{"id":19,"date":"2024-01-09T19:54:23","date_gmt":"2024-01-09T19:54:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/oscar\/?p=19"},"modified":"2024-01-09T20:36:54","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T20:36:54","slug":"19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/oscar\/2024\/01\/09\/19\/","title":{"rendered":"Blog Post #1: The Beginning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Person<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”<\/p>Lao Tzu<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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It was winter 2022, and I failed CS162. Yes, you read that correctly\u2014I failed out of CS162, an introductory course. I didn\u2019t even make it to week 3 before I threw in the towel. I just didn\u2019t get it; I couldn\u2019t understand, and I was incredibly frustrated. Funnily enough, Professor Hedaoo was the instructor for the course. He probably doesn\u2019t remember, but he was very nice about the whole situation. He spent more time than he probably should have in a 1:1 call with me, stepping through my code for the assignment and trying to give me pointers. I think one thing became fairly obvious to both of us\u2014I had no real idea what I was doing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You see, I wasn\u2019t a computer person growing up\u2014far from it, actually. I didn\u2019t come into this course with any programming experience; I\u2019d never even written a line of code. I was just someone who enjoyed the problem-solving process and building things, so I figured I might enjoy a career in Software Engineering. To add to this, I had a bad habit of telling myself stories that weren\u2019t true; \u201cyou\u2019re not a math guy,\u201d \u201cyou\u2019ve always struggled academically,\u201d \u201cother people get this and you don\u2019t\u201d\u2014you get the idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, before you label this as a doom blog, it\u2019s not. As I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve figured out by my enrollment in the class, my journey didn\u2019t end there. I took a few semesters off and really learnt to code. I spent time each day going over and over the basics. I came back and got through CS162, then the subsequent classes, and now here I am in my final semester! In hindsight, I\u2019m deeply grateful for this early setback because it allowed me to put to bed those negative beliefs I\u2019d held about myself for some time, and perhaps that\u2019s been the most rewarding aspect of my journey at OSU. Am I exactly where I want to be? Not at all. I don’t know if that will ever be the case. However, I’ve let go of what I was, or at least what I thought I was, and I’m moving towards what I might be\u2014a Software Engineer. Hence, the quote for this blog post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, before I get too Tony Robbins on you, I\u2019ll try to answer the other prompts and not make it too long. For a future career, I would love to get into Software Engineering after graduation. I don\u2019t have a strong preference for areas. As I mentioned, the problem-solving process is the best part for me, so I think I\u2019ll be able to do that with whatever I\u2019m working on. For projects I\u2019m most interested in, I would say the Fire Department 911 Risk Analysis and the Fire\/EMS Visualization Client seem cool. Being able to write code that helps save lives would be very rewarding, and I like the emphasis on looking for team players that are willing to learn. Finally, when I\u2019m not coding, you\u2019ll typically find me spending time with my kids, outside with my chickens, or doing jujitsu\u2014that\u2019s pretty much it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m excited for this class and to bring this rewarding journey to an end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best of luck to everyone!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cheers,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oscar<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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