College Admissions Essay: Steve Jobs

Since Elementary school, I’ve been in love with math and all that it offers. I get excited with the numbers, the letters, and the equations. It fascinates me how there’s so much depth and that there is always something new with math. Not until I reached high school did I realize that the reason I loved math so much was because it was Algebra. My sophomore year I discovered Geometry, and that is when the loathing began.

The moment I changed the background color on my Commodore 64 I knew I wanted to do something with computers when I grew up. Of course, as a young child, I really had no idea what computers were capable of, but the connection was clear. The next few years were spent learning about computers and electronics. I was so curious that every single phone, alarm clock, and remote were disassembled and reassembled multiple times. Most of the time it was put back together and nobody ever knew, but occasionally that screw I could not find a hole for would betray me. This curiosity continued with lawnmower engines, trimmers, and anything new that came into the house. My behavior became more than just a curiosity when I started disassembling the family car.

Growing up, I tried to diversify myself as much as possible. I read books over many different subjects, and I would constantly search for tutorials on the Internet to learn how to do various tasks. I built circuits, wrote computer programs, played musical instruments, learned French, and I used all of this knowledge to try to improve my understanding of the world and enrich my own life and the lives of others. However, my greatest fascination that I have always had is my fascination for technology and electronics.

It is much easier to concentrate and to be confident about taking a test if I know the material. I have learned that it is very helpful for me to visualize the questions and answers and I can use these mental images to help me recall unexpected test or quiz questions.

I have always had an affinity for tech ever since I was young. There was just something that was so interesting about how computers and different kinds of technology worked. I enjoyed it so much so that I ended up being known around my school district and local area as the guy to go to with questions on computers. Even the teacher in charge of computer science in our school would ask me questions on hardware and he’d have me learn different programs and have me tell him how to use them. I was also hired by a local real estate agent to run her website and social media sites.

I found not only Consumer Math but Geometry to be the two most difficult areas in which I struggled the most. In realizing this, I sought out the necessary help needed in better grasping the two different subjects of math. As I have later come to notice, my family often times does not understand me when I voice to them that I enjoy figuring complex equations out. Often times, they will ask me to solve a problem for them because not only do I enjoy it but I am able to figure it out with more ease than they are. When I was younger and even now, I will sit and figure things such as my bills and paychecks out to a penny. I use to have notebooks full of math figures that I would try to solve just for sheer entertainment along with a dozen or more Sudoku books that I have either worked on or completed. To me, Math is a way to relax when to most other people it is found to be a bit stressful. I love how Math allows you endless possibilities to continuing education. With the knowledge of numbers, you are able to obtain a job in a multitude of professions. Math opens the door to so much insight into ones personal as well as professional

There are an abundant amount of subjects that peak my interests, but mathematics will always be the one subject that intellectually excites me. At times, it is able to both challenge me to the point of frustration, but it later gives me excessive excitement and happiness for overcoming the challenge. Similarly, it is like a wave flooding in shore because it is at first harsh and difficult, but it gradually smoothes and simplifies. It is a subject that I can fully interact and manipulate it to the best possible way of understanding it, which I fondly love because I learn better hands-on. However, it was truly benevolent instructors, who increased my love in math and enlighten a new way of

California is well known for its vast rapidly growing technology industry. In the past forty years alone, the computer industry has encountered numerous new advances. Many of these advances can be attributed to that of the great Steve Jobs. Jobs enacted as influential figurehead of the technological industry; spreading not only innovating ideas, but also motivating all of his colleagues to follow in his direction. Throughout the course of his life, Jobs built an empire, leaving him with a legacy to last a lifetime. He is most commonly well known for his greatest inventions through the company, Apple. Jobs acted as the co-founder, chief executive officer, and chairman for Apple Inc.. However, Jobs was not limited to Apple only, he worked with numerous inventors along his way, finding some of the most dominant pieces of technology to this age. Jobs established his company right here in California. Palo Alto, California to be exact. As a result, Steve Jobs has been the grounds for vast development throughout California, as well as stemming economical growth.

Problem-solving process was always very enjoyable activity. Math was my favorite subject at school. I tried to participate in any

Remember going into second grade and fearing those one minute division tests? I remember very clearly how afraid and intimidated I was. I panicked because I was scared that I was not going to get a good grade on it. To my surprise, I did not get a high score on it compared to my classmates. I was devastated because I had tried really hard on it. After that, I hated math until seventh grade. Math was my worst subject, and I acknowledge I was terrible at it. I hated it so much that after years of hating it, I developed a passion for math. After some years of practicing math, I fell in love with it. Entering middle school, Algebra was introduced. I loved Algebra because I was not only adding numbers, I was solving for certain variables at the

Math used to be my favorite subject in elementary school. It used to be so simple where the equations used were clear to understand and proving your answer by showing work did not take too much time. Going into middle school things changed and became way too complicated. You had to learn equations to use for different problems and know which situation called for which equation to use. I got my first taste of Algebra in middle school. Things became more difficult in high school. I struggled in Geometry, Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, and the science classes that were based on math. Physics was the hardest class because of the equations. It didn’t help that I could not see how to apply the math in the real world while being a teenager. In

Being the oldest of four children, it was always hard me to learn things fast. My parents weren’t able to help me with schoolwork because they both dropped out of school at a very young age. As I entered high school, I was terrified of all the hard classes I would be taking. Although I am not the best in every subject, a topic in which I have excelled in is Mathematics.

“You’ve got to find what you love,” I completely agree with Steve Jobs. Everyone searches for happiness and what they live for. He had gone through a lot to figure out what he loved. Steve’s three stories were very influencing. To be young and having to figure out what to do with his future and to make a living, was it worth it for him to do what he loves? He made me think that it was worth it in the end. Steve went through hard times, but ultimately he lived a very successful life. Steve had chosen a college that was not fairly cheap. He chose that school and did not even like attending it. His parents strived to even let him afford to go to college. Eventually he dropped out. He was making his parents happy for going, but he was not

Mathematics, like every creation of man, have evolved without really knowing how far you can get with them: the scope of the computer, physics, chemistry, algebra, all are evidence of this. Every aspect of our culture is based in some way or another in Mathematics: language, music, dance, art, sculpture, architecture, biology, daily life. All these areas of measurements and calculations are accurate. Even in nature, everything follows a precise pattern and a precise order: a flower, a shell, a butterfly, day and night, the seasons. All this makes mathematics essential for human life and they can not be limited only to a matter within the school curriculum; here lies the importance of teaching math in a pleasure, enjoyable and understandable way. Mathematics is an aid to the development of the child and should be seen as an aid to life and not as an obstacle in their lifes.

As a mathematics major, the concept that most people overlook is that I did not choose to study mathematics because I do well at it; I chose to study mathematics because it makes me smarter. In fact, all throughout junior high and high school I was in remedial mathematics classes and worse, I did not even place into a freshman year mathematics class in high school. I had to re-take 8th grade mathematics. However, something about mathematics excited me. Maybe it was the fact that mathematics never came easy to me and I wanted to prove to myself that not only could I pass mathematics classes, I could actually understand and excel at them. For me, mathematics is not about the arbitrary numbers, trivial solutions, meaningless formulas, or repetitive computation: it is about the progress of knowledge and human understanding.