I grew up on gasoline. At two years old I was riding dirt bikes before I was put on a pedal bike. Right after learning to walk, I was brought to Road America to watch my dad lean his road bike to the ground and slide his knee on asphalt taking a turn at scary fast speeds. 

Freshman year I was faced with a choice every high schooler has to face, choosing a career. At first, I was completely oblivious to the possible options for me, but then I got to thinking. What was something I loved doing? I loved working with my hands. In middle school, I used to take my toys apart to see how they worked and learn how they should get put back together. Since then, it has been all about engineering. Being in the field actually doing something compared to being stuck at desk.

Being a mechanic was the first thing on my mind. I wouldn’t be stuck in a chair, I’d be greasy and on my feet. From that day I knew it was necessary to learn as much as I could and Junior year I started to make plans. My first choice class for the year was the Engineering Mechanics class where we would learn basic mechanical designs and their processes. We also learned electrical mathematics and minor skills that would involve us in real world electrical experiences, and another door had opened.

Suddenly, I started to consider electrical engineering. Soldering was a skill I had become quite good at and electrical math was way easier than the complicated formulas involved with mechanical engineering and physics. Like me, cars were also making many strides in the electric field and I realized Ken Block can make electric drift cars. So what's keeping me from doing the same?

Spanning from early Junior year to new half way into my senior year, cars have been a huge interest. I would spend much of my free time either racing cars in video games or learning how they work. Tuning cars also became a hobby of mine as I began to study suspension both in my free time and my Auto Tech classes.

Mechanical engineering plays a big part in suspension use for cars. The coils have to use physics formulas while the shocks use pneumatic or more commonly hydraulic formulas in order for the car to achieve its best performance. Suspension is also one part of a car that varies from car to car depending on the purpose of the car. Many trucks use leaf suspension mixed with a shock and coil while formula drift cars use high performance shock and coils to compensate for grip and even electric cars need heavy duty suspension to hold the weight that all the batteries produce.

I may not know exactly what it is I want to do with my future, but one thing is for sure. Whether it’s electric, petrol, or simple performance parts; I will be studying engineering to create faster, safer, and better performing vehicles for the future.