“’Tis immortality to die aspiring”, said George Chapman, effectively explaining my lifetime goals. I have innumerable lifetime goals, so to speak of my academic ambitions and extracurricular activities as a manifestation of them, one must understand my youth.

Thanks in large part to my parents, the broad, almost nebulously so world of science has captivated my thoughts from a young age. I was taught as virtue the qualities of vigilant skepticism and unapologetic curiosity, the cardinal virtues of science. Nurtured as an open mind in an open environment; my parents kept me out of my first year of public school to learn what I pleased at home, most often my home being understood as the outdoors. The memory of my youth is of warm summer days, pools of mud, and curious wandering in the midst of soft zephyrs. The scope of my intellectual capacity at the time limited by obvious constraints, most of my curiosity was focused on that quintessentially boyish interest in insects and the like. I was incredibly blessed to have also been exposed to the wonder of the stars. These seemingly innocent and shallow areas of interest are in terms of science, of course, the fields of biology and astronomy. I adopted early the love of knowledge.
Over time, of course, culture distorts and society bends children’s dreams. I have found that much of my purpose lies in the military service to my Nation. But I keep deep in my heart the desire to be a service to all of mankind, to live also a Prometheus after a life spent as Ares. Indeed, my lifetime goal is multiple lifetimes- so many worthy pursuits demand the full commitment of a full mortal’s time.

So with these ambitions in my mind, I’ve appreciated my time in high school as an opportunity to get ahead in the game. I’ve taken as many AP courses as possible throughout my high school career, the pragmatic motivation being the expedition of time spent in college (read: still not in the real world), and the intrinsic value being the challenge of all-nighters and a laughably simple social life. To my honor, the receipt of an AP Scholar award after a diligent junior year has proven my efforts worthwhile, just as I expect them to be this year.
Without a doubt, the single most influential extracurricular endeavor of my high school years has been Marine Corps JROTC. Throughout my years, I’ve learned what real leadership is, claiming this year the billet of Commanding Officer of the battalion. Responsibility for an entire high school JROTC requires a level of leadership many students- or even people in general for that matter- never learn. Besides shaping me into a better person over the years, MCJROTC has presented me numerous opportunities. I’m the captain of the precision air rifle team, which competed at the national level for the first time last year. I’m a US Naval Academy candidate, having gone to the Summer Seminar thanks to the sponsorship of the American Legion. My connections afforded me attendance to Boys State 2014. Indeed, JROTC has been my greatest blessing thus far in guiding me towards my lifetime goals.

Conclusively, my lifetime goals since childhood remain, but have been shaped also by the means of achieving them. College classes, MCJROTC, Rifle Marksmanship, Granbury Junior Leadership, Boys State, and NHS have all been both a means of realizing my goals and an influence upon them.