Well now that is most certainly an introspective question. Does anyone really know who they are until they are finished existing? We are always evolving causing our identity to change… until it doesn’t. Because we die. But can’t identity change after consciousness ceases to exist? Is identity introspective at all, or does it have to do with how people perceive us? Well this is going to cause my brain to hurt over the next couple of days, and it’s all because I decided to start this blog with the question “Who am I” (even though it is a total cliche).
You are still reading at this point so I am going to go ahead and assume that I have your attention. I promise that initial paragraph will be most of the only existentialism I will discuss on this website. I just wanted to give you a glimpse into how I operate. That erratic chain of questions which is probably your first ever impression of me was supposed to show you how crazy my mind is. Oftentimes, I jump between topics that I am talking about and thinking about which can make me pretty difficult to follow. It is definitely something I will work on, I promise :). But consider this to be a disclaimer as to how I think, how hard it may be to follow me sometimes, and (because I may as well throw it in there) how informal this blog is going to be. I mean, there was literally a smiley face from 2006 two sentences ago. This isn’t exactly the NY Times people.
Just to get the basics out of the way, I am starting this blog as a senior computer science engineering major at the University of Connecticut. As for my name, I am of course Greg, first of my name, king of the Andals and the fir– sorry about that. I DID warn you of my scatterbrainedness. For everyone that is now wondering, I was very disappointed by the ending of Game of Thrones. Just like everyone else that has a brain.
This blog is going to be about my life. There. I said it. Now you know. I apologize for how boring that sentence was, but trust me it is necessary so that we are all on the same page. I want to use this space to write about my experiences, opinions, and important things I have learned in the beginning of my career as a software developer. Back in high school, my mind would have been put at ease if I knew more of what to expect from programming, college, and my future career. I worry about pretty much everything, so obviously starting college was not stressful at all (that was sarcasm for those of you who didn’t get it). But seriously I would have felt a lot better and been able to make more informed decisions if I had known then what I know now. So here’s to all of you aspiring programmers that are in college, high school, junior high, elementary, preschool, or (for the overachievers) the womb. I swear, you all get younger and younger every year…
Now for all of you who have any more experience than I do, you are probably scoffing to yourself thinking “what does this kid know?” Well put your pinky finger back on your mug’s handle and stop preparing that can of verbal whoop-ass you were about to lay down on me. Because I will be the first to admit that I know very little. Like close to nothing. Actually, I really can’t stress enough how under-qualified I am to be giving anyone advice. The reason I offer my advice and experiences is to put my opinion on display for those that need it to have some sort of guidance. Oftentimes it will be a ‘what not to do’ because I have made a lot of mistakes along the way. Like I said before, beginning to learn to write code as an entry level programmer can be really daunting. It feels like everyone is smarter than you, more experienced than you, and (worst of all) constantly judging you. To most of us entry level programmers, being wrong is scary, but other people knowing that we are wrong is exponentially worse. I want to make sure all those programmers that don’t really think of themselves as programmers yet understand that they are not the only ones. They are not the only kid writing little computer games to procrastinate doing their homework.
In a nutshell, that’s why I decided to write this. Pretty simple right? So to answer the initial question: “who am I?”… I am just a guy who loves writing code and wants to share that with as many people as possible. I think the software development world is really intimidating the first couple of years, so I am going to try to make it seem less so.
Okay so I was going to end it right there, but after reading it back to myself, I thought it sounded too sappy. I am a bit of a sap at heart but I can’t justify ending the first post on a sentimental note. So instead, I think I will end it on a cliff ha…
Hello, World 