Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma – anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
I am nearly 17 years old, but I still don’t know what or who I want to be in the future. Contemplating this, I feel so frustrated that the next step of my life is still ambiguous.
I got a four on my AP Statistics test — a test including topics like confident level, and experimental design. I was the main author of the first ever book about the Cambodian Economy written by students. I worked on the set of an actual feature film; I was a director, a producer, an apprentice audio engineer, and an actor. I write songs and create music. I implemented a project for the International Labour Organization, one of the United Nations agencies that promotes social protection and work opportunity, which taught entrepreneurial soft skills to Cambodians. I was also a featured speaker during my school’s Gender Summit, leading a discussion about how Khmer culture stereotypes men, women, and the LGBTQ+ community. On my school holiday, you can often find me problem-solving; I take the initiative to go out into my local community and direct traffic flow to enhance the safety of passengers. I do it from my heart. Additionally, I played football for the academy team of a professional Cambodian league, and these are just to name a few. As you can see, I have a diverse range of experiences, but I cannot imagine doing any of those for the next 10 or 20 years.
A lot of people have asked me what I want to be in the future or what my passions are, but I just shrug my shoulders and become speechless in the moment. Friends of mine have a clear vision of exactly who they will become in the future. Their passions are defined: engineer, scientist, artist, but mine is not. However, there is one thing that I know, even though I don’t know what I want to do, I know that whatever I do, I will work hard.
Sometimes, I ask myself: “How can I be a change agent for my country, let alone the world when I don’t know my plan for the future?” I have struggled with this worry; this topic makes me feel pressured. I understand that it is a priority to begin figuring out what I want to do because as a young adult, I feel like there isn’t enough time to be wasted.
I like to have a plan and be organized, but I also believe that life is interesting because we do not know what is ahead of us.
I have realized that I am just a boy who loves waking up on the next day not knowing what is going to happen. Living in this world peacefully. Enjoying nature. Bringing happiness and humor to my family and entertaining myself with my surroundings: sport, music, comics, movies. I have figured out that life is a gift and I do not intend on wasting it. Just because I don’t know my career path, does not mean I am not appreciative of the life I have.
I do genuinely worry about what I am going to end up being but I believe that hard work will bring people to victory. As Peter Parker says, “No one can win every battle, but no one should fall without a struggle.”
Even though I am struggling about this plan-making for my future, I am still dedicated to education; I want to go to college and get a higher education because I am convinced that it will expose me to a broader range of experiences and help me determine who I want to be.