<p>Prompt 1:</p>
<p>I grew up in a world where education and academic achievement was everything. My life was dedicated to getting good grades so that I could get a great professional job. As I grew older, however, my mindset changed as I noticed I was lacking. I was able to figure out what I lacked, social intelligence. I was shy, could not hold conversations, and I had trouble adapting to a more social environment. I had been in no way prepared for any social interaction because I'd never really been allowed to develop social skills, and wasn't taught how to interact with people. People noticed my awkwardness, so I started getting bullied. As the bullying went on, I began to hate school and anything associated with it. School felt like a war zone with me fighting everyone off, my home wasn't much better after tensions between me and my mother increased. My grades slipped and I no longer had any ambition in life, as my grades only seemed to bring me pain. I eventually developed anxiety issues and felt inferior; life seemed so bleak and I was so lost, I did not know what to do anymore. My outlook would change once introduced to a new mindset. A friend in one of my classes in high school had almost straight A's and a colorful social life. He noticed how poor my grades were, and questioned me about them. When I told him about my personal struggles, he empathized with me and gave me some advice. I needed to have confidence in all areas of my life, and not to allow others negatively affect what I do. He gave me a book called "Rich Dad Poor Dad," saying that I might learn from it. I did not understand what a book about money could possibly do for me, but I read it anyway. Reading that book aside from teaching me about finance also reinforced what my friend told me. The book emphasized self-confidence no matter what anyone else said, because there will always be those who are there to doubt and break you. I began to apply this to my daily life by expressing my knowledge in my academic subjects, instead of remaining quiet or pretending to be "dumb". I did this all with an air of confidence, even boasting a little. I did not reject my ideas and instead fully embraced them. I was inspired by the innovative inventors of today's world and how they overcame their own struggles and wished to be like them. My life began to vastly improve and my grades even improved. I had been given to empowerment needed to believe in my ideas and push for efficiency. Unfortunately, I became very conceited over time. I thought I knew more than everyone and was intellectually superior. I stopped doing homework because I thought it was a waste of my time and effort since it could easily be cheated on, and my friends started to dislike my attitude. I quickly realized I was becoming an outcast once again, only it was not due to a lack of confidence, but too much. Once I toned it down and reconciled with my peers, I was able to learn a valuable lesson. A good balance of self-confidence and humility was a good recipe for true success in life. I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to make the future I envision for myself a reality. I want to be a financially dependent investor and entrepreneur. I want to create an energy producing company that use methods that don't create carbon emissions (solar panels, wind turbines, etc...); I also want my products to be innovative by incorporating technologies such as solar panels, into hardware so that it may run on "clean" energy and be more cost efficient. No matter how ridiculous a "Solar Hybrid Laptop" may sound, I will always have faith in an idea that can change ours lives.</p>
<p>Prompt 2:</p>
<p>I have been fascinated by computer technology and electronics since I was a young child. When I first learned to turn on a computer in preschool, I did not completely understand the amazing capabilities they possessed; all I knew was that it played my educational programs. When I entered first grade, my curiosity spiked as I spent more time with computers, and I wanted to know how to do more things using them. By the time I was in 6th grade, I was able to use a wide variety of computer programs provided by my teachers (editing software, office tools, etc...) with great proficiency. What I really wanted to know was how it all worked, how all of the electronic hardware and software worked. I used the internet to get some understanding about the inner components of electronics and the programming of software. The innovative aspect of technology appeals to me very much since technology changes so much, and I want to someday use my knowledge to be a part of the change. Learning about technology and programming made me a logical thinker and a problem solver, but it also made me a little anti-social since most people did not care for my interest. The majority of high school was not a very good experience for me as a result, but it did get better. After a serious confidence boost and belief in my good qualities, I put myself out there and used what I knew to help people. Having a voice improved my social abilities and I was able to make more use of my technical skills. People were always in need of help relating to some kind of technical problem (broken devices, computer viruses, media editing etc...) and I was more than happy to assist them. I even started a club at my school dedicated to learning about programming. It makes me feel very proud to go from being ridiculed, to being relied on so much to solve problems others have trouble with.</p>