Mateo

As I grew up, I was unaware of the struggles my family had to go through. As I got older, I realized I had to grow up to help out my family. Soon I could not be a kid anymore and would have to act more like an adult. I was more of a playful kid who would only want to have fun. I am still playful, but I have grown to understand that having fun is not the only important thing.

 I have always tried my best in school to make myself and my family proud. It means so much to them that all their hard work and sleepless nights trying to provide for us have paid off. That is why I stay determined to be the best student.  I can never repay my parents for everything they have done for me and my brother. This motivates me to try my best to give back to my family for the good they have done.

 They have always motivated me to pursue anything I wanted to do. In 1st grade, my elementary school had an art class. I was so excited when my mom told me the school would have an art class every Thursday. When I look back on the drawings I made around 5 years old, they were horrible. My parents probably knew that too. Instead of telling me the drawings were bad, they told me they were impressed. This made me elated with what I had created.

 I made more and more drawings. Soon enough, I fell in love with art. Over the years, I have gotten immensely better at my craft and wouldn’t have done it if it weren’t for the encouragement of my parents. As you can tell I am very passionate about art. However, I am even more passionate about astronomy. Not to be confused with “astrology”. I only recently started having a fascination with astronomy a few years ago.

 In 7th grade, we learned about space in science class for the second unit. I learned more about what I was interested in. This gave me more appreciation for space. I became even more curious about space than I was, to begin with. I love observing celestial events such as eclipses and the northern lights. I obviously can’t observe the Northern Lights since I  live in Southern California, but I like looking at pictures of the phenomenon. Whenever there is an eclipse or some other celestial event, I tell my parents to mark it on their calendars on their phones. I always wait eagerly for the event to start and I get emotional.

 I don’t get to the point of crying but I  feel a deep sense of enlightenment. However, I might break down if I can see the night sky at its fullest, containing the Milky Way Galaxy and every star you could imagine. I am disappointed that San Diego has so much light pollution. Although, I have heard that the Earth will be getting a temporary mini-moon in the next month, due to an asteroid coming close to Earth’s orbit.  Throughout my life, I was not always sure what my profession would be.

 I wondered if I were to be an artist, or if anything else would pop up throughout my life. This time, I feel that becoming an astronomer is what I have to do full-time. My dream college is either UC Berkeley or Caltech.  In school, I am also a part of the Badminton club. I love playing Badminton with friends at school and family down at Mission Bay. I also like playing soccer but I’m way better at Badminton.

Before my brother left for college, we used to play with our Legos all the time. Building Lego sets has been a huge hobby of mine since birth. I also love playing video games with friends. If I were to win the sponsorship, I would use it to get a telescope to finally observe stars and galaxies properly instead of using my bare eye. I would also get a tripod and a good camera to photograph space objects properly. I would get a new bike that can ride through sidewalks and grass since my current bike is old and the seat is broken.

 Included with the bike, I would buy a bike pump, helmet, shoulder, and knee pads. I would also buy a soccer ball so that I can pass the ball with my dad. I would also get high-quality art supplies like markers, pencils, and colored pencils since my supplies are not the best. My water bottle broke recently so I would get a tall 30-35oz water bottle that can fit on the sides of my backpack. I would also buy some dumbbells to work out at home since I have already outgrown the dumbbells I have at home.

Winning the sponsorship would help me immensely with how I function daily. Winning the sponsorship would change my life by providing materials that would be hard for my parents financially to contribute. This sponsorship will help me continue to pursue my dreams as an astronomer, to stay diligent, and creative.