Doing what I hated made me happy by Ashton Will

Doing what I hated made me happy by Ashton Will - February 2026 Scholarship Essay

I remember when one of my friends begged me to do cross-country with during my summer before sophomore year. However, there was a problem: I was fat, hated running, and despised the heat. But after years of doing nothing in elementary, middle, and high school, I decided to try something new. So I joined summer training, and it felt like hell.
During a particularly morning of practice, my coach put the team onto an unexpected long run. Here was the problem: Virginia summers were not only notoriously hot, but the air was also unbelievably dry. I swallowed my fears for the day’s challenge and signaled my group to start the run. And it wasn’t great.
My heart felt like it was tying down my chest, my head was beating from heat, and I could only control my breathing and my focus to it. And here an intrusive thought came - “how exactly does the air affect my running?”
This thought stuck with me all day, and I became curious. At first, I did quick google searches. “Air quality effects on respiration” were my first ones, and sources of bad air quality appeared. Some came as the obvious like dust and debris, but it wasn’t enough for me. I soon discovered through books that air pollution reacts with the chemical compounds making up lung linings. With my curiosity stirring and restless, I decided to take a leap of faith and take AP Chemistry the following school year.
The class wasn’t what I expected. It wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be, and I struggled to get a grasp of the concepts of equations and the constant properties of different elements, but I had great satisfaction learning it and understanding it after much frustration and confusion; and I fell in love with it. I decided to pursue a path to become a biochemist.
I remember hearing one day in class about how ground-level ozone can be made from common pollutants reacting to sunlight. This ozone can then react with lipids in your lungs to create hydrogen peroxide which, when reacted with iron from cells, can create heaps of OH- that can damage your cells. All of this was possible to me because of an intrusive thought.
I now realize that even the smallest of thoughts and curiosities can shape the way your life goes. If it wasn’t for that thought, I wouldn’t be here engaging with chemistry tutoring or wowing kids with the complex but exciting nature of chemistry. I realize that small things that come to you can snowball into things in your life that you’re grateful for. I fell in love with not only chemistry, but the way I came to understand it.
I learned a lesson here: live and act upon even the smallest things to the fullest and you will be given satisfaction.
I hope to continue this to everything I will experience.