Choosing Science Anyway

My first programming experience was LOGO — the turtle graphics language — in 1st grade. I remember the moment the turtle moved because I told it to. That feeling of command, of precision, of the machine obeying logic — it hooked me immediately.

By the time I reached high school, I had taught myself Java basics. Not because anyone told me to. Because code felt like the one place where the rules were clear, outcomes were predictable, and intelligence was the only currency that mattered.

After my 10th results, the easier path would have been to take Commerce or Arts. Lower stakes, less judgment. But I chose Science with Computer Science. Not despite the resistance I faced — because of it.

Institutions look at past performance. They don't see future trajectory. I had to believe in a trajectory that existed only in my own mind. Taking Science with computers was the first public declaration of who I believed I could become.

It wasn't easy. But control is never easy. That's what makes it worth choosing.