The Beauty in Math

The thing that surprises me the most about Tom Zhang, besides his overall brilliance and love of math, is how persistent he was for the whole four years he worked (10 hours a day for a seven day week). That just blows my mind! I can't even spend more than fifteen minutes on a problem that has been solved countless times prior and yet here's Zhang, pushing through his moments of weakness and thoughts of giving up, to solve one of the hardest unsolved problems. It's amazing!!

When I was reading Zhang's interview, I couldn't help but think how this relates to any sport/audition/competition where you have to put yourself out there to achieve the things that you want. Because I'm into preforming arts and singing, I can relate this to auditions. To be the best, and get the part you want, you can't let fear of failing turn you away from being the best you can be! You must use that fear to motivate you even more and let it keep pushing you to be even better. I'm sure Zhang failed countless times during his four year discovery, but because he kept pushing and let that drive him for greatness, he was able to succeed! In everything we do, there is a risk. But that risk is what makes our victories all the more rewarding!