I have always found it astonishing that our most important tool in life is something we don't fully understand. A lump of about 1.4 kilograms of gray-white matter, stationed in the upper part of our body, capable of creating the most surprising thoughts and ideas. Having studied physics for two and a half years at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU for short), I think the most amazing part about nature and the world we live in is that our understanding of physics, from gigantic stars, thousands of lights -years apart, to extremely small subparticles, are due to physical properties that occur between billions of tiny nerve cells in our brain. In the last year of my physics degree I am specializing in biophysics and [the forces that work between different cell types: how cells transfer data between different organs, how most of our body is driven by gradient fields and the different properties of individual particles in our body.] nanotechnology. My goal is to study different processes and properties of our body to eventually understand what happens when important features that make our brain function properly stop working as they should. While our brain can help us understand the world better, damage and disease to this organ can also destroy the most amazing and brilliant minds. Working as a nursing assistant at an old people's home in my hometown during the summer holidays I experienced firsthand what Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases can do to a healthy, intelligent person. In my master's degree I want to continue studying the physics that drives the brain to help understand the diseases that cause these ailments...... middle of paper ......everything happens and often helps me look at the problem on which I'm working on from a different angle, comparing it to the different things I see and think as I run. Enjoying the world more fully by understanding physics was the main reason I started studying physics. As I begin to learn and understand physics more, it is inevitable for me, as a science student, not to ask myself the question of how I am able to understand all these wonderful things. What kind of physics makes humans capable of understanding the world and all its complications, and how can I, by understanding neuroscience, prevent the brain from becoming less functional due to various diseases and damage? I believe that as a student at UC Berkeley I will be much closer to answering this question and would be honored to attend UC Berkeley as part of my master of science.