April 12, 2023
I am a UVa student, in the College of Arts and Science, and I decided to double major in Computer Science and Cognitive Science. When I graduate in May 2024, I will have one degree (a B.A.), but it will be in two disciplines. I don’t know if those disciplines will be written down for me on the degree or not.
Computer science is really fun. It’s insanely neat and such a crazy phenomenon that we as humans harnessed and created electricity and have been able model human-computers (olden days) with computational models like finite automaton and Turing Machines. It’s even more amazing that in reducing our cognitive load to simply 0s and 1s, we can implement nearly anything we can think of.
I am writing today about the reason I chose Computer Science, as a sort of a love letter to the major and the discipline, but also as a reminder to myself that I fell in love with this major for a reason.
My Journey I chose Computer Science for one very simple reason: when I completed assignments, it made me feel good. When I first started out, I was a second year, taking Introduction to Programming (CS 1112). Every assignment was a small puzzle. There were little intricacies to it, little quirks and tools that you would have to use, and eventually, it would run! I found myself constantly entering flow states while coding.
Then, I took Data Structures and Algorithms as well as Discrete Mathematics (Spring second year). Things certainly took a turn here. The assignments were a lot more difficult. In DSA1, I was super confused at file structures and how I was supposed to write code that made senses structurally. One thing that UVa CS Professors don’t understand is that not everyone comes from a CS background. That coupled with the fact that assignments take a lengthy amount of time- so much that you don’t have time to practice, and it made sense why I struggled through that class. Nevertheless, I found it utterly fascinating and intriguing. Just the way that we could use code to more efficiently structure data so that we could use it better, then write instructions so that the data could be used better- it was awesome in my opinion. Discrete mathematics opened the door to the fact that things in CS were going to get a lot more difficult than weird file structures. We started talking about set theory, about proofs by contradiction and induction. This is when things got really tough. However, I still found it fascinating. I had yet to have a class in college where I was this “into” and engaged with the work I was doing. I loved it. It was at the end of this semester that I decided to major in Computer Science.
Advertisement In the summer in between second and third year, I had an awesome opportunity to work in an undergraduate research experience program. I spent the summer working on a coding project that is still being developed and deployed today. It was a huge jump in my coding abilities.
My third year Fall was spent in Algorithms, in Computer Structure and Organization, and in Software Development Essentials. This is when things got a little sour. I overwhelmed myself. I didn’t know how difficult these courses would be, and I thought I could manage alright, but it was incredibly difficult. The sheer amount of work for each class was insane in itself. Additionally, coming from a non-CS background made things very difficult. I also overextended myself as far as commitments goes. I didn’t fail my classes by any means (Bs), but I felt as if I went from “fascination” to “scrambling to finish oh god please good grade”. It was sort of heartbreaking. Additionally, I felt like I never had the time to explore code and practice on my own- which I did in semesters previous just due to the fact that I understood things. In looking back on things, it was really just CSO1 that deadlocked me. The class was incredibly difficult, the TAs that I asked questions to did not help me, and I had no friends in the class. It was an absolute grind to get that B.
I am currently in discrete mathematics and theory 2, computer structure and organization 2, and human-computer interaction. These classes are ALL grinds. I enjoy them, but I still feel as if I am in scrambled eggs mode. I don’t want to be in scrambled eggs mode.
The Future With Code in it I really do enjoy coding. I think that the ideal day would be a day where I could use code to build something really, really neat. I would love to be a part of an organization that uses code to fix environmental problems, build sustainable energy solutions, create cloud computing frameworks, build more software for computing purposes, and just in general does computer development for good purposes.
I don’t think I could ever work for any social media company. I just came to terms with the fact that YouTube is a social media. I don’t want to contribute to their code base.
6 months In an ideal world, I would give myself 6 months to 1 year to figure myself out. I feel like I need some space to figure things out, to work on my own coding projects, and to just learn more about myself. College has been incredible for the social connections, but now I feel like I need to dig deep and go on a journey with myself to sharpen my skills and knowledge as a programmer, increase my level of confidence, and find out what it is I truly want to do with code. Thankfully, I believe the job market is here to stay for coders.
In school I feel like I go from project to project, assignment to assignment, test to test, without really being able to sit down and dive into the code, or give myself the space to breath and think through problems at hand. I want that. I want to be an engineer that uses code to develop solutions for real problems. I think it’s a fantastic way to do things.
The paradox I love to code, but I don’t want to spend all of my time sitting behind a desk, typing away. This is sort of a simple thing, but basically I want to be able to get outside and take my time on things. I know most companies offer good things like getting outside, so I’m not entirely worried.
Now This has me thinking about a lot of stuff in the future. I’m going to stop here because I’ve got some other things rolling around. Thank you and peace!
PS: I saw an eagle recently.