Undergraduate / USC ESSAY. #Reflect on an accomplishment you achieved in an unlikely way. [2]

Thomas Edison failed many times before successfully inventing the modern electric light bulb. He said, "If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward." Reflect on an accomplishment you achieved in an unlikely way.

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My extreme hunger for electronics led me to never give up and explore new ways to accomplish the things I want. When I see a computer, a camera or even an electric guitar, I yearn to rip off their screws and then spot the maze hidden inside of them. At first, when I approached to their labyrinth, neither a person nor a sign I could perceive to lighten my way. Two options abruptly appeared in my mind: I could either go back or bravely accept this struggle and push myself forward. I was on the crossroads. I chose to struggle with that and be a decisive and productive person although I knew I might fail a lot.

Computers couldn't swiftly spread out in my country. I was privileged as one of the earliest owners of it. But nobody knew how to use them and what they were capable of doing. There was a button to open it and then the scary English letters of Windows would come to the screen. When my mother cooked, I secretly opened the computer and tried to learn how to use it. First thing I discovered was the famous game, Minesweeper. Until I succeed in completing this game, I remember I failed bunch of times. The discovery of that game relaxed my family and let me get my family's permission to use the computer anytime I want. The more I spent time on it the more exploration I made. I once disrupt the Microsoft Office when I was trying to change its options but I learned how to fully use the Microsoft Office in 1996 by myself and taught many people when I was six.

The Bios screen was always a mystery for me. To go beyond that black screen was my dream since I knew there was something extreme. I was able to do numerous things but never tried to reach beyond that first screen which appears when one opens a computer. There were some warnings telling if I try to go beyond that screen, it may cause my computer to break down. However, I reached that screen. I remember I saw the terms called '' FSB and MULTIPLIER ''

I carefully took the processor from its socket out even though I didn't know it was the processor and there was no one that could show how to do that. It had golden pins under it. I realized I broke one of those pins when I'm taking it out. Two weeks later, I found the small pin on the carpet and thought of welding it to the processor. My father found a goldsmith and let him do that task. In the end, the processor was alive again.

I over-clocked an 800mhz processor to 1190mhz by raising the front side bus (FSB) which carries data between the processor and the motherboard. The temperature of the overall system greatly increased and suddenly the motherboard boomed. I was working as a computer technician and making some money. So I bought another motherboard. I never let the new motherboard die; it is even alive today even though it has undergone many experiments of mine too.

I realized the thermal paste on the processor was used for the transaction of the heat from the processor to the cooling fan. So I thought maybe I could change the amount of that liquid and may lower the temperature this way. Finally, I could lower the temperature three degrees by applying the thermal paste more carefully. Next step was to raise the speed to 1230mhz. To be able to reach that speed, a better cooling system and extra voltage for the processor was needed. After many attempts, numerous failures, loss of a processor, I produced a nitrogen based cooling system and pulled the processor temperature down to -15C. This system is still alive too and can work like a 1230mhz processor although its original speed is 800mhz.

I failed many times from the beginning to the end. I had to adjust every single option and be very careful. I was alone and discovering something serious by myself. Mistakes were unavoidable. I always thought positively that I'll definitely succeed because I'm on it. My belief is that a fail is knowledge and an experience which will help you accomplish next time.

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I just could find time to write an essay and need to submit that until tomorrow. I'd greatly appreciate if anyone can help me make this essay clearer, effective and grammatically correct. Also, I want to know if you can really understand what I'm talking about since the subject I choose is not a thing that everybody knows of. Any advice is appreciated!

Undergraduate / Tesla #THE PERSON THAT INFLUENCED ME MUCH# [4]

The usual prompt of many colleges. Write an essay in which you tell us about someone who has made an impact on your life and explain how and why this person is important to you.

If you help me to make this essay perfect, I'll really appreciate : )

TESLA

There were always some names, but none of them could influence me much
more than his name. Nikola Tesla is a unifying force in my mind, not only by
his massive works of science, but also by his distinguished personality. His
presence on my being has had very significant impacts on all aspects of my
life. His vision that goes beyond imaginable world made me more open-minded,
his commitment to what he believed lead my devotion to my works and the
authentic character of him inspired mine.

Every time Nikola Tesla declared his plans in public, he was criticized
by being unrealistic. In 1892, Nikola Tesla successfully managed to create a
basic design for the radio. What astonished people was that there was a robot
with an antenna, which transmitted the radio waves. As he claimed, waves could
be transmitted without wires. This invention captivated the whole world. I am
enchanted by his approach to his aims; he assumes they will come through even
though there weren't any colons to support his thesis at that time. To dream it
was the first and most crucial step before creating any tangible scheme for his
works. He wasn't a mad scientist. His belief in what people called '
absurd ' was indeed an unseen vision of his thinking. What he did see wasn't
the next step of his experiments but the future. He never let his ideas stuck
in a cage but he set them free because innovations could only be made if he
nomads out of prison of limited visions. After diffusing into his mentality, I
become a very unique person in terms of ideas. In my physics class, instead of
just memorizing formulas-that was what our teachers wanted us to do-I started
to derive them and amazed all of my teachers. I sensed how scientists created
those formulas and then connected to each other. I've read about groundbreaking
aims of scientists such as Einstein and began to think about their dreams as
those ideas may come through one day. Realizing that anything, including things
seem impossible, is possible, I started to admit that any idea of mine is
indeed tangible and feasible as long as I have those ideas.

Tesla had many difficulties during his life. He suffered from many
physical and psychological diseases. To resist against those issues, he showed
an incredible desire and endurance to not allow his illnesses stop him. He
assumed that there are no barriers for his success. I was in high school when I
first met Tesla. My physics teacher was talking about him like a regular
person, telling that he was just the father of the some physics formulas. I
remembered I came home and looked up on the internet. What I found out was that
he was indeed million times bigger than my teacher descriptions. There was no
scale to depict his size. He was a scientist who reached his dreams with full
desire instead of fear. Tesla was one of the fewest scientists fully devoted to
his dreams. A scientist that people tried to end his reign just because
they were afraid of his ideas that go beyond the reality, however, Tesla never
let anyone stop him. As I've read about him, I've become stable, durable, and
strong. Whenever I have a barrier, like a health issue or a discouragement
caused by people, I remembered of him and kept fighting.

When he did engage in a social life, many people spoke very positively and
admiringly of him. Robert Underwood Johnson described him as attaining a
"distinguished sweetness, sincerity, modesty, refinement, generosity, and
force." His loyal secretary, Dorothy Skerrit, wrote: "his genial smile and
nobility of bearing always denoted the gentlemanly characteristics that were so
ingrained in his soul." How is it possible for a man that has experienced
numerous physical and psychological diseases, had many barriers and hardships
in his life, but still could remain like this? The smiley face I have and the
kindness I serve people are mostly his effects on me. When I feel
depressed, stressed or have low morale, I remember of him and let myself
change.

I wish I could witness his life to see more of him. I even wish I could
have chance to work with him. Despite the fact that he died, I believe that I
can still work with him because to work with someone may not necessarily
mean that you need that person alive; you only need the presence of this person
in your mind and should follow or support their vision in life.