While I have inherited many important characteristics from my parents, the most important characteristic I inherited is my innate curiosity and my passion for learning. My father, a software engineer, has always encouraged me to observe the world with inquisitive eyes and to constantly learn. On the days that my dad would work from home, I would often just observe him for hours trying to figure out what all the symbols and lines of code meant, which inspired me to major in computer programming. As a child, I always have wanted to know the answer to everything, whether it was the stereotypical question of why the sky was blue needing to figure out who the murderer was on Law & Order. I quickly learned the best way for me to learn the answers …show more content…
And from the second I walk into the dojo, those tenets are the first things I see and a constant reminder of the qualities necessary for anyone who wishes to become a black belt. These tenets, especially perseverance, quickly became characteristics I try to maintain both inside the dojo and in my own personal life. Even though I have been participating in martial arts since middle school, I have only been attending my current dojo for the last four years because I had moved cities just before my freshman year of high school. I was hesitant to start in a new martial arts studio because joining meant that I would have to start all over from a white belt. However, I continued to pursue martial arts because it was a goal I had been working towards for so long and quitting due to this setback would be a huge disappointment to myself because I am always pushing myself to do the best that I …show more content…
I failed my brown belt testing which would have allowed me to move up to the rank of black belt because I was unable to break both of my boards using a step through sidekick. I was devastated that I didn’t pass this testing because I was so close to achieving my goal but my taekwondo instructor reminded me of the importance of pushing through failure and trying again. And I took his advice to heart, for the next few months after that testing I was constantly practicing my kicks in the dojo so I would have no trouble breaking the boards in my next testing. I continued to use my instructor’s advice whenever I experience failure and remind myself to push forward and try