The personal achievement that has influenced my life greatly was the computer I built when I was 15

years old. It was my first computer, and is the same one that I use today, with some minor cosmetic
upgrades and replacements. I had been interested in getting myself a gaming computer for about 2
years prior to purchasing and assembling the computer, and it seemed like a dream that would never be
able to happen, as $1000 is a lot of money for someone who doesn’t have a job or any income other
than allowance. In grade 9, I got a job at a local McDonalds, where I worked for approximately 6-8
months before I had enough money saved. While saving, I researched which parts I would need to
purchase as well as which ones would work together. Once I had all the money, I ordered the parts and
had to wait for them to arrive. Once they had, I assembled everything myself, but it wasn’t without its
challenges. After I had everything assembled and pressed the on button, nothing happened. I was a bit
concerned that something had been fried or broken in the process of building and thought all my money
had gone to waste. I ended up being able to start it no problem after reconnecting some wires and
checking the connections.

Building this PC wasn’t just a personal accomplishment because it allowed me to play games, but
because it encouraged me to get a job at a young age. When I was first hired at McDonalds, I was the
youngest employee by a couple years, and felt alienated and out of place. This was ultimately a good
feeling, as it encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone and network with all kinds of people,
building my communication skills and growing my confidence. I have grown tremendously as a person
because of wanting to build a computer, and have realized what my goals are in life, all stemming from
something so simple. In addition, I have learned computer skills that I can apply for my future, such as
how to assemble, how to troubleshoot and install software, and how to recognize hardware issues. I
have had many slight issues with my computer, such as my motherboard frying randomly, and a RAM
stick dying, causing all sorts of issues that took me a while to solve. These were troubling in the moment,
but once I fixed them, they only improved my knowledge and made me better.

These experiences have helped me decide what sort of path I want to take in life. Since building my
computer and becoming more engrossed in the culture of PC hardware, I have made the decision to go
into the IT/Computer Science field, with my hope lying in the Cybersecurity sector. It has also allowed
me to connect and become closer with my friends, especially in the past year were connecting in person
has become almost impossible. I have been able to assist my friends with building their own computers
and helping them with any tech issues they may have. I built a computer for a friend's brother for the
Christmas of 2020 and helped choose which parts would be best for his use case and assembled the
components. I also installed any software he might need to ensure he is getting the best performance
possible. This has opened me up to the future of helping friends and family with computer building and
maintenance, as it is certainly no chore for me.

Overall, making the decision to build a computer was an extremely positive and influential decision that
has impacted me in a great way. I hope it opens paths for my future, as I know that it is the field I want
to go into and helping those who do not understand something is extremely rewarding and fulfilling to
me. Being able to do so in a way that not only helps others but potentially influences their lives as well is
an exciting prospect, and certainly one I hope to explore in the future with greater detail.