more confident... that was until what happened 5 seconds later. I took the bare metal screw driver and proceeded to move it towards the exposed wire of the light switch with the power on. As I felt the electricity course through my hand I realized my mistake. I ended up causing the power in my house to shut off complete with the voice of an angry mother yelling my name from another room.

Though I didn’t really end up fixing problems like the crooked light switch and only ended up making it worse, I had the intention of improving them, which helped me understand my limitations and what I could do to improve my skills. This very same passion I’ve taken while growing up is my main motivation for going to college. In order to be like those YouTubers, fix what I want to fix without making any silly mistakes, and break through my limitations, I need to attend a university with an impressive engineering program that will provide me with the best education possible. If I truly want to become a good engineer and let this part of my identity fully flourish, I need my skills in engineering to be molded by the hands of a competent university so I can truly be good at what I love.