In the deafening silence of a frigid exam room, every formula I’d diligently memorized seemed to evaporate from my mind. My heart pounded, and each tick of the clock grew louder and louder. As beads of sweat formed on my forehead, the trembling pencil struggled to translate my thoughts into coherent answers. The immense pressure of the standardized test seemed to stifle my intelligence.

Eleven years of schooling led to this one moment. Everything I’d accomplished balanced on this one score. Each incorrect answer chipped away at my potential, overshadowing the depth of my curiosity and academic passion. The SAT’s rigid format felt almost counterintuitive, attempting to simplify the complexities of human potential into a single score.

Exiting the exam room, reassurances from my peers offered little comfort as looming college applications awaited my score.

Months passed, and as college application deadlines approached, crafting personal narratives became a therapeutic escape—a means of escaping standardized metrics to reveal different parts of who I really was. Essays were not just about presenting grades and scores; they became a medium to articulate the experiences that defined me. The stories of sleepless nights studying accompanied by the sheer joy of countless hours of volunteerism became the threads weaving the fabric of my potential.

Later, interviews, unburdened by multiple-choice constraints, became a canvas to paint the rich colors of my experiences. My potential was able to thrive beyond a numerical scale and resonate in shared anecdotes, passion, and resilience.

The true measure of my potential lies in the resilience that propelled me into college to pursue a passion beyond obtaining a degree. It is a continuation of the journey that started with a trembling pencil in that frosty exam room.

As I venture into the realm of higher education, the experiences, challenges, and triumphs will shape the narrative of my potential. The true essence of my capabilities is not confined to a numerical score but is embedded in the stories that have unfolded during my educational and personal journey. Every hour volunteered, time clocked in, tears shed, laughs that were shed, all led to this very moment. Now sit in a classroom, the clock ticks by, but a different feeling exudes from my body. Excitement and intrigue building as I continue to pursue a career in biomedical engineering. Something that my SAT score would have never been able to predict or reflect. Numbers are just numbers, but potential is built on both hard work and experiences.