Ming's Journey: September Issue š
Who am I? ā(ļ¾ć®ļ¾ā)
Hello! Iām Minghao Zou, a current 15-year-old freshman (yes, that is quite old for a freshman).
Besides someone exceedingly optimistic, energetic, and overly obsessed with using text emoji faces (as you will see throughout the newsletter), I am an aspiring astronomer and astrophysicist. I cannot, without writing a 5 page essay, tell you just how bizarre and miraculously inspiring the cosmos is. In the future, I wish to incorporate the modern developing technology such as AI into my passion for astronomy.
Besides astronomy, I also love writingā, pianoš¹, badmintonšø, as well as skiingā·.
~A Short Narrative~ (/ā§ā½ā¦)/
I know you probably have no clue who I am yet, so hereās a short narrative I wrote~
Stars
In my childhood memories, for all I knew, the sky wasnāt blue. A pall loomed over the heavens, obscuring me - and the whole of Beijing - from the supposed beauty of the ether. Wearing masks became customary. The air, adulterated by thick fog, created an atmosphere so palpable I found it hard to breathe. The beauty of Beijing hid behind a white veil.Ā
Every time I watched on the television records of bizarre and tempestuous weather, picturesque landscapes accompanied by crystal clear skies, or captivating images of the milky way, I became naively confused. I stared blankly outside into the dull world I was so accustomed to while I questioned the validity of the reality I resided in.
Yet perhaps ironically, in a world where the door to the sky was never ajar, I had an intrinsic dream to become an astronaut. The trouble was, I didnāt specifically understand why I had this ambition; that initial spark didnāt strike me.Ā
In class, the teacher questioned every student about their passion and dreams. There were a few doctors, some lawyers, and a surplus number of engineers. When my turn came round, I proudly stood up and said,Ā
āI want to be an astronaut.ā
Everyone stared.
āThatās cool! And why do you want to?ā The teacher asked.
ā...ā
I fell silent. I couldnāt answer; I had no answer. I looked around, everyone seemed to be laughing at me, or so I thought - but were they? Without some sort of majestic and awe-inspiring explanation, my ambition seemed childish, even preposterous. So I sat down, gazing into nothing. The teacher mumbled something in the distance, but I couldnāt hear.
As the pollution worsened and family circumstances altered, my family decided to immigrate to the U.S. as I started third grade. The fresh summer air accompanied by the beaming California sun contrasted vibrantly with the humid, suppressing atmosphere back in Beijing. The grand buildings were now replaced by extensive mountain ranges and vast seashores.Ā
Four years passed in a flash, and now I sat in the middle school classroom. The teacher passed out a worksheet titled āWhatās Your Dream?ā Without much consideration, I picked up my pencil and started to write the word āastronaut.ā Halfway through, I paused. My childhood recollections flashed through my mind. Right, I thought, what āgrand, purposeful reasonā did I have to support my ridiculous ambition? My hand quivered. I snatched my eraser, pressed as hard as I could into the paper, and began to vigorously erase that uncompleted word. The paper crumbled under the sheer pressure, but I didnāt stop. I continued until every last bit of evidence vanished. Then, with my inexplicably weak fingers, I scribbled the word āengineer.āĀ
Five years have passed since I came to America. As winter approaches, yearning for snow, a group of friends and I went snow camping near Tahoe. I scooped up a pile of snow and enjoyed the tingly sensation as it melted in my hand. As any rambunctious group of 7th graders would do, we started snowball fighting while laughing and screaming wholeheartedly. Immersed in our own world, night slowly crept upon us. A few more minutes passed, and we were roaming in complete darkness. My friends all went back to their tents, but I stayed.Ā
A trivial moment was all that took. I saw something shining on the ground, so I lifted my head. The heavens opened. A vast sea of stars lay before me, akin to a meticulously yet so boldly painted masterpiece. The sight led my soul to the extraterrestrial world. Every star, despite how inconspicuous, stood out; each with a different story to tell. Some danced wildly in triplets, and some meandered through the depth of the cosmos. Every single one beamed down through the obscure fabric of space, taunting me to join them. I reached out my hands - they were so close! Yet they seemed so far. I was intrigued, enchanted by the boundless universe.Ā
At that moment, I had my epiphany. That moment unveiled the true purpose of my dream. The answer was quite simple, really; perhaps even anticlimactic.Ā
Ever since I was young, I questioned everything about space. I greedily scoured the internet, in search of any information about the vast ether. Later, throughout my years in middle school, as I expanded my vision and knowledge, I became increasingly captivated: quantum mechanics, general and special relativity, space-time, atoms, quarks, bosonsā¦ Oh, how I wish to become an astronaut, to see the unparalleled universe for myself, and to uncloak the baffling nature of the cosmos.
I was curious, is all.
And that was enough.
That night I lay awake under the stars, covered in white silk.
Ok, maybe that wasnāt so short after all.
The Knowledge Society ( ā¢Ģ Ļ ā¢Ģ )ā§
Just this past month, I embarked on my spectacular journey of The Knowledge Society. For those of you who donāt know, TKS is an awesome accelerated program to inspire, teach, and train the future generation inventors.
Hmmā¦ How do I put thisā¦ Letās just say that TKS shifted my WHOLE insight on my life. TKS made me believe that I can, and I will make a HUGE impact on society.
What I Learned from TKS š
Society is harsh. We are often immersed in the friendly community called school. I used to hate rubrics and guidelines at school. But in society, there are no ārubricsā; itās all up to YOU. TKS puts high expectations on us, and by doing so, trains us for the real world. š
Donāt limit yourself by anything. Our envisions for the future are often restricted by rules, guidelines, limitations. Donāt let those superficial limitations stop you. Build on those rules, break those rules. Always expect something better. Thereās no āAI Clubā you can join at your school? Create one yourself! Think somethingās inefficient or inconvenient? Design a solution yourself! āØ
Plans for the October š (ā
Ļ ā
)
BLOCKCHAIN - I will learn about blockchain. Isnāt that exciting?? š
OPOC - A foundation I am starting on my own, in hopes of uniting the science community across all economic status, race, gender, etc.
Explore more at TKS! - At least 2 more explore modules!