Undergraduate / A computer engineering degree will enable me to explore much of the world; Life Goals APPLY TEXAS [9]

Please let me know what I should add or delete! Any feedback is welcome!

Considering your lifetime goals, discuss how your current and future academic and extra-curricular activities might help you achieve your goals.

Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated by the capabilities of humans. Unlike any other species, we have the power to create and innovate. I have always found a liking in those who can create and captivate. Art museums were my favorite places to go because my little mind just couldn't escape the astonishment of the beautiful pieces displayed. I loved watching ice skaters and gymnasts use their bodies to display the beauty of humans. But the phenomenon of the human mind that beguiles me the most is technology. Technology is the ultimate manifestation of the human mind as it is something completely created by the minds of humans. From the invention of the compass by the Chinese Han Dynasty to Neil Armstrong on the moon, technology has become a symbol of the progression of humans. This fascination is what spurred my interest in the computer engineering field. This field will allow me to aid humanity and provide hope to mankind.

It is easy to state that there are many problems with this world. Much of these problems require critical thinking and creativity. Both these qualities are highly utilized in computer engineering and in my everyday life. In the past four years I have engaged myself in many competitions that utilize the critical thinking aspect. HOSA competition was one that I was able to use my prior knowledge and the mind to incur solutions to everyday problems via healthcare. Other clubs such as Mu Alpha Theta(math club) and Chemistry club has further spurred my imagination to solve problems using only the mind. These activities have allowed me to appreciate the capacities of the human mind. My many years in art have developed my creative side tremendously. Being able to create is a skill I work on improving every day. I love the ability to create something from my surrounding. But I have always wanted infuse aesthetics with efficiency. With computer engineering I can integrate the mind and technology to create efficient tools to solve the many problems of humanity.

Many of the problems that we face as humankind originate from the hundreds of people that are suffering, weather it is from disease, hunger, etc. In my perfect world I would want everyone to be happy and satisfied with what they have. Unfortunately this is not a perfect world. Technology can help people but more than that it can give hope to humankind. The continual manifestation of things out of the human mind is a constant reminder that anything is possible. In the past four years, I have partaken in many volunteering organizations. In habitat for humanity, I have helped build four houses for four families in need. Once every month I visit the local homeless shelter and provide breakfast. And every other Sunday I volunteer at a free medical clinic designed solely for those who are not insured. From these experiences I don't only see how my little efforts can brighten their entire day but I see how a sliver of hope can be the catalyst to their future. Computer engineering takes me out of the soup kitchen to create something larger and more spectacular to provide hope.

Everything I was involved in led up to this one decision and it seems that all my other aspirations will flow out of this degree. Getting a degree is not by final goal by far. It is more of the gateway to me fulfilling many more of my dreams. A computer engineering degree will enable me to explore much of the world through a medium that I love thus letting me explore the vast nature of humanity. It will enable me to be at the fore front of a revolution that will aid humanity and provide hope.

Undergraduate / Riding my life on smiles [2]

Any help on this will be welcomed! Also please let me know if this fits the topic! I am really stuck on this for some reason...

Considering your lifetime goals, discuss how your current and future academic and extra-curricular activities might help you achieve your goals.

All my most life changing moments were unpredictable. They all happened at an unpredictable time, with the most unpredictable company, with the most unpredictable of things. This life changing experience happened with a brownie pan.

I held my brownie pan close to chest as I walked up to the hospital steps. My hand shook slightly as I opened the door and was greeted by the cold air conditioned breeze which made me shiver despite the warm pan in my hand. I slowly walked to the front desk, got my badge, and was led to the hospital room.

"Manda will be very glad that you came to visit. She has had a very rough day", the nurse told me as she led me to the door. I had come to the hospital to from a program that my religious institution had set up. Basically, everyone would be given a slip on which a child's name and what they wanted for Christmas. Anyone who knew me knew that I would be all over this opportunity because I volunteered everywhere and anywhere. My slip simply wrote "Manda" and underneath it "Brownies". I thought simple enough. I didn't think much of the trip until I was in front of her door. What if I react wrong? What is she does not like me? So many questions swirled around my brain. I was scared to see her in a state of weakness. I was scared to face the reality of her disease. I slowly breathed in and released it as I mustered all my courage to not run out of the hospital. I balanced the brownie pan in my hand and opened the door.

