If all art aspires to the condition of music, all the sciences aspire to the condition of

mathematics. ( George Santayana)

This is the truth that challenged and enthralled me for a long time; it is the law which,
once discovered, changed my life completely. Mathematics is the science which captivated
me and never let me go(nor has it ever let me down); it is the science that is forever
demanding, but also equally rewarding.
I was born in a family of engineers. My parents, grandparents and uncles stimulated
and guided my thirst for logic and understanding. They provided me with the basis for
knowledge, but allowed me to discover the rest.
Seventh grade was the time I decided I wanted to study mathematics. That year
brought my first participation to the final phase, the national phase, of the olympiad. There, I
met students like myself, with a passion for mathematics, but also the best teachers. From that
moment on, my relationship with mathematics became only stronger and stronger. Every year,
with unwavering determination, I participated at the national phase of the olympiad. In the
eighth, ninth and tenth grade I was awarded with the silver medal and mention; in the eleventh
I got the gold medal and mention. I won the gold medal in the tenth and eleventh grade in the
National Olympiad of Italy, where my high school was invited. However, the most
challenging experience was the participation in the International Olympiad of Tuymaada, a
multidisciplinary international competition held in Russia. There, I got the silver medal. All
these competitions worked as a catalyst which helped me realize that mathematics is my
future.
These results are just the sweet fruits of my continuous and enjoyable labour, but I
have to mention that there would have been no such fruits without the powerful roots of my
learning. During high school, I had the privilege of working with some of the best teachers of
mathematics from my country. Until the seventh grade, I knew them by name only, as they
appeared regularly on the cover of the mathematics books and magazines; they also authored
the problems which challenged us in the competitions. As a result, my first impression of
them was based on the type and difficulty of the problems they had created. Things have
changed, however. Now, these teachers have become my tutors, my role models, and my
second family. I had some of them as teachers; others I met in the extra classes, organized and
taught for the students with a keen interest in the subject. All of them introduced me to a
completely novel and endlessly fascinating side of mathematics. They encouraged me to work
from extraordinary books such as Problem-solving strategies by Arthur Engel, Proofs from
the book by Martin Aigner and Gunter M. Ziegler or Putnam and beyond by Razvan Gelca
and Titu Andreescu. Because of them, I now understand mathematicians, and ardently want to
become one myself.
What I like about mathematics is that it represents the basis for all sciences. Knowing
mathematics has helped me to understand, sometimes with surprising ease, physics and
informatics, but also economics. They all represent a natural process, where the pieces of the
puzzle combine harmoniously. Thus, I maintained a vivid interest in physics by participating
to the regional phases of the Olympiad of Physics and other similar competitions on the same
subject.
I strongly consider that studying in UK, in one of its most prestigious universities,
would be the opportunity of a life-time. Having already taken small steps to discover the
mysteries of mathematics, continuing this exploration at such a high level would represent an
overwhelming experience. This would unlock not only the gates of learning, but it would pry
open a door to socialization, offering me the chance to meet interesting people from different
cultural backgrounds.