New beginnings
When I started college, I was confidant in my future: I wanted to be a computer scientist. I started out thinking I would also major in mathematics, but I downgraded to a minor, and eventually, dropped it completely due to disinterest. In spite of this, I always thought that, after graduation, I would get a job and just continue into the “real world”. Now that I’m actually out of college, however, I feel much differently. The job I came out of college with turned out to be terrible, and I’m no longer sure I want to be a computer scientist. This isn’t to say that I don’t want to work with computers: I am still one of the most skilled computer technicians I know and I still love to write small programs to automate tasks. I no longer feel the same zeal, though, towards advancing the field of computer science. The current state of computer-related jobs is deplorable (candidates with extensive experience are sought for menial jobs with low pay and no job-security) and research in computer science doesn’t seem interesting.
After some self-analysis and research, I decided that a different field where I can apply my computer skills towards a meaningful end would be much better. One particular field that caught my attention is BCI research, the study of driving computer circuits using connections with a brain. Initial research in this field involved connecting a monkey’s brain to a computer which drove a mechanical arm; more information can be found in the Wikipedia article. To that end, I have registered for an introductory-level biology class and plan to take biology classes part time until I am able to enter graduate school. Of course, since I no longer have a scholarship, I’ll have to get a part-time job to pay for classes and my bills.
One of the things I miss the most about my college years is my proximity to friends. I still keep in touch with most of the friends I had during college, but now that I live at home, I’m much farther from those who still live on campus or who have also moved back home. I didn’t really know one particular friend too well before my last semester living on campus, but, during that last semester, I started to talk to her more often, eventually getting a phone number so the two of us could talk during the summer. Even before the summer started, I realized I liked her, but was too timid to approach her. I also invented a reason to wait until the fall semester started before approaching her; since she lived so far away from me (6 hours by driving), I didn’t want either of us unable to see the other when we wanted. My other friends decided that I needed deal with this rather than put it off, as I am wont to do, and one of them even approached her for me. I’m aware that isn’t usually a good way to handle things, but in this case, it resulted in something positive: I went to visit her on Monday and we’re “officially” dating now.
If you’re not interested in hearing mushy feelings, find a different webpage to read. It’s truly amazing the feelings one can have in a relationship. Even the simple thought of her makes any problem I’m having seem trivial, and I always come out of it in a better mood. I’m visiting her this weekend, and I hope that I can visit more frequently; a job and gas prices will be big factors in determining that. Of course, I still have to let everyone else know about it, and, considering my lax memory, it may take a while.