The middle mark

We’re now halfway through the spring semester of 2013 and so far it has been a bit of a battle with school for me. While I am only taking 2 classes this semester, I have mainly devoted my attention towards my side project semester planner, and mathematics leaving biology off for later. I am taking a 16-week pre-calculus class I am slowly but surely understanding math at an entirely new level now. During high school I was able to solve some problems but mainly just do some work to get by.  The last time I’ve taken biology was sophomore year in high school and it was a mediocre class so we didn’t go as deep as a normal biology class.

Where I stand

As of now I currently stand at a C in both of my classes, which include biology and Pre Calculus. Every day or at least 4 times a week I practice mathematics for at least 5 hours and sometimes I am in the math resource center all day working on problems. As for biology I usually try to cram study for my exams and they usually don’t go so well. As of this point in the semester many students have dropped math and biology because of low-test scores or maybe the work was too difficult for them to understand. As for me I did not pay over $1,000 to fail my classes, nor repeat them in the near future and am striving to get my work done. This past week since we have returned from spring break I have started to really study for both biology and mathematics and really put time into quizzing myself in bio and working on all types of problems in math.

My Solution

As I realized that I am not during horribly bad in my classes I have concluded that I need to not only study more but actually fully understand what I am studying. As a student who works hard with everything, I am willing to give up my days to study for exams and test so that I can reach my maximum potential, not only in programming but in my academic studies as well. I will keep this blog updated with my progress at the end of the semester and future goals.

The end results: Fall 2012 Semester

Today was the last of my finals for this semester and I must say that it has been one heck of a ride. I was determined to finish strong and work hard this semester so that it could place me closer to achieving my dreams. I took 5 classes this semester such as two 8 week college algebra courses, sociology(Social Problems), World Civilization, and Humanities. Out of all those classes I found math to be the class that really push me forward. Math was similar to programming in my eyes because the more you practice and work and actually solve problems the better you become at your craft, which was the case when I applied things I learned in class to programming. We started math in August of 2012 and meet everyday for 16 weeks, 2 hours a day. As a person who is not keen on math I was working very hard and wanted to make it to the finish line in which I did. I look forward to next semester as I take on Biology and Mathematics. I will continue to work hard so that I can achieved my ultimate goal which is to obtained my degree in computer science. Can’t stop won’t stop!

The only way to learn is to fully understand

As a student and avid learner I’ve found that learning is a process in which were all different at. I’ve always seemed to learn things over long periods of time and I would only remember about 80% of what I’ve learn and would go back and try to relearn what I missed. As I continue my journey towards my computer science degree I’ve found out ways in which I can sustained the information that I am currently learning. In this post I like to share part of my story with you and hopefully get you to see things the way i see them.  

Fall 2012 Semester

This semester I have taken two math courses in which both are required for my computer science degree. No they are not calculus(I,II,III Which I need) courses but I am slowly making my way towards calculus. A year in half ago I believed math was something I did not need so I did not work hard in it. As a student who did not care about math nor understood math at this level I now see that math is very important and things that I did not get in high school I now get a technical level. This semester I decided to take two college algebra courses. The first course, which was 8 weeks, covered the basics such as fractions, polynomials, formulas, rules etc. The second course which I am now in covers a lot more than the basics like quadratic formulas, in depth word applications, functions etc. As I’ve taken this course I am amazed with the amount of information that I can remember in a short period of time. In both 8 week math classes we covered 2 chapters a day and meet 2 hours a day, 5 days a week.

Learning
Since taking this math class not only has it open my eyes to the world of mathematics but has also opened my eyes to programming and problem solving. In math we would get an application problems and I would interpret what the problems was saying and try to come up with an equation that would help me solve the problem. Yes you might so go figure but as I looked at the problem I tried to think of multiple ways I could approach the problem and think beyond by thinking of my owns ways to come up with a solution. We are all unique in our own ways in have different ways of coming up with a solution or answer.The learning process is different for all of us no matter who you are. Some individuals learn things faster while others learn slower. If you’re a slow problem solver do not worry you will get better as you practice more just as I did. The worst thing is trying to solve a problem without knowing where to start. My purpose for writing this post is to show that if you put your mind to whatever you’re learning whether it is programming, bio, math etc, that you can do it. Yes things seem difficult at the start but as you work more with the things you’re uncomfortable with they start to become easier to understand. So next time you’re solving a problem look at the problem carefully and look at it from all angles because as I like to say it the only way to learn is to fully understand the material you’re trying to learn.

Don’t stop no matter how hard the material is

Today I bummed the quiz getting a 3/10 on it but the mistakes were minor. Even though the mistakes were minor a bad grade is a bad grade. After class I worked on more problems that were similar to the problems on the quiz so I could better understand what I was doing. After working on all problems in about 3-4 hours I finally understood my mistakes and am ready for the test.  

Challenging yourself by solving problems everyday

Hello fellow readers, welcome to my new personal site. I have always wanted to start a personal blog for some years now and finally decided to just do it. I created this blog for my personal use and of course for you to follow me or learn something from me along the way. I am in the process of trying to complete my degree in computer science and would love to look back on all the things and events that I have experience from here on out. If you’re interested in learning more about me or the type of work I specialize in, check out my portfolio website cell- designs.  

2 years ago I officially decided that I would like to become a back-end programmer rather then just a front-end developer. I loved designing and creating websites for the frontend but I wanted to dive into the dark stuff and create web applications. Ever since I was a kid I always challenged myself in everything I decided to do.  Maybe I would play a video game and try to beat the game in 24hours, get an A on a school test, or I would take apart my bikes to make one good one. Though I was not sure the bike would work or that I would beat a video game or even ace the test at school I knew that I was trying and learning along the way.  

Everyday is a new day and a day to challenge yourself. Ever since I started to write code in terms of programming (Ruby, PHP etc) I’ve wanted to solve problems and that is what I am doing. I figured the best way or challenging your brain is to push yourself everyday to solve a problem. Though I was solving problems in my earlier days of writing code, I did not fully understand what I was solving but now I am making myself aware and setting my goals high. Everyday I have been solving math problems, writing new features into my web application, and of course writing it down in my blog.  I plan to take everyone who would love to follow me on my journey of pursuing a degree in computer science. In this blog you find pictures, blogs, videos, short quotes, and everything that inspires, bugs or motivate me as a young individual. That is all for this note and if you’ve read this far you’re a brave one. Much success to everyone who is trying to make a difference in the world and solve problems daily.