"What's down there?" I asked my mother in Gujarati, my native tongue. I pointed to the floor of our two story house in India-a private pediatrics clinic on the first floor and our home on the second. She nonchalantly replied, "The hospital, honey." Unsatisfied, I asked again. She picked me up and proceeded down the stairs. "See, just our hospital." My fingers pointed upwards towards the ceiling as I asked, "What's up there?" Confused, she replied, "Our home." When I repeated the question, she carried me back upstairs. Immediately, I again asked "What's down there?" When she asserted "the hospital," I grew indignant and began crying. I just wanted to know what lay between the floor and the ceiling.
Perhaps this incident exemplifies me: curious and adamant towards attaining my goals. India was not only my physical birthplace, but also the birthplace of my identity. That clinic shaped my view of the world. Every day I would follow my dad into his office and explore that wondrous land. What was this thingamabob which let me hear the slightest sound or that gizmo which let my dad look inside his patients?
My questions, though, weren't just restricted to the clinic. Indian culture also sparked my curiosity. On Holi, the festival of color, I would go down to the corner store, buy powdered color, and mix it with water. As I mixed the yellow powder with the blue, I made green; this ordinary phenomenon astounded me! On Uttarayan, the day the sun begins traveling northwards in the sky, I would wake up early and fly kites with everyone on the neighborhood rooftops. After managing with quite a bit of effort to put one in the air, I would marvel at the sea of kites in the sky and wonder why I couldn't fly alongside my kite?
With an insatiable curiosity, I immigrated to America at the age of seven. As I grew older, this curiosity began to play a bigger and bigger role in my life. I learned that simply questioning was not enough. I had to be a do-er. I had to go out into the world, to look for answers, and to pursue my interests. Asking "why" is only the beginning. The ways in which one goes about answering those "whys" are what truly matter. With curiosity as my fuel and understanding the physical world around me as my goal, I began my journey.
So far, this journey has been quite fruitful. Along the way, I have learned that color depends on the wavelength of light. Bernoulli taught me how kites fly. Newton taught me the laws that govern motion. Saturday morning lectures at Columbia University have allowed me to delve deeper into my many academic interests, showing me everything from the intricacies of the human brain to the latest theories in quantum physics. Attending Governor's School in the Sciences (Gov School), I discovered chemistry through the scope of Molecular Orbital Theory, and conjured up the math to construct a perfect seventeen-gon with nothing but a straight-edge and compass. I even found out a sure fire way to halt time in its tracks-move at the speed of light. Unfortunately, as I also found out, that was impossible.
I was born with a certain curiosity. As I grew older, I faced the world and pursued my interests. College will enable me to further pursue these interests and gain even more knowledge. Ultimately, I hope to apply all my knowledge and experience towards bettering the world. Sure, Bernoulli, Newton, lectures at Columbia, and Gov School are miles away from my childhood as a three-year-old in India, but I still wonder what lies between the floor and the ceiling. That inquisitive side of me will never fade away.
