the road

I haven’t written here in forever, mainly because I have next to no time these days. I’ve had my head buried in a machine learning project for the last week, and I’m still not quite done.

I’m having a hard time focusing because I got a letter of acceptance from the doctoral program here. I’ve been offered a full ride with a good stipend.

It feels a little weird, honestly. I’ve come a long way from unloading trucks to pay for school. I know there is a long road ahead. As much as I want to be excited and proud, this is a huge moment of humility. I respect the professors I work with here so much that it is sobering to think of living up to their knowledge and their work ethic. Lately I’ve been trying so hard to bring myself and what I’m doing to another level. I want to be better.

Sometimes it can be difficult to relate this to friends. This is about passion — being utterly compelled to learn and create. Many of the people I’ve become close with express themselves on the canvas, through music, or any number of other creative venues. Computers and information science don’t tend to touch people the same way. The goals are the same though; create new things and ideas to change the world.