Introduction
Hello everybody, since my last blog post, I have decided upon my project and have almost begun the development phase! I have been working on creating a Top-N Genre Classification Neural Network. To be more specific, an AI machine learning model capable of classifying genres by receiving audio files and returning a list of genres with “confidence scores”. Music is a huge part of my life which is why I really wanted to find a project that matched my passion for the art. I am so glad that I am able to be a part of something I am excited for and passionate about.
Picking a Project
There were many projects to choose from and a lot of them looked intriguing to me. Particularly, I would have also enjoyed the other options centered around game design and/or music. The reason why this project was so appealing to me is because I have had the idea before! In my freshman year in 2022, I distinctly remember being very proud of my “formal proposal” assignment for my technical writing course. I proposed an AI machine learning model that can categorize music based on things like emotion and genre by finding its chord progressions, melodies, lyrics, etc. My current project is a lot simpler than this but maybe I can use what I learn to develop my initial idea!
Time Management
Balancing my work life, school work, friends, and family has been a bit of a struggle this term but I have found some great ways to manage it. I will break down some of my habits one topic at a time:
I started an internship over the summer and learned a lot about the Microsoft Power platform. I was able to provide so much efficiency to the department that they decided to keep me around over the school year! Over the course of this term, I have been trying to work around 20 hours a week in the mornings on weekdays. This has been plenty of time for me to continue making an impact on my department while also giving me plenty of time for other things. I think the best way I have been able to manage this is by holding myself to a set start time each day. I wake up every morning and log onto my work computer at 8. Depending on what projects my boss has for me to work on and what school work I need to finish afterwards, I clock out whenever it makes sense to.
Obviously this is not possible for everyone’s situation but I think there is some merit to deciding specific times to start working. In fact, I have started doing this with my school work too. In the past, I have spent many nights finishing assignments late due to poor planning and procrastination. Since I have started working, I have pretty much been forced to manage my time in order to not fall behind. I have basically dedicated the time I would have spent working when I was on full time to doing my school work. I have also dedicated certain days to specific assignments ahead of time giving me plenty of time to catch up if assignments take longer than I expect.
All of this planning and scheduling may make it seem as though I have no free time and I spend every waking moment working or studying. But this couldn’t be farther from the truth! Due to my dedication to planning during this term, I have had more time to hang out with my friends and roommates than I ever did over my last two years at OSU. I find that setting times and dates to complete assignments gives me a goal for that day and makes me work a lot faster and more focused. So, ironically, putting a little bit more time into planning has given me more freedom than I’ve ever had while in school.
Conclusion
This term has been very unique from the rest of my college career. My first internship, my capstone project, and living independently with five of my friends has been a big adjustment but also very rewarding. My internship has been super encouraging since it started out as being something I had never done before and turned me into one of the best in the field for the company. In this course, working with a group on a long-term project has definitely given me some stress but I am super excited about the project and am optimistic about my team. And finally, although my planning has helped, a big reason I have so much time to spend with my friends is because we all live together and can hang out any time! Overall, this term has been super fun for me and I am encouraged to keep moving throughout the rest of the school year. I have been branching out with new people and trying things that I wasn’t confident about before such as volleyball and playing more music! I am excited to continue down this path, learn many new things, and finish out the rest of my project.