Spring, 2022

Have you ever heard the quote “life is like a roller coaster?” Well, for me this simple analogy is immensely meaningful and surprisingly accurate. In respect to design and operation, life can work exactly like a roller coaster. So let's flex the creative muscle and piece it together. 

Imagine our world is an amusement park adding a new thrill ride. The park turns to a manufacturer who designs a layout and contracts to build components of the attraction. The manufacturers in this comparison are your parents, they raise you and influence you to become the person you are.

 Manufacturers turn to companies who build parts and pieces of the ride. Everything from the track, to supports and control panels. This can be compared to you learning and discovering the things around you and getting a foundational sense of who you want to be.  Once the pieces are together, they get shipped to the park and a construction group builds the ride on site, following the instructions of the manufacturer. This can be compared to going to college; your experiences will solidify the person you will become.

 When the ride is fully built and ready to operate, the park will fabricate the theming, queue line, and test the ride to pass state regulations. This is similar to the start of adult life, finding a job, working your way up the ladder, and ultimately getting your dream job. As a ride is being erected, the park will promote it, sharing ride statistics and showcasing its layout; this builds up excitement for the ride opening. Rides that have greater appeal to the public will naturally be a better success for the parks. This is similar to your charisma and your work ethic. The more appealing you are, the more others will talk about you and the more desirable you’ll be to employers. 

Over time a ride’s condition deteriorates, so it's important for rides to have good maintenance to ensure they last. You need to keep your work efficiency and personal health at the utmost best to ensure you last as long as you can.

 See? Life really IS a roller coaster! And much like rides, our lives are complex and always changing. So far my life as a roller coaster ride hasn't yet crested the first lift hill. And I can’t wait to experience this legendary ride! If you couldn't already tell from the focus of this essay, my dream is to be a roller coaster designer. You read that right, a roller coaster designer. I love the design process from top to bottom and find it fascinating how creativity, planning and fabrication can bring incredible feats of engineering to life. 

With enough resilience and effort, people can accomplish anything. I want to be the next big innovator in the amusement park industry. I want to be the one breaking boundaries of what is possible for these thrilling behemoths of rides. My imagination is my greatest tool - I find myself dreaming up new designs every spare second of the day. These include a water coaster on a wooden structure, a theme park built on a 4 acre plot, the non-inverted batwing element, and a raven-roll. All of which can seen on my website. There’s no doubt in my mind that my drive and creative talent are enough to work in this flourishing industry. What I need is the proper education and guidance of a top notch Engineering School to focus my abilities to make my dream a reality. I'll be designing the ride technologies of the future. I hope you’ll consider me a qualified candidate for your school so I can have the knowledge to invent new technologies and bring new ideas to life.