From 1665 to 1666 England was struck by the Great Plague. During this time schools sent their students home to wait out the outbreak, and among these students was Isaac Newton. Isaac was apparently undistinguished as a Cambridge student; however, during his private studies in quarantine, he made great developments in his theories on Calculus, Optics, and the Law of Gravitation. This specific time period is considered Isaac’s annus mirabilis, or “year of wonders.”
Today, 350 years later, COVID-19 has spread across the world to become an ongoing global pandemic. Students from all over the world were sent home to wait out the new virus and I was among those thousands of students. At first, like most of my friends, I thought it would be nice to have two weeks off from school. However, after 341 days, 2.42 million deaths, and countless hours spent in lockdown, I began to grow sick of isolation.
Although I felt this way, I knew I could not waste this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity playing video games and watching the hours go by. So, I decided to discover myself: what my interests are, what I want to be doing in the future, and what I must do to get there. Doing this has helped me set goals and plan for what I want to accomplish 10 years from now.
I plan to work at the United Nations alongside other brilliant like-minded people in efforts to help those in need. Be it through politics, law, or economics, I wish to be helping people in any way possible. This unexpected hiatus has helped me take a step back from the current world and run through memories of my childhood to see what experience inspired me to become so passionate about helping others. During my exploration, I remembered a specific experience I had with my mom that has changed my life ever since.
For as long as I can remember, my mom has always told me to be kind. I did not think much of it at first, until one day on my way to school, my mom pulled over on the side of the road. At first, I was confused, but as I glanced at the sidewalk, I noticed an elderly lady struggling to cross the road. My mom had stopped so that she could help the lady cross. On that day I learned about the importance of helping others, even though seemingly small gestures. Instead of sitting by and watching people struggle, you should always lend a hand to those in need.
Back to Isaac Newton, the reason he was undistinguished was that he was simply bored of Cambridge’s curriculum. Quarantine helped him discover what his interests were and by doing so he founded the basis for mathematics, science, and physics, and is considered a key figure in the scientific revolution. This however did not happen overnight; Newton had his own fair share of exploration during the quarantine, which led him to his triumphs. Much like Newton, I wish to explore my interests and plan out the next several years of my life during this pandemic, so that I can utilize my passion for helping others.
