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Finally got that grad school application off in the mail during lunch, so back to updating this blog less less frequently than before. Here’s a newspaper from some remote island in the South Pacific. It might as well be on another planet for the distance from the civilized world. (link via BoingBoing)

This is the essay for a grad school application. I hate writing essays. Why I need one now I shall never know.

To reflect upon the achievements in my life is a tough assignment for me. First off, as a humble person, writing about myself seems to be a boastful thing to do. I am not used to bragging about myself. I don’t like the attention focused on me. Second, to spend some time to reflect on your past is to relive both the good and the bad time and conjures up memories which may be difficult to share in an essay for others to read. It is like allowing strangers a peak into your private journal. Lastly, a list your life’s achievements seems to make life smaller, and the act of living life a by-the-numbers deal. So with trepidation, I shall list the achievements of my life so far, and hope that it conveys a little piece of me to the reader.

My first achievement that I am proud of is graduating from the University of Miami, Florida with a bachelor’s degree in communications. Yet, when I had entered college, I had planned on graduating with a degree in one of the natural sciences either biology or chemistry and continue on with becoming a doctor. It took some strength of character to change my focus from sciences to the arts, because I am not the most communicative of person’s. Once transferred to the Miami’s School of Communications, I took up film as my specialty. With extremely creative people and in a highly collaborative environment, I had participated in making three student documentaries that were well received one of which even garnered a little publicity the local paper. My time spent at Miami allowed me to see that it is in creative, collaborative environments where I like to work.

Another achievement in my life of which I am proud about is the fact that I went back to school for another bachelor’s degree. In making the decision to return to school, I had to accept the fact that my communication degree does not suit me well. I had to accept the fact that my father was right when pointing out when I was young that I may be more suited for work in the technology field even it had meant that his son will not follow his footsteps as a doctor. I had to accept the realization that a job in the film industry would be unachievable for me. At this point in my life, when returning back to school seemed to be a step back, it was actually when I felt that I had finally matured. I returned to school for a degree in computer science.

Of course, my first salaried job was a grand achievement. It allowed me to pay for my return to school on my own rather than my parents paying. The job was as a web developer during the time when being one was a cool thing have been doing. I had the most fun during this time as I had found a job that allowed me to express myself artistically and scientifically. The web development company was a small firm consisting of the two owners who split the business and technical aspects of the company between them, the graphic designer, and me, the programmer. Eventually, we created a company that became big enough to have been bought out by a larger company. I am proud to say that I have experienced the “dotcom” era in the front lines as grunt web programmer.

My most recent achievement so far is my current job. Having earned that second degree in computer science, I am finally applying that knowledge as a software engineer. It might not be in as glamorous an industry as I had been with my previous job, but it was exactly what I had wanted to do. I wanted to do some serious embedded systems programming. I reasoned that eventually everything will have a microchip in it and would need someone to program it. Why not gain experience doing embedded systems work?

Finally, let me focus a few thoughts about my aspirations. Hopefully, I shall continue in the software field. If not with my current employer, then with a company that shall allow me to focus on writing code and being creative in an analytical way. Also, I would like to someday write commercial software for my own company, and I would also like to continue on with learning and maybe earn a doctorate degree.