“Every point mass attracts every single other point mass by a force pointing along the line intersecting both points” (Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation).

Have you ever taken the time to scrutinize a flower? To imagine each snowflake’s pattern on a lightly dusted white ground? To ponder the purpose of placing property tags on sewage covers? To visualize the airflow around a flying soccer ball as the goalie snatches the shot? Our world is a fascinating place. Every little object has its own quirks, its own story. The humble bumble bee is a species that has respectfully ignored our conceived laws of physics to fly. Leaves are blown into the grills of Mack trucks and carried for miles. An ordinary rock could have been the beloved “pet” of another child, now fully grown. Every object, animate or not, has a unique story, some meaning to its existence. Often, we overlook it. Nothing ceases to amaze me. The beauty of the unconventional is captivating. I could spend hours lying on the hammock admiring the carpet of monocots below, spend days gawking at the animated story of the y=x3 polynomiograph, or spend nights gazing at the swirling balls of gas that exist millions of light-years away. But I wasn’t always cognizant of such natural happenings.
Ballet has always been my passion, my favorite activity, but it is not solely the beauty and grace that make it so; it is the deception that is truly enchanting. A ballerina’s life is not only physically demanding and emotionally trying, but also therapeutic. Ballet destroys joints and leaves you with bloody, deformed feet; the feeling of dancing, however, is like no other. Reality fades away as you silently thunder to the floor after a high jump and feel the roaring silence of the crowd consume you, or maybe reality vanishes as you piquée down ShopRite aisles. But, no matter the situation, you simply dance.
My affinity for ballet is simply higher than my affinity for any other activity. Ballet veiled me in discipline at a young age. Perhaps it bred my passion for learning or questioning the odd. Or perhaps it became an addiction... nonetheless it consumed my world. Who would have thought a bloody band-aid could be so beautiful? It is the tangible proof of an effort filled rehearsal, a sign of never backing down, a symbol of true beauty. The demanding and time consuming nature of ballet made experiencing anything else rare.
Sir Isaac Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation provides the hard scientific theory to parallel the philosophy of my interests. Everything invokes me, though some ideas or objects may provide a stronger attractive force. Only upon separation from the defining aspects of my life may I experience the rest of my world, the attraction of the smaller pieces. After being physically removed from the activity I so craved, ballet, my eyes were opened to a new realm of possibilities by a curiosity that allots freedom like no other, opening the world of unseen and un-experienced phenomena. I have now realized the natural enthusiasm I have for everything, whether that “thing” is a passion or an institution of higher education.