I'm the Best

Hello Humans! Today I thought I would talk about my favorite superhero ever, Iron Man. I've already talked about him before, but today I want to discuss how I relate to his personality. Because we are very close to the same person. This last Sunday, during my call with my parents, they started complimenting my brains and smarts and good looks to give me confidence for my O-Chem test that was earlier today. I didn't even flinch as I said my usual catch phrase when someone compliments me, "I know." My parents tried to talk me down from my tower of confidence, which is strikingly high, even if I don't portray it all the time. I mean, I feel like I swagger into all of my tests, because I am confident that I will literally obliterate them with both my knowledge, skill, and most importantly, speed. My dad later sent me a gif of Iron Man saying "I'm the best," right after he builds his Mark 42 suit. Where did I gain this confidence? Well, it started back in the 9th grade, when I saw Iron Man 3 with all of my friends at the Midnight Premier. I would tell my friends that I was Iron Man, and they of course knew I was joking, but deep down inside, I really wished it was true. Well, that gave me the confidence to do things that I was very nervous to do, and eventually become better at the most important things in my life than others.

Part of this confidence that resonates inside of me comes from soccer and my dad. My dad has taught me how to do good in competitions, and how to stay focused in school by making everything a competition. He even does it in his work today. I did it with my friends, except it was all in my brain, and I would beat them, and then tell them, but then they were confused at what I had beaten them at. But hey, it kept me alert and attentive in all of my boring High School classes. Soccer also sparked this, because all of soccer is a competition. You are not only competing against the other team, but also against your own teammates for playing time and certain positions. For me, I always wanted my defensive position, but also loved the chance to go into attacking when my team needed me. My favorite thing that I learned in soccer was, "When you lose the ball, you go get it back." Now, my coaches meant this in a sense of when it's in your area of the field, but I took it to the extreme and would run people down and over to get the ball back. And those were my favorite times of the game. Those and when I saved some goals, slide tackled, annihilated at a 1-v-1s, or sprinted back over half the field to only save a goal just in time. Those adrenaline rushes have definitely transferred to my everyday life. I feel adrenaline rushes before every test and every time I hit the lab bench. They are my soccer games now.

People ask me all the time how I am so fast at homework, tests, and learning. Well, normally I don't have an answer, but since I'm letting my ego out right now, I will say this: How you get fast at pretty much everything is you "GG" or Get Good. You see, as a scientist, I am supposed to be questioning everything, but if I truly did question everything, I would still be back in Gen Chem 1, chapter 1. So, my brain has learned to filter through the important questions, such as "Will we need to memorize the formula for the volume of a cylinder on the test?" rather than, "How do you factor, again?" See the difference? On one hand, I'm asking something that will help me with the thing that determines my future, on the other hand, the person is asking something that they should have learned 5 years earlier. Go back to High School if you still don't know how to factor people! I'm sorry, but I think I will be salty about that for the rest of my life. Physics also taught me what was important to learn and memorize and question, and what was not as a scientist. In Physics, you need to know about a hundred equations over the course of the semester. So how does one memorize that many equations? One does not. Professors literally give out an equation sheet with every test. Why do they do this? Because they do it themselves now. They use google, or return to their trusty textbook when they need an equation. Sure, if we were back in the 1900s then we would have to memorize them all, but thank goodness for the internet! So, in Physics, we actually were able to ask questions about the concepts, not the equations. This made the class really fun and interesting because we were able to discuss the concepts and equations in depth, not just skimming the surface like most lower division courses do.

It's also really weird though, because I have this big confidence in myself and my abilities, but yet I still have this burning charity within my heart, in which I want to make everyone happy and understand the important things in life. With these two things mixed, I can come off stuck up and bossy at times, but I guess that makes me even more like Iron Man himself. Stay wild, flower child.