I Am a Dreamer

We often neglect that words hold immense power. They can ignite our dreams and propel us to achieve the extraordinary. Yet, they can also shatter our spirits and make us question our purpose. It’s a feeling that leaves us in a state of despair and hopelessness, but we must remember that words alone cannot define us. Instead, let them serve as the driving force that propels us forward. I can admit, sometimes I let my imagination run wild and things can get a bit out of hand; but I consider myself a dreamer, someone who envisions boundless possibilities and fearlessly pursues them.  Despite the doubts and laughter from everyone around us, we persevere. During 10th grade summer, I started a project that could levitate metallic objects. I experienced a lot of emotions during that time, and I learned that it’s okay to take a break for a while and give yourself time to recover. What sets dreamers apart is our unwavering belief in the seemingly impossible. Even in failure, we learn and try again and never give up; in our minds, we must challenge the notion of impossibility and discover what lies beyond.

I am a dreamer, and one of my greatest fears is losing the essence of who I am. My imagination is a driving force that shapes me and propels me forward. I didn’t realize that suppressing that part of me could have such a detrimental effect, leading me to lose sight of who I truly am. It all started in tenth grade when I discussed with my guidance counselor about my grades and future aspirations. She commended me on my goals and acknowledged that I was in the top 5% of my class. I mentioned the idea of skipping a grade and graduating early, and while she said that skipping a grade wasn’t possible, she did mention the option of graduating early since I was already ahead academically, but I had to meet a few requirements. These requirements were essentially the classes I would have taken in my senior year. The news filled me with excitement, prompting me to seriously contemplate my life’s path and whether or not I should proceed with early graduation as a junior. If I were to go down that path, I knew I had to start preparing for college. I shared my plan with my group of friends, who had many questions and concerns. Despite some hesitation, they seemed supportive of my decision. Or so I thought. I vividly remember a moment when they asked me about my goals and aspirations. During that conversation, my imagination ran wild, and I expressed my eagerness to start multiple projects, highlighting the start of a

crucial one during the summer that would set the stage for my future endeavors. However, their response was unexpected. They laughed, mocked me, and boldly claimed that achieving what I envisioned was impossible. They tried to justify their stance by comparing me to others, asserting that no one had ever accomplished such a feat before. Their disbelief in me briefly shattered my confidence, but then I reminded myself that just because something hasn’t been done before doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Why limit ourselves to such pessimistic thinking? Instead of dwelling on what we can’t do, let’s consider if we actually could. Just like in the movies. When I responded this way, they continued to laugh and taunt me, dismissing my dreams as mere fantasy. At that moment, I recalled the harsh truth: no one cares for your dreams as deeply as you do, and when it comes to pursuing them, you are alone in this world.

Following that encounter, I distanced myself from those individuals, realizing that their negativity would only hinder my ambitions. The memory of their laughs and taunts persisted in my mind, fueling an intense desire to defy their expectations. I couldn’t comprehend why others were quick to dismiss a concept without at least giving it a fair attempt. As an explorer of the uncharted and dreamer of the seemingly impossible, I embarked on my mission to achieve multiple goals: maintain straight A’s, fulfill community service hours, take four additional classes for early graduation, and begin my scientific project. Throughout the remainder of the school year, I exhibited unwavering dedication and persistence by completing 1 of my early graduation classes, securing straight A’s, and studying electromagnetism as well as other scientific concepts. I planned to launch my project on Magnetic Suspension during summer break and also complete my community service requirements. Before the summer, I diligently prepared by gathering components for the project and ensuring the proper functioning of my 3D printer.

When the time finally came, I eagerly set forth to construct a machine capable of levitating objects through magnetic suspension. Guided by my detailed notes and schematic sketches, I utilized my 3D printer to materialize essential parts which I then organized for effortless assembly. Following that, I interconnected motors and batteries with a soldering iron and electrical tape to my design specifications. My vision entailed two adjustable 3D-printed arm stands supporting motors that would rotate in opposite directions at a specific distance apart. Upon activation, cube-shaped magnets would revolve, manipulating the magnetic field to produce an equilibrium point where metallic or magnetic objects would experience neither repulsion nor attraction—resulting in levitation. On powering up my prototype, chaos ensued as my machine self-destructed and magnets scattered in every direction. Despite the meticulous execution of my plan, the project proved unsuccessful at first. Undeterred by failure, I adjusted various parameters such as arm stand positioning and motor rotation speeds – only to meet defeat repeatedly. After over 40 unsuccessful attempts spanning three weeks, it became increasingly difficult to persevere through each soul-crushing failure.  The process of trial and error felt like navigating through an endless maze with no clear solution in sight – testing both my resilience and my determination on this seemingly unattainable journey without any clear path of resolution or understanding of the root cause.

During the experimentation process, numerous spare components were prepared to eliminate the possibility of defective equipment as the root cause of the issue. Despite testing various methods, such as examining the motor function by altering the rotational direction and varying speeds, spinning the motors in the same direction, and altering speeds, the machine persistently failed to stabilize and reach an equilibrium point, resulting in the magnets being propelled away. Interestingly, during one instance while adjusting the arm stand’s position, the magnet momentarily attained a semi-levitating state and locked in place but ultimately succumbed to an abrupt ejection.

My journey didn’t follow the typical movie story arc, where the protagonist perseveres and learns from their mistakes. After numerous failed attempts on my project, I took a break to focus on community service and early grad classes during the summer. As the new school year began, I vowed to ace every class, get a job, join clubs, graduate early, and make the most of my last year. However, not everything went as planned. Seeing familiar faces from the previous year reminded me of my perceived failure and filled me with doubt. Without diving into every detail, this turned out to be the worst year of my life. Midway through, I found myself burnt out, I felt drained emotionally and mentally, and I lost motivation, friends, myself, and even my imagination. Every night, I prayed for relief and a return to normalcy. It wasn’t until Christmas break that things got better. During that time, I watched an inspiring Netflix show called “Arcane,” which had an emotionally compelling character named Jace. This character rekindled my passion to complete my project. upon revisiting my garage, I found it exactly as I’d left it – a chaotic mess.  

 Magnetic bound state

After a long hiatus, I fired up my project, and unsurprisingly, it malfunctioned. It had been stored in a sweltering garage, forcing me to reprint and reassemble all the components. Despite my efforts, it still refused to work. While retrieving a stray magnetic sphere from under a shelf, I slipped on plastic debris and found myself lying on the floor, relieved yet defeated, staring at my failed creation. Then, from this unexpected angle, it hit me – the solution was staring me in the face – all I needed was a change in perspective to uncover the solution. The issue wasn’t with the motors or arm stands; it was the magnets! My imagination reignited as I began visualizing the magnets rotating in various directions. I saw what they call the “magnetic bound state” from the floor. With bated breath, I applied my newfound insight, and it worked! A surge of joy, relief, and accomplishment washed over me as I reveled in my hard-earned success. This is only the start of something great, as I said before people like me envision boundless possibilities and pursue their goals relentlessly, we may take a break, but we won’t give up, People doubt us because we challenge the concept of the “seemingly impossible” but if u think about It, we only say things are impossible because no one has ever done it before. “I AM A Dreamer!!”