Interest in physics and my first physics video.

2013. When the summer vacation was over, I entered the twelfth grade, the so-called qualification phase, where I naturally opted for the computer science focus over mechanical engineering because I found soldering resistors onto a circuit board and tinkering with computers more interesting than sawing wood and metal. My interest was also clearly reflected in my grades. Computer science – good, and physics – good. Spanish – good, but it was for complete beginners.

I was good at physics because Alexey sometimes explained some things to me, but also because my physics teacher was capable and nice. However, it wasn't until the twelfth grade, when I got a new physics teacher and finished the boring classical mechanics, that my interest began to shift from computer science to physics.

The good grades I received at the beginning of the school year – more out of sheer luck – and the subsequent unexpected praise from my new physics teacher led me to believe that I had a talent for the subject. Even my classmates and the teacher seemed to think so. It felt good to be praised and to be referred to as a physicist in class by now.

All of a sudden, physics became my favorite subject, even though I never really liked physics! This led me to take active steps to maintain this feeling of success. I started doing physics homework regularly and was always mentally present in class. It was hard to believe, but I was truly sad when the physics class was canceled.

It was amazing to see the impact my physics teacher had on my future. His recognition sparked endless motivation in me. His exciting explanations of topics like the quantum mechanical tunneling effect led me to decide in the twelfth grade to study physics after graduation and to become like my teacher, if not even better.

A positive transformation took place within me as I finally felt I had found my path. The fascination for physics was so great that I even set myself the goal of one day making a contribution to this field and receiving the Nobel Prize for it.

My previous physics teacher was good, and I had good grades. But my new physics teacher became a role model who not only influenced my grades but also my future.

2013. After some of my classmates asked me to explain physics to them, I thought of doing this in the form of a YouTube video. And so, my very first physics video about the photoelectric effect by Albert Einstein was born. This also led to the creation of a section for physics topics in text form on my website.

Naturally, I also received hate comments on my first physics video. They told me that I was not a universal thinker but either a show-off, a wishful thinker, or something else – but definitely not a universal thinker. And I should stay away from physics because I didn't understand anything about it anyway, and I would only get the Nobel Prize in Physics in a parallel universe.

These people tried to drill their negative classifications into me until I accepted them – served on a silver platter. However, the passion I gained for physics stood up to all kinds of negative influences, whether it was hate comments on the physics video, emails trying to convince me that I knew nothing about physics, or worse physics grades.

All these events and influences didn't even come close to making me turn away from physics. I was like an enthusiastic child, and physics was my new toy that no one could take away from me.

I firmly believed that I should never give up the child in me if I wanted to positively impact the world; if I wanted to achieve everything in my life that I set out to do. At that time, I was convinced that I could be as brilliant as Albert Einstein, that I could understand physics just like him. I just couldn't lose my passion. That was the most important thing, not any school grades or opinions of critics.

I could hardly believe that Albert Einstein studied physics to get good grades in the subject or to pass exams. He was interested in physics because he wanted to know what holds our universe together at its core. He always remained a curious, enthusiastic child at heart, revolutionizing the then-understanding of physics - despite many critics. Where would physics be now if he had given up his work in this area after the first criticism?

Donations for My Hobby

2013. Over time, I created more physics videos on topics we covered in school, and with that, I was not only helping my classmates but also other students. They wrote to me saying that they were getting better grades in physics thanks to my videos.

Of course, I didn't ask for a single cent from the visitors and viewers for my work because I firmly believed that knowledge should be freely accessible to everyone. I knew exactly how valuable it was to be able to learn from others for free on the internet. My mother wouldn't have had money for a tutor anyway. The free sources of knowledge were therefore even more helpful. And I was sure that there were plenty of other people who couldn't afford paid offerings or weren't willing to spend money on knowledge. Freely available knowledge, I still believe, prevents a division of society into the knowledgeable and the unknowledgeable. And in my case, some students were so grateful for the videos that they voluntarily donated. This was the first time I generated passive income and could at least finance the server and domain costs of the website with it.

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Future Learnings from this Life Stage:

• I've learned to ignore my haters and realize that the hate has less to do with me than with the hater themselves.
• Before criticizing others on the internet, I should introspect and figure out what current problem is bothering me.

Future Learnings from the Time in 12th and 13th Grade:

• Good teachers determine good grades on the report card. Role models determine the future of students.
• Free knowledge is the key to prevent society from dividing into the knowledgeable and the unknowledgeable.
• I will always support people who share their knowledge for free because I know from personal experience that you can't live off of gratitude alone.