This is (Part 1 of) a Story of a Girl

I wrote one really long post, and then split it into multiple posts, so maybe you'll read them...here is Part 1:

When I started in the CS department, I didn’t know anything about programming. I just liked computers. I mean...I used FB a lot, and I liked to play games - the Internet was fun...why not?! I mean, the major has “Computer” in the name! The other major I was looking at - Digital Animation - required art classes. I’m not an artist! Science! Let’s try it out!!

So...1170. It blew my mind. Looking back, I think I picked up on stuff relatively quickly. For most of my life I considered myself fairly intelligent. I made a 4.0 in high school, thankyouverymuch. My professor, though, man...he was a scary dude! Not that he was actually frightening - he just really emphasized the importance of understanding ev.re.thing. And I didn’t understand all of it. Honestly - I still don’t. But he drilled it into our heads that if we didn’t understand everything in 1170 there was no way we’d get through 2170.

Here is my CS shame: I panicked. I decided to retake the class. There was...maybe a month left? I decided to focus on other classes instead - I was retaking this one, right? My grade dropped from a B to a D. On top of that, I had discovered that you could skip classes! I was in a massive 100-student Psychology class and skipped it allll the time. Got a C. I had NEVER gotten a C, much less a D, in any class ever. So now that I’m paying for school, of course I do. I almost lost my scholarships the first semester. My parents almost killed me.

But! I retook 1170 that summer. I had another professor, and he was da bomb. Plus, I already knew everything from having already had the class. I aced it, no sweat. The next semester I signed up for 2170. It was a little more difficult, but I got through it. Really started to like it, too. Programming is fun! Woo!

The next semester I think I had 3080 and 3110. 3080 remained my favorite class through all 5.5 years I was taking CS classes (I didn’t have any my first semester). I loved the professor, I loved the subject...I wish I could take it again for fun. But I’m afraid I might not like it now. lol! Anyway. 3110 destroyed me. That class was sooo hard! But I got through it. I had the same professor I’d had for 2170 and I spent a lot of time in his office. He helped me so much, though! Also, I had made a friend (d’awww....). Little Hippo sat beside me in 3080. And would NOT shut up. It was either befriend him or murder him, and I wasn’t as angry of a person then as I am now. Lucky him.

Mmmm...then things start to get fuzzy. I had 3160 and that’s where I met MC. That professor has the students get contact information from other students in the class. Hm...who knew I had a sweet little Korean woman to blame for my terrible programming self-esteem. ;) Nah, she’s another one of my favorite professors - I can’t blame her.

At any rate - the last 2.5 years I was in undergrad I really got involved with the CS department. I made a ton of friends, really enjoyed *most* of my classes, and *most* of my professors (I have to admit, the longer I was in the department the less I liked programming - shhhhh...don’t tell anyone!). Just now I started thinking about blaming all that on MC, but I don’t think that’s fair. I’m just not as into it as most other CS majors are. I never cared to write code on my own, for fun. I didn’t research new technologies. I still don’t understand anything about computer hardware, and only the basics of software.

The only things that kept me in the program were my friends and the knowledge that if I tried to start over with another major I wouldn’t graduate on time. So of COURSE I stayed and got a Master’s in CS, too. >.<

Look for Part 2 next week.