Skip to main content

Writing 01: Identity


               I did not come to Computer Science early. I did not have a coding class in high school or start editing game code in my garage. In fact I avoided Computer Science as much as possible because it was something my brother did. Our relationship was often rocky in high school and I could not bear to start learning something he already knew so well; it would have been humiliating. Imagine my surprise when during my Intro to Engineering course I discovered that coding was something I enjoyed and was good at after all. This mindset originally caused me to stray away from the computing stereotypes I saw in my brother. I didn’t immediately switch to Linux and swear off Windows; I didn’t put all my time into passion projects. I let coding be a part of my school life, but kept it at a cautious distance.
               This has changed. As much as I resisted I couldn’t completely avoid the siren call of computing culture. Recently I have started to read research papers, plan personal projects, and am even typing this blog on replica IBM Model M keyboard – a Christmas gift from my brother. Slowly learning to embrace something as part of my identity has been a challenge, but not without rewards.
               As seen above, family plays a large role in how I see myself and the world around me. Every once in a while, my father will catch my eye and ask in a serious tone, “Do you know how lucky you are?” He hopes that I will recognize the privilege of my own situation.  I grew up in a loving two-parent household with almost no wants or needs. I was encouraged to help others, live within my means, and appreciate that what I had was not given to everyone. I have not always handled this well, but I hope to continue to grow, not in power, but in responsibility.
Notre Dame has been an incredible experience. I find myself surrounded by some of the most spectacular people every day. It has not been a perfect experience. I constantly make mistakes. The greatest impact Notre Dame has and will have on me is that here I could learn from my mistakes by engaging with those spectacular people and learning from them. As an engineering student, specifically a Computer Scientist, I view the university as a testing ground for iterative development of the self.
I am not a finished product, nor do I ever hope to be. My view of the world is shaped by that belief. I want to continue to learn and improve, and believe that others are capable of the same. Privilege shaped me, I am very aware of that fact. That places a responsibility upon me to grow beyond that privilege. I am unsure how I will achieve that, but I know that my years at this university have helped to start that process. I have been given an insight into the ability to impact change upon the world, one action or line of code at a time.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Writing 09: Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property has become increasing relevant as society has shifted from away from smaller more agrarian communities towards larger, more technologically driven urban communities. In the past farming techniques did not need to be as closely guarded as the markets were relatively small and the need for cooperation high. The markets today are global and the corporations much larger, leading to a need for intellectual property protection along with a declining need for cooperation. Patents exist within these large markets to allegedly safeguard innovation. The inventor is allowed to profit off a patent for twenty years, either by producing it himself or licensing others to do. There is danger in protecting intellectual property this way. Under the current system a patent can be acquired without a product ever being manufactured, simply a broad idea is enough. This leads to patent trolling in which entities apply for a buy a large range of patents, many of which are not current...
Post a Comment
Read more

Writing 00

My decision making process is rooted in consequentialism. Growing up, my father would remind me constantly to think of the consequences of my actions, both good and bad. I am still fully learning that lesson, but strive to understand the potential impacts of my actions on myself and the word around me. This mindset bleeds into my understanding of talent. I see talent as human potential. It is something to be nurtured and strengthened. Talent is the ability of a person to affect the world around them using a particular ability or skill. The consequences of honing and developing a talent cannot be overstated, as talented individuals can change the world. The consequences of ignoring one’s talents are less immediately apparent. This is where the danger lies, the loss of human potential in underdeveloped talent is impossible to quantify and often easy to ignore.                Raw talent must be refined. For Compute...
Post a Comment
Read more