Undergraduate / "The trouble is, you think you have time"; essay about myself. G-PA [3]

Tell us a story that helps us better understand a person, place, or thing you find inspiring-my G-PA

"The trouble is, you think you have time," prophetically states Jack Kornfield in Buddha's Little Instruction Book. Through recent experience, I found the proverb to be true. A year ago, my family was presented with the inevitable case of my grandfather's death. Over the years, distance and age pulled me away from my relationship to this man; it wasn't until his death that I realized the significant impact he has made on my life, evident by his willingness to teach me, his example of an honest lifestyle, and his connection with his faith.

Growing up, grandpa used to sell tea at the local train station in Kerala, India. While his mom was out earning 2 rupees a day, he used to go from house to house cleaning dishes. By doing so, he earned enough to sign up for civil engineering courses at the College of Engineering in Kidangoor. As my prime inspiration, my Grandpa and I share one critical factor. That is, our struggle to support of families when we were young. While he had to support his family in India, I had to support mine when we first arrived in America. This profound connection forced me to seek valuable life lessons he had learned throughout his childhood and to encompass them into mine. Whether over the phone, or on skype, he would never give up a moment to teach me. His narratives have inspired me to overcome my adversity, while staying honest and regarding the wellbeing of those around me.

Undergraduate / What is a small goal I hope to accomplish in the near or far future? Sleep. [2]

Tell us about a small goal you hope to achieve, whether in the next 10 days, 10 months, or 10 years. (250 Words)

Any advice would help!

Do I get enough sleep? No, but sometimes when I sneeze my eyes close. Sleep and I got along well when I was younger, but I cheated on it with school, friends, and the internet; now I hold a harmful relationship with another, one who leaves me staring at my colorless walls- restlessness.

It wasn't always like this. As a child, I could count sheep, fall asleep, and wake up in 8 hours. Now I count test dates, cry myself to sleep, and wake up in 5 hours.

I pondered on many things before I slept. Ironically, I found peace in doing so. I called my bed the "Think Box." Here I played scenes in my head, made plans for the next day, asked myself a lot of questions- does Emily from recess like me? I debated the laws of physics. I probably found the meaning to life somewhere in my endless thoughts but was probably too tired to write it down.

These days I stay awake on a new bed: stressed about the test the next day, worried about how I'm going to complete a project, anxious about asking Emily to prom. I don't tear up when I yawn because of a natural reflex, but because I miss the days when I slept without fear or worry of tomorrow- the days when my mind could be at peace.

One night, I hope to return to this state of tranquility- and with it, get a good night's rest.

Undergraduate / Working on puzzles had helped me gain focus, determination, and patience. Essay For Common App. [2]

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

I hit a boy with a soccer ball in the third grade after he said "you can't kick a ball"- safe to say he would never accuse me of a physical impotency ever again. I saw blood, he saw blood. I was too young to face the reality of what I had done, and I was unable to find a practical way to acknowledge things that upset me. It wasn't until my grandpa began losing his memory that I found stability- how ironic.

Grandpa always wanted to do puzzles with me. Initially, I was reluctant. As a child, who knew he had the world figured out, I dismissed the idea of doing puzzles with my Grandpa. Little did I know, puzzles were the best way to delay the symptoms of his disease.

All puzzles have an algorithm, there is a strategy, a process. First, locate the edge pieces. By finding the structure, you find a way to begin. After that, find a common color arrangement or an area that is simple to take on. Place all the pieces that fit this area; essentially, complete a puzzle within the puzzle.

Our biggest accomplishment was the recreation of "The School of Athens". Not a painting, but a 6,000 piece jigsaw puzzle. During its construction, there were many times I wanted to quit. The most simple section had a group of scholars, teasing me. Pythagoras and his students in the second section was also excruciating, but the most difficult task of the puzzle was the last: distinguishing Plato and Aristotle among a pearly yet dull background. Over 1000 pieces of the same shade of white pushed me to my limits. The puzzle was daunting me; the battle became personal. Through all this, I was prone to giving up. Every time the thought of abandoning the puzzle arrived, remnants of the distraught feeling I felt in third grade returned- completing the puzzle was the only viable option.

Suddenly, puzzles took on a new meaning. I had finally found a constructive way to deal with things that troubled me. When I moved schools, my only source of placidity came from jigsaw puzzles. Once, twice, three times; I finished a puzzle, gave it a look, then tore it apart to start over, finishing it faster each time.

As years went by, puzzles were no longer puzzles. I began to see puzzles all around me and I approached them the only way I knew how. Every day in Calculus, I stare at the problem until I can find some way to begin it, locate the edge pieces, using the right pieces to solve my problem. In chess, I see the second move before the first one is made, accompanying my moveset to my opponent's. It's very tiresome but I find comfort in knowing that it's just a puzzle.

Years and years of doing this and I began to see less blood. I filled the hollowness I encountered in third grade, and with it, I gained a new interest. Working on puzzles had helped me gain focus, determination, and patience. My love for computer science stems largely from this. Programming requires the same logical and pragmatic approach that puzzles do. A computer cannot think, so in order to get it to do any useful work, one must provide it with a program. A program is a list of instructions that describe how to solve a problem, and as an individual who grew up solving problems, I excelled in this area.