All written assignments should be prepared using Times Roman font, 12 pitch, double spaced, using APA or MLA format.

A good friend of mine once called himself the unrequited lover of the universe. Every

evening, he would gaze beyond our light-polluted skies and into the starry night, hoping for even the

slightest mysteries of our cosmos to unravel through his cheap telescope lens. His unwavering

dedication to astronomy humbled me, particularly as I was confronted by his next question: “What

makes you feel the same way?”

It’s hard to measure up to, or even imagine, this very feeling—this profound longing and

enamor toward the unknown, confounded by a desperate impulse to share this curious love with the

world around us, yet aggravated by a probing restlessness with our textbook-bound framework of

knowledge, largely confined to school curriculum. Today, only one answer possibly allows me to

experience such a vivid range of emotions: mathematics. But truthfully, I didn’t have the compelling

“love at first sight” moment that typically constitutes the awakening of one’s passion.

Up until high school, math was nothing more than a game of speed and mental acuity; there

was nothing inherently attractive about numbers except for the way they would quickly fade once

pieced together “correctly.” I much rather preferred to be a literary critic, well-versed with intricate

written explorations of the human condition; a historian, dissecting warring perspectives that

transcend paralyzing social hierarchies; perhaps a scientist, armed with a keen sense of skepticism

that readily questions all things sure in life. Faced with so many possibilities, I turned away from the

austerity of mathematics to explore subjects that seemed more fitting for an open-ended critical

thinker. To me, math was predictable, and I was good ​enough​ at it.

Upon attending a competition math camp two summers ago, this sense of complacency

would crumble in a matter of days. A crammed schedule of early morning classes and evening study

hours—filled with complex symbols, heavy theorems, and mathematical jargon—tore me away from

ease and familiarity, one subject at a time. It was nothing like the traditional classroom setting I

thrived in. As the only girl and the oldest in the class, I quickly learned that I couldn't shy away from

asking younger students for help; after all, they were some of the brightest kids I'd ever met.

Surprisingly, we bonded quickly. They made fun of how primitive my approach was, like hacking

away at a brick wall with a hammer—brute force, no strategy. In exchange for helping to refine my

methods, they jokingly came to me with combinatorics questions so we could knock out hundreds of

solutions by hand.

Putting aside my pride, I had to first acknowledge how rudimentary my understanding of

mathematics was in order to truly appreciate it. I learned to indulge in the struggle that leads up to a

solution, and even then, I think about it in the shower, over a meal, and sometimes in my sleep, as I

puzzle over my clumsy steps; when it clicks, “impossible” is redefined in mere moments. A subtle

yet incessant interrogation of mankind's fallibility, mathematics has a way of demanding humility

that always leaves room for improvement, a more eloquent solution to any right answer.

With a more tolerant understanding of mathematics, I have forged countless bonds with the

awareness that creative problem-solving comes in many forms, independent of age, ethnicity, culture,

or language. Alongside my Mathletes family at school, I can immerse myself in intricate problems,

friendly showdowns, and animated discussions. With my Chinese school's Math Olympiad class, I

act as an assistant coach who breaks down various concepts from two cultural perspectives. To the

elementary friends that I instruct, I enjoy rambling on about number sense far beyond homework

help, challenging them to tackle problems from unique angles. Carrying these experiences forward,

I’m ready to tackle an unprecedented level of rigor with a new community of like-minded

individuals. But until then, I am only an unrequited lover of mathematics, the language of the

universe.