In terms of Computer Science and my hobbies, I feel like I have a
hacker/maker identity. I enjoy making things in my free time, whether
that be small programming side projects or pencil sketches. I always
like the feeling of knowing that I made something cool or
interesting. Consequently, I get frustrated if I don't see immediate
value from side projects that I'm doing. I think that's why I
struggle with art and music since those skills require lots of time
and dedication before you can achieve meaningful results. With
programming, on the other hand, you can do amazing things with just a
few lines of code copied from Stack Overflow.
I don't like
playing video games or watching Netflix if I'm by myself since I feel
that it's a waste of time. I do think that these events are good if
they are done with friends or in a social environment since they help
build relationships, but I feel so lazy if I do them alone. I used to
do these activities much more as a child, and I feel like it had a
negative impact on me going forward since I would skip social and
educational opportunities to play video games or watch TV.
I'm pretty much the
opposite of most Notre Dame students. I'm non-religious, I don't care
about watching football, and I don't really have any school spirit or
pride. Notre Dame wasn't my ideal school, and I see it more of a
means to an end. While I think the majority of the CS professors I've
had so far have been exceptional, I have many problems with the way
that the school is run and question my choice of attending ND.
As for my
privileges, I've grown up with a supportive immediate and extended
family. While my family is not wealthy, my parents have worked hard
to make me not worry about tuition and living expenses. I have also
had opportunities to attend schools with good academic records and to
study abroad in Japan. Also, thanks to access to computers in high
school, I was able to start learning about Computer Science before
college.
However, I also
have some disadvantages. Since I'm rather short and thin, people
assumed that I can't play sports and just spent all day doing
academic activities. This stereotype has come up time and time again
throughout my life, despite the fact that I would throw the football
with my brother each week and would climb the giant magnolia tree in
front of my house for fun everyday. In fact, due to my excessive tree
climbing, I would always win the rock climbing competitions at my
middle school's relay races. Despite all this, I would always be
picked last in PE and would never get the football passed to me
during games.
I also feel like
I've been stereotyped as "that smart kid." Even though I
would always work hard and stay up late every night to maintain my
grades, people would always assume that I got good grades because I
was just innately smart. Even at Notre Dame, people will say that the
only reason why I could code a certain thing or pass a certain
interview was because I was just naturally smart. Very rarely would
people acknowledge the hard work that I've put in over the years.
Additionally, people would assume that I had everything "under
control" and never had to worry about anything. Thus, when I
actually did struggle, I had no one to turn to for help and just had
to act like everything was okay.
I have a pretty
cynical view of the world. I think most success and failure can be
attributed to your appearance, rather than the hard work you put in.
Of course, if you have good grades and skills, you might be able to
find a good job and make a lot of money. However, I don't consider
that by itself successful. For me, your friendships and relationships
are the most important elements of a well-lived life. For this
reason, I don't really care whether I become a millionaire or change
the world.
Request:
@pbui - please don't bring this up in class as I feel like some parts
are a bit too personal
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