Sitting down to convey one's character and goals onto paper isn't as easy as it might seem. Most people feel that they know themselves, yet how many have actually established clear long-term goals for their lives? I don't claim to be any different. While the obvious path it would seem I should follow has been laid out in front of me for a while now, that doesn't make my choices any easier.
I would say that my characteristics tend towards the extremes. On one hand, I am quiet and soft-spoken, usually going with the crowd and not a strong advocate of any particular action. On the other I am passionate and firm, picking my fights and waging them effectively. There is no middle ground, either I fight with conviction or wash along with indifference. I enjoy educating myself on issues that I believe in, preferring to enter any discussion fully versed in all its possible aspects.
Since I spend so much of my time in front of a computer, most of the achievements I'm proud of are in that arena. My pet project, eThreads, is a piece of software I started work on several years ago with the goal of simply providing a way for people to do web-based discussion. As time has progressed the project has gone through many different phases, its goals evolving with my interests and abilities. Today eThreads is performing its initial task above and beyond what I would ever have planned at its inception, as well as serving as a platform for building other kinds of database driven web applications. I've also recently formed my own corporation, which provided valuable lessons in business and financial matters. Through this corporation I'm doing contracting work, including designing and building the framework to enable the creation of my school's web site.
My goal in life is pretty simple. At all times, I want to be able to be in the field which appeals to me the most. Far too many people get drawn into the trap of becoming specialists in one thing to the exclusion of others. I don't want to be just a programmer or just a systems person. I want to ground my knowledge around a general purpose core such that at any point I'm free to move around in my field, or even between fields.
It's because of this goal that I don't plan on being a computer science major. Instead, I want to major in film and video. As Internet and traditional media merge together, a knowledge of both will be critical. No longer will it suffice for online information to be displayed in a bland manner just because of the medium. As technology progresses, people will expect the content to progress with it, and effecting this transformation will require people who can grasp both mediums and tie them together in a way that's both visually appealing and useful.
We live in an exciting age. Never before has our technology been so powerful, or our communication so instantaneous and all-encompassing. There are a multitude of options available, and my goal is merely to make the most of all of them.