Panic arose within my body as the time on the clock started slipping away. I could feel sweat collecting on my hands, which I had been too distracted by my work to have noticed any earlier. We were falling behind, and it would take a miracle for us to win.
It was my first robotics competition, and I was terrified. I was alongside my team, which consisted of myself and a few of my best friends. We were tasked with the goal of stacking three blocks on top of each other. The team and I had spent the past month building, designing and learning how to control the robot we were competing with.
I loved it: the rush of adrenaline, the feeling of anticipation. When I was competing, I had hope to hold on to: that my team might actually win. Despite everything, my favorite part of the whole experience was working together with my team to achieve a common goal.
At this moment, I knew that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. After the competition, I found joy in designing many different robots and watching them do things even humans couldn’t do.
A few months after the competition, my parents bought me a Vex kit to make robots from. I was able to turn my ideas into real life, whether that was making a slingshot or a robot that brought coffee to my dad in the mornings. I also learned how to code by running my robots through mazes made out of cardboard boxes.
Designing, building and coding robots were ways for me to grow my imagination. For the first time ever, I was eager to learn more about a topic, and apply it to random parts of my life. Through this, I was able to learn about what the future of robots holds.
As I started thinking about my future, I began to make a list of hopes and goals. I hope to get into a good college, get good grades and pursue a career I love. Behind these big goals are many little things that I hope to accomplish along the way.
I’ve found it way easier to look at the smaller things I can do. I have learned that these smaller things form the bigger picture, which shapes me into the person I am today, and will keep molding me into the person I want to be in the future.
Remembering to keep in mind the smaller goals has made me so much more positive, and I have the space to be proud of myself when I accomplish the little things, like getting a good grade on a test.
School is not the only place I hope to do well in. I believe that experiencing change and different points of view helps you not only socially, but also in the workplace. This can happen in many ways, but I think that traveling is one of the best ways to have exposure to diversity and alternate ways of life. It will help me look at problems in many different ways, and teach me about different lifestyles, especially when it comes to engineering.
As I got older, I had to face the harsh realities of pursuing a career in engineering. I can remember being so proud to tell people I wanted to be an engineer. This changed one day when I was told,“Engineering is an interesting career, for a woman.”
From that point onward, I told myself that I needed to prove him wrong. I had to show him and all the other people who shared his beliefs that everyone, regardless of their gender, could manage a successful career in engineering.
It’s disheartening to watch young girls around me grow up and feel like there are jobs that they can’t do just because they are women. I hope to be able to make a change in the world and show those girls that they can pursue any career they want to.
