Finished with school for now

On May 13 I officially got my B.S. in Computer Science. This was a journey that was rewarding, frustrating, fun, and demanding all at once.

I realized that

• Focusing on my own growth is all that matters.
• There is enough time.
• Progressing is impossible without failure and looking like an idiot for a while.
• Recognizing that there are things to learn is a good thing. Feeling smart is usually not so good. There’s more to everything.

I feel grateful for

• My parents, for allowing me to be able to stress out over classwork and not financial burdens.
• My best friends, coworkers, and first year roommates for shaping my vision of the world and making me listen.
• Popak, for being the best boss ever and taking a chance on me.
• The great professors that made me work hard and think for myself. Most notably: Ben Shen, Vadim Ponomarenko, Octavio García, and Michael Domínguez.

Though SDSU shares many of the flaws of other large universities, I appreciate some of the things that they do well. One thing that had a positive impact was the Chicana and Chicano Studies Department. I’m glad I took these classes to fulfill GE requirements, as they were uniquely interesting and important for my development.

• I also think that as a whole, the general education requirements were well designed. Before I started the degree, they seemed useless, but they were a crucial part of helping me learn to think for myself, listen, and change my mind.
• A lot of people in the US hate on universities, insisting that they don’t help you get a job. However, for me, one of the most impactful parts of the process was taking the classes unrelated to computers. I don’t think we should strive to be a machine that can only do one thing. We really should know stuff about history, politics, and film.

Next up is working full time in one of my favorite cities, Seattle. I’ll be learning even more about myself and continuing to shape my goals and passions. When the time is right, I’ll continue school and study something I love in depth, basically for the first time.