When family and friends ask about my major, I always answer: computer science-economics. But then I start thinking about the probability of me changing major and whether this major resonates with my passion. Fortunately, I have found a wonderful recipe for direction: design thinking.
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Hitting The Bottom
My pursuit towards computer science is never an easy path. I started coding at 13 years old. From QBasic, Visual basic, C, C++, to Java, I have explored a wide range of knowledge in computer science. Yet my learning curve is steep. I started as a curious apprentice and bathed in the ease of turning simple logic and mathematics into codes. Then I soon reached a peak. As I started to build larger projects with data structures, I solely struggled with the lengthy debugging. Then came the question: "Am I competent for the technical stuff? "
Embracing Experimentation
Though I lingered around the trench, I recalled that my craving for creating things. To get across the plateau, I read a lot of reference materials, surfed for geeks' advice, and keep coding. Then I picked up Python on my first course on Coursera. I progressed through data structures, database, and games.These challenges have shaped me into a better programmer and eventually, I am confident of creating new things.
Learning By Doing
“Where your talents and the needs of the world cross; there lies your vocation.” - Aristotle on vocation
Start learning and doing your dream list right now. After experimenting with prototypes and overcoming failures, great things will happen. You find your passionthroughout the humbling process. Through the 5 steps of personal design thinking, the struggle will become manageable.
1. Find the problem.
2. Define the problem.
3. Ideate solutions.
Find a study group or mentor,
First solve it in a mathematical way then translate into codes,
Search online (Khan, Edx, Coursera, Udacity),
Consult Stack Overflow,
Take a break and revisit at a later time (mind refresh!)
4. Prototype. Find out which solution works.
5. Test.
Be introspective and honest. Know what is going wrong and what you want to change. Make things happen. Build a project, a website, an app, or all. I built a college application guide: Perfect College App.
Keep A Failure Resume.
While we all have professional resumes, it is also important to keep a failure resume. In “What I Wish I Knew When I was 20”, Tina Seelig requires her students to craft resumes that portrait all their biggest screw-ups—personal, professional, and academic. Indeed, failures preach the best life lesson.
Brainstorm new goals. Take on new opportunities and problems. Start design your Odyssey life plan with an entrepreneurial mindset!
