Soon however, when I was in eighth grade, my academic interests in the fields of science began to call to me.It all began when I picked up the book “A Brief History of Time”, written by none other than the great Stephen Hawking. When I first opened the book, I expected to breeze through the chapters as I did with every other book I used to read. However this time was different. The way the text appeared to me seemed different, and it took me almost twice as long to process the words that Stephen Hawking had written down. Slowly, but surely, I flipped through the pages and the magnitude of the universe astounded me. I barely understood what I was reading, but it felt great memorizing random physics theories with cool names like the Uncertainty Principle or the Law of Thermodynamics. I knew more than other kids at my age knew, and I felt invincible. Soon, I decided that I wanted to be an astronomer, so I could explore the grand space we occupied in order to discover what was really behind the workings of our universe.

Inevitably, I eventually bought two more books: “The Universe in a Nutshell” and “The Grand Design”, both by Stephen Hawking. From morning to night, I was buried deep in the genius that was Hawking’s mind. My mind was often blown away by the theories that controlled our universe and which made me see the universe in ways that I had never seen it before. The next day, I stepped out the door, and nothing seemed the same. The simplest things, from the leaves rustling to the cold air that blew against my face, could be described by the purpose of a law. I’d look at one event and think entropy or hold a paper clip and think “Wow, that’s a lot of energy right there”. The way I saw my life changed abruptly and my love for physics soared to heights I never thought possible. That was, until I took high school physics.

My first year in physics was a nightmare. I went in expecting to learn conceptual theories detailed in “The Grand Design”; instead, we learned about boring principles regarding vectors, motion, etc. I was terrible at these principles and I yearned to be in Hawking’s Universe. The experience scarred me and made me reconsider if I actually wanted to pursue astronomy. However, after struggling through three years of physics, I learned to love it again and decided that I would be a mechanical engineer. To do what, I wasn’t sure, but I had an idea. Because I grew up with Asian traditions, I was always taught to prepare for the future. Whether that meant studying hard to get a good job or something as simple as recycling, those were the beliefs that I was drilled to believe in.

As a result, I’ve constantly envisioned the numerous possibilities of the future. In one of these visions, I stood on top of the Empire State Building. Looking over the edge, I was able to catch a glimpse of New York City...or at least what was left of it. What used to be “the city that never sleeps” was now a dead-quiet wasteland. The tall buildings that used to scrape the sky in elegance were broken shells of their former selves. Cars were sprawled across the streets and debris was everywhere. The city was in ruins and what was one the capital of the world was gone as if it had never existed. What really struck me though was the intense heat, which brought me to a sweat within seconds. Everything felt too real and I knew that global warming was too real of a threat to humanity’s existence, but I didn’t know what to do.

That was until I stumbled upon the book “Elon Musk : Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Adventure” by Ashlee Vance. With the book in the palm of my hands, I dug in like one would feast at a Thanksgiving dinner. The moment I read the first sentence, I knew that I was in for a ride: “Do you think I am insane?” asked Musk. After the brief introduction, the book began to describe Musk’s difficult childhood and the struggles he had to endure living with his father. This became food for thought because it made me realize that my childhood was rather simple and I had never worked my ass off despite what I thought during state assessments and such. As I flipped through the chapters, my heart began to race and I realized that I couldn’t put the book down. His extraordinary inhuman drive to “save humankind” by utilizing sustainable energy and space exploration spoke to me and inspired me to pursue the same goal. There was nothing that Elon Musk wouldn’t do and nothing he wouldn’t sacrifice to complete his vision, and I figured that I must pursue my aspirations with the same drive that he displayed.

All in all, I still remember when all I did in middle and high school was hang out and shoot hoops as the sun fell through the sky. I regret not doing much more and realizing my dream earlier. But, the book unearthed my life goal and I feel a sense of drive within me that I had never felt before. Now, I want to do as much as I possibly can so I too can “save mankind”.