And there she was. A girl around the age of 12, sitting on her bed with her hospital robe flipping through the channels. She turned to me as soon as I walked in. Immediately I knew that she had suffered from cancer by the effects of chemo on her body. Regardless, the moment I looked at her I felt an angelic presence. Her eyes glittered as she said hello. After I introduced myself I gave her the brownies. And that was the moment she gave me the biggest smile I have ever seen. It was a genuine smile of gratitude. It eternally filled my heart with joy. The brownies took me less than 30 minutes to bake however the result I got from it will last me an eternity. I had not realized it before, but my entire high school life was filled with me volunteering at the food bank, the homeless shelter, and a free clinic. I was signing up to help the community right and left. It was engrained in me to always want to help. I realized after this experience that all I wanted to do with my life is to know that I left a legacy. I have no intention in becoming a leader but I do fully intend to leave an imprint in as many lives as I can. Weather it is to bring brownies to sick patients in the hospital or build a school for the underprivileged kids in Bangladesh (a goal I one day wish to achieve) or paint a picture for my mom or even build new technology for the world(many of my life goals), I feel the most warmth when I know that somebody smiled because of me. Many people tell me that riding me future on peoples smiles and satisfaction can be unsatisfactory however I know that it is my comfort zone. This is when I feel the most happy. All my life I have been doing things for the community, for the smiles and for my legacy. It just seems the most pragmatic to lead my life the way that I can be the most happy, the most satisfied. There is so much sadness and darkness in the world. I want to get that same feeling I got when I gave that girl the brownies.

Undergraduate / APPLY TEXAS ESSAY: HOW SOME OBSTACLES IN MY LIFE HAVE CHANGED ME? [3]

this is a very rough draft...this is my last essay and i just need help getting on track. ANY FEEDBACK IS WELCOME THANK YOU

Describe a circumstance, obstacle or conflict in your life, and the skills and resources you used to resolve it. Did it change you? If so, how?

For the past few months I have been engaged in the most challenging battle against the one and only, time. As a high school student I feel like it was necessary for me to be involved in anything that comes my way. Take advantage of every opportunity that some my way. Live with no regrets. However I soon realized my obstacle: I was losing sight of what actually mattered to me.

Very recently I lost one of my best friends in the entire world. Her death was the first one to really hit home in my heart. She had been ill with a heart condition since she was two years old. Slowly, her body was weakening and the string of life was getting closer to be cut. Everyone had been anticipating her death for many many years as the doctors vowed that she will not live long. However even with this knowledge, my family was hit hard with her passing. Initially I questioned myself about many things. What would have I said to her if I knew that would be the last conversation? What would have happened if I had went to visit her once in those loast our years? Was there any trace of disappointment, sadness directed toward me when she passed? However the question that bred most of my energy was where time had gone? She lived across the globe in Bangladesh and I hadn't seen her in almost 4 years. Up until these past four years, I had made it a priority to visit my family at least once every two years. Every break something would come up, a competition or exams or SAT prep, etc, and I would delay that trip. I subconsciously put the thing that really mattered to me in the backwheel. Before I knew it my time was up. My visiting period had closed. The door had been shut in my face. This was the first time in many monthes and years that I actually sat down and reevaluated my life. I had realized that my life was becoming just a checklist. I was initially becoming involved in all the art clubs and competions and voluterring because I loved things like that. They all started out as passion however led to something that was just part of a checklist which was my life. Life is supposed to be made by squeezing the essence of what matters the most yet I felt as if I was squeezing it so hard that all the juice had already been quenched. I realized that time was slipping by me. My cousin's death not only reminded me of morality but also of how I was neglecting the things that mattered most to me. That was the biggest obstacle for me. It scared me to think that I was spending my life doing things that had no meaning. Time was running however I felt stuck in place. I came to the realization that humans only progress when they engage in things they love, when they know what their priorities and can perform every action with passion.

And so I turned my life around. I prioritized. Every time I signed up for a volunteering shift I made sure to put my heart into it. Because sooner or later my string of life will be cut. I need to die knowing that I did everything because I loved it. I want to die loving life. I want to die knowing that time did not defeat me. I defeated time.