How have you grown as an individual?
As I mentioned earlier, I don't particularly enjoy writing about myself, but this is a question I'll invariably have to answer at one point or another. So I might as well take a stab at it.
During tenth grade, I began to get a glimpse of all there is to learn. I found learning to be quite fun, and something that I could enjoy without the fear that I'm wasting my time. It has also been proven that learning helps people relax, shockingly even more than meditation! As cliché as it sounds, I began to value the importance of learning and putting in effort, rather than merely the results. At the same time, however, I like the feeling when my peers think I'm smart, so I work toward earning this reputation. (I'm not trying to brag, but I think that if you underqualify your strengths, you also become blind to your weaknesses. Sometimes, I engaged in self-deprecation to others way too much, thinking I was being humble, but I think that actually makes me prouder and faker than ever.)
The struggle for me during the summer from sophomore to junior year was not a will to learn, but finding the resources to channel this motivation. I wanted to learn much more, and fill my brain with all the smart knowledge, so that I feel smart and can demonstrate my knowledge to others. At the time, biology was my predominant interest, so I watched tons of videos by the channel Shomu's Biology (which is a pretty cool channel, by the way). However, I didn't act on this urge to learn more.
This summer, after completing junior year, I did not fill my plan with boring tasks I know I would not be motivated to complete. When I make a plan, all my hopes and thoughts are oriented toward the future, and what I hope to achieve in the future. Instead, I simply started acting. One day, I picked up my dad's old camcorder, and made a video regarding Local Sequence Alignment from a couple lectures I watched online. The quality was really bad (trust me, you can barely see the screen, let alone read my handwriting). However, this gave me a starting point to begin my journey of making videos, which I am continuing to date. I learned that sometimes, when undertaking something which I don't like, the toughest step can simply be to get started. Once a habit is established, it becomes easier to maintain it. Now, I'm maintaining a YouTube channel where I post academic lectures in Hindi. Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/user/ravitsharma! Perhaps it is rather a blessing to have been given the opportunity to just start and act on something this summer. I don't really know exactly what is my own doing and what is just luck. For instance, I was struggling, and ultimately failed to find an internship during summer last year. This year, I luckily was accepted at a startup, and am grateful to have the opportunity to learn with a close-knit team a great deal about implementation of deep learning models as well as companies in general. Had I not been given this opportunity, I would have likely been listless and feel unproductive this summer, just like last year. Sometimes, I suppose, it comes down to luck and opportunity.
In summary, I've come to realize the importance of hard work and effort at a personal level, in addition to the results. I hope to stay genuine and make hard work the essence of who I am.
Looking forward, some of the tasks remaining this summer for me include studying for the SAT and researching more about colleges. Sometimes I find that in being pressured to do something, all the fun is taken out of it, and I lose my intrinsic motivation (search overjustification effect). I've found even myself procrastinating on these tasks, despite the advice stated above. I need a dose of my own medicine. I will keep updating as I work toward these tasks.
During tenth grade, I began to get a glimpse of all there is to learn. I found learning to be quite fun, and something that I could enjoy without the fear that I'm wasting my time. It has also been proven that learning helps people relax, shockingly even more than meditation! As cliché as it sounds, I began to value the importance of learning and putting in effort, rather than merely the results. At the same time, however, I like the feeling when my peers think I'm smart, so I work toward earning this reputation. (I'm not trying to brag, but I think that if you underqualify your strengths, you also become blind to your weaknesses. Sometimes, I engaged in self-deprecation to others way too much, thinking I was being humble, but I think that actually makes me prouder and faker than ever.)
The struggle for me during the summer from sophomore to junior year was not a will to learn, but finding the resources to channel this motivation. I wanted to learn much more, and fill my brain with all the smart knowledge, so that I feel smart and can demonstrate my knowledge to others. At the time, biology was my predominant interest, so I watched tons of videos by the channel Shomu's Biology (which is a pretty cool channel, by the way). However, I didn't act on this urge to learn more.
This summer, after completing junior year, I did not fill my plan with boring tasks I know I would not be motivated to complete. When I make a plan, all my hopes and thoughts are oriented toward the future, and what I hope to achieve in the future. Instead, I simply started acting. One day, I picked up my dad's old camcorder, and made a video regarding Local Sequence Alignment from a couple lectures I watched online. The quality was really bad (trust me, you can barely see the screen, let alone read my handwriting). However, this gave me a starting point to begin my journey of making videos, which I am continuing to date. I learned that sometimes, when undertaking something which I don't like, the toughest step can simply be to get started. Once a habit is established, it becomes easier to maintain it. Now, I'm maintaining a YouTube channel where I post academic lectures in Hindi. Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/user/ravitsharma! Perhaps it is rather a blessing to have been given the opportunity to just start and act on something this summer. I don't really know exactly what is my own doing and what is just luck. For instance, I was struggling, and ultimately failed to find an internship during summer last year. This year, I luckily was accepted at a startup, and am grateful to have the opportunity to learn with a close-knit team a great deal about implementation of deep learning models as well as companies in general. Had I not been given this opportunity, I would have likely been listless and feel unproductive this summer, just like last year. Sometimes, I suppose, it comes down to luck and opportunity.
In summary, I've come to realize the importance of hard work and effort at a personal level, in addition to the results. I hope to stay genuine and make hard work the essence of who I am.
Looking forward, some of the tasks remaining this summer for me include studying for the SAT and researching more about colleges. Sometimes I find that in being pressured to do something, all the fun is taken out of it, and I lose my intrinsic motivation (search overjustification effect). I've found even myself procrastinating on these tasks, despite the advice stated above. I need a dose of my own medicine. I will keep updating as I work toward these tasks.
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