This is what I have so far, feedback would be greatly appreciated.
As a child, I heard the phrase, "curiosity killed the cat" quite a lot of times. Instead of just accepting it as the other children did, my thoughts were more along the lines of, "it's got nine lives, why not lose a life or two for being curious." This is the way I have approached life: taking risks and getting burned; rinse and repeat.
My dreams, goals, and ambitions, least of all my curiosities have presented themselves to me in a single subject: computer science. I have been working, playing, and learning with computers since I was 5. Ever since I drew a caterpillar on Windows 3.1x and then broke the computer the next day with an upside down floppy-disk, computers have been the epicenter of my passion and drive.
I have progressed through my love of computers. From drawing caterpillars in grade school, to learning MS Office applications in middle school, to programming in C#, C++, Java, etc. in high school, I feel that my journey is not yet over. There is much more out there that I have not learned, and it would be the greatest honor for me if Caltech was the next stepping stone. Through computer science, I don't aim for riches or glory, but knowledge.
Some people sleepwalk, I sleep-program. There are times at night when I wake up with an idea or inspiration, and I lumber over to the computer and write a few lines of code, then go back to sleep. Some people may suggest psychological help with this, but I view it as a way of my subconscious expressing itself, as I can see myself in every program I create, every line of code I write. I put my best work and effort into computer science, hoping that one day I can do for computer science what it has done for me.
Now, I am still learning; I still make mistakes and am far from perfect. I am proud to say that I'm not perfect, because the moment you believe you have achieved perfection, is the moment you stop aspiring for it. Now, if I hear "curiosity killed the cat," I can smugly reply, "satisfaction brought it back."
As a child, I heard the phrase, "curiosity killed the cat" quite a lot of times. Instead of just accepting it as the other children did, my thoughts were more along the lines of, "it's got nine lives, why not lose a life or two for being curious." This is the way I have approached life: taking risks and getting burned; rinse and repeat.
My dreams, goals, and ambitions, least of all my curiosities have presented themselves to me in a single subject: computer science. I have been working, playing, and learning with computers since I was 5. Ever since I drew a caterpillar on Windows 3.1x and then broke the computer the next day with an upside down floppy-disk, computers have been the epicenter of my passion and drive.
I have progressed through my love of computers. From drawing caterpillars in grade school, to learning MS Office applications in middle school, to programming in C#, C++, Java, etc. in high school, I feel that my journey is not yet over. There is much more out there that I have not learned, and it would be the greatest honor for me if Caltech was the next stepping stone. Through computer science, I don't aim for riches or glory, but knowledge.
Some people sleepwalk, I sleep-program. There are times at night when I wake up with an idea or inspiration, and I lumber over to the computer and write a few lines of code, then go back to sleep. Some people may suggest psychological help with this, but I view it as a way of my subconscious expressing itself, as I can see myself in every program I create, every line of code I write. I put my best work and effort into computer science, hoping that one day I can do for computer science what it has done for me.
Now, I am still learning; I still make mistakes and am far from perfect. I am proud to say that I'm not perfect, because the moment you believe you have achieved perfection, is the moment you stop aspiring for it. Now, if I hear "curiosity killed the cat," I can smugly reply, "satisfaction brought it back."
