Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback or failure
On a cold winter morning of 2017, when my teammates told me that they didn't want me on the school debate team anymore, my world crumbled into pieces.
Debating had been my passion ever since I stepped into the clubroom in 4th grade. With every weekly session, every lone speech practice, or every show debate, I felt my usual diffident, timid nature wither away like shedding my skin. With every argument and rebuttal, my heart would race and my pupils would dilate, and before I realized what was happening, I had fallen in love with debating. I started to spend my leisure periods at home pondering over global issues or preparing for debate festivals, skipping over more customary teenage interests like video games and dating. Debating held the lion's share of my identity back then, so as expected, the news left me in shock and my heart in shatters.
I would be a liar though if I say that I didn't see this coming, after all, I had been having some troubles with my teammates for a while then. Back at home that day, for the first time in a few years, I broke into tears. All the confidence and self-esteem gone, reduced to atoms. My teammates were among my closest friends, so I started to believe that they were right to kick me out. It seemed like I had not shed my timid skin after all, it was hiding behind this confident outer shell, waiting, biding its time. Inferiority complex crept in, and I started second-guessing everything - in consequence, my grades started to drop as well.
I don't know where I would stand now had I not had my family beside me on those rainy days. Their constant support made me realize that despite everything, I must keep moving ahead. We went on some family vacations, which helped me reorient my focus and stabilize myself.
Once I came to terms with the reality that my only outlet of "Extracurricular activity" was gone, I had the ample opportunity to survey other interests. Embracing the good things I learned from debating and setting aside the tragic memories, I started exploring.
Gardening had been a childhood hobby for me - so I started it again. I also started reading lots of novels -Agatha Christie and Jules Verne became my favorites, and I started finding inspiration in Holden Caulfield and David Copperfield. In due course, when I participated in my first Math Olympiad, a new world opened up to me. Debating had already helped me develop problem-solving skills, so solving olympiad problems felt like a natural second step. Even better, as I started getting selected for national camps, I made new friends. The Math Camp became a second family to me. The pain I received from my debate teammates once was soothed by my new crew. Gossiping till 3 AM or organizing someone's birthday party in the camp - these are precious memories that I will hold dear for the rest of my life.
I had fascinations with Math from middle school, but now the delight of Math doubled for me. How you can solve tough combinatorial problems with ideas of pigeons and holes, or how many beautiful designs we see follow the Golden Ratio - these powers and mysteries of Mathematics seemed almost bewitching. Implications of Math in Physics and Astronomy have enchanted me so much that now I dream of studying these subjects and becoming a practitioner of the Mathematical arts.
My experiences have taught me to look forward, be more optimistic, and believe in myself - and now I try to face every challenge head-on with my newfound confidence. Obstacles are more frequent in one's life than one might assume, I learned. So I have promised myself to never give in to setbacks, explore possibilities and build my future with my hands, brick by brick.