The beauty of the board and the pieces have captured my attention ever since I was a child. Their fantastical design fed my imagination with thoughts of being the general of my own army that consisted of knights and kings. With no knowledge of how the game worked, my first interactions with the game of chess consisted of enacting imaginary battles with the pieces. Pawns would storm “towers” and knights would save their queen in distress. Then, my dad taught me the basic rules of the game. He taught me how to move and defend the pieces. The game caught my attention for a time, but after losing countless games to my dad without much progress in skill level, my interest dwindled. Many years later however, after having watched the Netflix show The Queen’s Gambit, my interest was sparked once more. The difference was that this time my understanding of the game had evolved. I finally saw the beauty of it. Like Elizabeth Harmon said in the show: “It's an entire world of just 64 squares”. The endless possibilities of chess fascinated me. How could someone have such control over the nearly infinite amount of moves possible. How can someone always know the best move to play when everything is possible. While it all seemed so overwhelming, chess also gave me a sense of comfort and control. The pieces were mine to control. My own capabilities and brain power were the only things I needed to outplay my opponent. It was an empowering feeling. I had never been so aware that I was capable of learning and getting better at anything. After this realization, the game of chess really opened up for me. I began to understand fundamental concepts of openings, dominating the middle, developing your pieces, placing pieces on spaces where they are most useful, paying attention to what spaces my opponent controlled, etc. This last concept was especially important for me because I was particularly tired of committing atrocious blunders where my queen would be traded for a pawn. The game has become immensely intriguing and fun for me and the way it is played has even inspired me in life outside of chess. In this newfound understanding of the game, I perceived that the skill of planning and analysis were tremendously important in chess. By playing the game, my mastery of those skills became more apparent not only in achieving a checkmate, but planning my day, deciding what to spend my time on and solving a problem. Prior to developing a relationship with chess, I felt overwhelmed during times where I had to manage various things at once. However, with the skills I learned through protecting my pieces and planning an attack on the opposing king, multitasking became substantially easier. I became better at analyzing things and at making a plan that was better suited to achieve what I wanted. Being able to analyze my situation in a clear manner enabled me to discern what the best option was more effectively and accurately. Chess also taught me patience. I realized that a lot of the mistakes I was making while playing were due to lack of patience to analyze everything that was happening on the board. This translated to my everyday life in the way of slowing down and pausing before making a decision. This pause rewarded me with a clear head which led to clearer thinking. With all three of these skills combined, my decision making and planning matured greatly. I had learned to think with a clear head in hectic and overwhelming moments. To analyze the situation more profoundly and make an effective plan. I cannot say that my involvement with chess directly influenced my career goals but it has given my confidence a boost to pursue them. The way my mind became clouded when under pressure or when I was prompted to make a decision had always left me unsettled. It was something that hindered my confidence regarding putting myself in uncomfortable situations where I had to make decisions. Chess arrived to clear my cloudy mind and give way to blue skies. It presented me with the opportunity to learn the skills I needed to fix this problem I believed I had. Now my confidence to take on whatever is thrown at me is where it needs to be. All due to the help of eight pawns, two knights, two bishops, two rooks, a queen and a king.

Ben Carson is my role model. He helped to shape one of my life goals, wich consists of being able to master a profession that enables me to help others live better lives. Kinesiology provides with the base I need to develop certain skills needed to assist people with their health and well being which contributes to my goal. This also ties in with my passion of being useful to people and their wellness. I am fulfilled when I can be of use to someone in a way that makes their life better. I believe I am a great candidate because by investing in me, you will be investing in others simultaneously. The skills I desire to learn will be used to help others. This means that things invested in me will have a multiplier effect, for other people will benefit from this investment as well.

One my life goals consists of being able to master a profession that enables me to help others live better lives. Kinesiology provides with the base I need to develop certain skills needed to assist people with their health and well being which contributes to my goal. This also ties in with my passion of being useful to people and their wellness. I am fulfilled when I can be of use to someone in a way that makes their life better. I believe I am a great candidate because by investing in me, you will be investing in others simultaneously. The skills I desire to learn will be used to help others. This means that things invested in me will have a multiplier effect, for other people will benefit from this investment as well.

Learning how to surf. It is easier when you get blessed by The Lord. Thank you, God!