Blog
January 9, 2021
Applying to college = brain melt
'Applying to College: What you wish someone would have told you'
Blog #4
You know that feeling when you get slammed in the head with a frying pan? I can't say that I've experienced it personally, but I'm sure it sums up my experience with college apps. If I somehow had a magical power to give my Junior self advice, I would suggest to focus on making essays 1) funny, 2) personable, and 3) unique, rather than trying to write ~ perfectly ~. A well-written-but-boring essay is still boring!
Side note: In the off chance that a Junior is reading this, make sure to finish your Personal Statement by the end of the summer before your senior year! The process is mind-numbingly monotonous and long, so start early.
I can't say I'm thrilled to wait for college results to come out — I have at least three months of waiting for that. But afterwards (hopefully at one of my top choices), I'm just excited to meet new people and (pretty much) start a new life.
I'm including the following gif because it's sort of cool/funny if you get it, confusing/sad/unfunny if you don't, and completely random — exactly like college admissions!
November 5, 2021
Yo, how's it going Ms. Snyder?
Blog post after the Halloween project
Blog #3
Q: What went well during the halloween mini project?
A: Our implementation and use of the Arduino kit, IDE, and UNO was a lot of fun, because I learned a lot. I think our execution was smart too.
Q: What could have gone better during the halloween mini project?
A: Two things. First, I should have just brought in the Arduino kit to school rather than doing it at my house, because we could've used that classtime for it instead of spending time outside of school. Two, although our wiring and such turned out great, the cardboard mechanism and fridge we made weren't that visually appealing or particularly well made.
Q: If you had one piece of advice to give your future self during the “year long capstone project”, what would it be?
A: Bring all materials to class to work on instead of working on them at home; make a better mechanism, perhaps 3d printed or out of metal, rather than taping cardboard.
September 12, 2021
Welcome back to the blog y'all
Blog post after the Ethics in Engineering project and debate
Blog #2
I learned that there's always a way to defend the indefensible. In the movie Monsters, Inc., the CEO clearly was 'evil' and was portrayed as the villain. Obviously he's a villain, he's kidnapping children! Regardless, I was able to successfully make a strong case to defend the CEO's actions by citing the economy, jobs, the efficiency of the energy, and the work satisfaction of employees, reminiscent of many PR stunts by top CEOs. This shows how in real life, even the most immoral and terrible people can get away with corruption and criminal activity by having a great PR and/or legal team. Money buys freedom and popularity!
On an unrelated note, I've been working on college apps and attempting to keep up with schoolwork. I've been working on a physics website for fun recently, too — I might add it here once it's published.
August 25, 2021
Hello Everyone
First blog post after creating the website in SvelteJS!
Blog #1
This summer was a great change from the summer before. I hung out with my friends a lot and took many pictures for my photography class at SMC! I also did a decent amount of coding for my C Programming class, personal projects, and software development for a company called SmileStart.
I'm mostly excited to work towards a project as a solution to a real-world problem. Class often feels like learning/doing something for the sake of learning/doing something, and because solving problems is a fundamental aspect of engineering, it's what I'm looking forward to.
In general I'm excited to be able to see all my teachers and friends this year in-person because I feel like that's where authentic connections happen. I'm also looking forward to applying to college to see where I'll end up!