Future Plans

Entering college, on the surface, I was just another starry-eyed fresh adult excited to be starting a new chapter of life. The competitive high school environment I had been a part of previously left me desperate for the sense of freedom and independence college is said to bring, and I was thoroughly excited for the university experience.

Actually experiencing college forced me to think more clearly about the details of my future than I ever have before. While I knew that I enjoyed programming, and thus wanted to pursue computer science, I quickly realized that computer science was a very broad subject and I’d need to focus my studies on more specific fields. Through various activities in my first year, I was able to realize how much artificial intelligence interested me. Not only was the material appealing, but the endless possibilities it provided also assured me that I’d always be learning and improving my knowledge in the future, even when I left school.

Another revelation I had, though it shouldn’t have been as surprising to me as it was, was the competitiveness of computer science as a field. As an emerging subject with plenty of opportunity for future development, it seemed to everyone that a degree in computer science would be the ticket to a secure future. I was no stranger to competitive environments, considering the high school I came from was one of the most contentious high schools in Texas, but part of me had hoped that college would mean a break for me always pushing myself forward. Still, the continued expectation of high academic achievement led me to realize that I would just be restless without a goal to reach for, making me appreciate the ambitious environment I had unknowingly thrown myself into.

Moving forward, I’ve come to realize that there are countless things I want to accomplish in the future, and entering college has allowed me to solidify the details on many of these goals. Having realized that high ambitions are the strongest driving force for myself, many of my goals likely seem far too lofty to others. However, my personal mindset approaching my goals is that while their achievement is certainly ideal, I shouldn’t go to unnecessary lengths to meet them, and I always remind myself that not meeting a goal won’t be the end for me. College has done a lot for helping me achieve this mindset, with its countless avenues towards graduation reminding me that there will always be a path for me to get to where I want to be, so long as I put in the work to do so.

With my desire to be constantly improving myself in mind, one of my most certain goals for my university career is to get involved in research related to artificial intelligence. Research is an almost certain way for me to discover new things and experience working with like minded individuals, both of which would assist me in self-improvement on different aspects and provide valuable experience for the future. After graduation, I also hope to attend graduate school for a masters degree. While working with artificial intelligence almost guarantees that I will always have to be learning and developing new entities post-graduation, regardless of my possession of a higher educational degree, I feel the need to gain as much educational foundation as possible before pursuing more broad areas of development.

Finally, in regards to my post-educational career, my experience with entering college has shown me that it’s hard to make terribly detailed judgements without any related experiences and without a more clear picture of the exact opportunities that will be available to me. Instead, I prefer to set my career goals in more general terms. My priority will be finding a career that will continue to challenge me and continue to push me to learn new things, even if it may not be the easiest or best paying position. I never want to lose the drive for constant self-improvement that I’ve found in myself and aim to retain that mindset throughout the rest of my education and through my career.