I have always been someone who seeks out odd and engaging experiences. In fact, my passion for Computer Science started all the way back in 3rd grade. At the time, I was absolutely fascinated by dinosaurs. I had to know everything about them: how they lived, what they looked like, what they ate. I even learned the Latin names for different species, although I could not pronounce them at the time. My elementary school had a giant library – books going from floor to ceiling in the one of the biggest rooms in the building. Off in a tiny corner were all of the books about dinosaurs. I had read all of them, most of them covered in pictures and funny descriptions, but some of them more wordy and sophisticated. I came in one day and saw a new book there, a white strip among a sea of black and red. I was so excited, I grabbed it and checked it out without even looking at it. I was definitely in for a surprise when I got home.
Arriving home that day, I was excited to dig into my new book, and after completing my homework, I went straight for it. Pulling it out, I immediately realized something was off; the usual allotment of dinosaur pictures and ancient terrain was absent. Instead, there were stock images of flowers, screenshots of Internet Explorer, and somewhat cryptic text I later found out was the computer language HTML. I was immediately curious; even at that age I loved to try new things and learn new skills. Once I started to flip through it, I could not stop. I was already interested in computers at this point, playing around with basic programs and downloading files over dial-up, but this book significantly increased my intrigue. I already knew how powerful the Internet was, and seeing what made it work, even on the simplest of scales, was amazing.
I think that this specifically exemplifies my mindset of curiosity, which I see as one of the most important aspects of myself. Whenever a new opportunity comes along, I always feel the need to explore it. You never know what you will find to be an enriching and engaging experience!
(In fact, from that experience, I have gone on to major in Computer Science).