It’s been a while since my last post. I’ve just completed another semester in school, rounding up my second year of university. This semester was not at all what I’d thought it would be.
I took five modules, as usual, but this time I was a little more invested in more of them. By this time, I had gotten most of the boring foundational modules out of the way, and so I had some freedom to pick and choose. I took a leap of faith and went for a philosophy module, Introduction to Continental Philosophy. I also picked a UI/UX design module, Interaction Design. The other three were the remaining core modules that I had left, Software Engineering, Design & Analysis of Algorithms and a communications module. I figured it would be a somewhat enjoyable semester, as I appreciate philosophy, I’m not too shabby at design, and I had assembled a good team for the Software Engineering module. And so my semester began.
I promise this is not a rant post, so let me just give a brief overview of my suffering. The client project I was working on during the winter break extended into my semester, so I was working part-time while schooling. Continental philosophers were a huge step up from Plato, Aristotle and the Greeks. They loved making up new words and writing about their abstract concepts in the most complex way possible, while providing little to no examples. The design and software engineering modules had pretty high workloads. And finally, the algorithms module was perhaps the hardest thing I’ve ever had to study in my life, and pretty much beyond me.
It ended up being the toughest semester yet. It almost felt like a sprint from start to finish, barely having any time to catch a break. I could chalk it down to poor time management skills, or blame myself for being lazy and unproductive some days, but I think I’m not going to do that. I found that throughout this hectic semester, I’ve been thinking a lot about the kind of life and career I would like to have post-graduation. I didn’t come up with a solid plan or anything. But here’s what I’ve got.
For the next three years post-graduation, I would be serving my bond for my scholarship, working at a local tech company. Ideally, I’d like to work at a place whose product I care about and believe in, a place that respects my time (no 996 life for me), and a place that I can grow in. After completing my bond, I would take a year off software engineering and try things that I’ve always wanted to try, like working as a barista. Yes, it’s unconventional and it sounds a little silly, but it’ll be fun, I think. Furthermore, if design and software engineering is about building solutions that solve problems, what better way to identify problems than by doing and trying different things yourself?
I guess my “big takeaway” this semester is to not take life too seriously, and it’s okay to do what makes you happy sometimes. Yes, I’m aware this comes from a place of privilege, and I’m thankful that I have the freedom to ponder about things like these.
lowercased C 