!!!!!!!NEWEST VERSION OF MY ESSAY TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!!!!!!!!!
Once again I am posting my college essay but THIS IS THE NEW NEW NEW ONE SPECIFICALLY FOR WWU. Please read it and give comments, questions and suggestions!
The Mechana-programa-neer
Instead of going out and playing ball with friends, spending time with the girl I like, or sometimes, even instead of bathing, eating, or sleeping, I exercise my passions. One week I..ll spend countless hours glued to my desk. With a pencil in hand, and some grid paper before me; designing the perfect house, or pouring out ideas of future products hidden in the recesses of my mind. At other times I spend an entire day and long into the night in the garage. Under a car, beneath a dashboard, and often times under the hood sitting side-by-side with an engine, getting literally covered from head to toe in grease as I work. And after a good shower, I dream of my next rebuild. The next week I spend days with my eyes locked in a deathly stare at a computer monitor, its white rays illuminating my face in a ghostly fashion; programming, compiling, debugging, rebuilding. Not to mention, all this is done on a computer I built from scratch.
In auto shop class, my fellow mechanics crack jokes about my all night networked computer gaming parties. My computer geek friends certainly don..t comprehend dashing between schools to attend the best Advanced AutoTech class. The guys I raced with on the regional go-kart circuit wonder why I waste time working to get into college. Why? Why spend my time on such brain-boggling, time consuming, headache-provoking tasks? The answer is relatively simple; IT..S FUN!
Actually, if more closely examined, as if under the precision lens of a microscope, it can be seen that an answer to the previously stated question is not so simple after all. ..ITS FUN!.. is more of an excuse than an answer.
Alcoholism and drug abuse surround me. My father is walking proof that zombies do exist; dead in brain, but not in body. I have to perform the tasks related to his addictions; take care of him, clean up after him, put up sheets over the windows so his hallucinations don..t haunt him, but most importantly, remember that he is my Dad, and no matter what he says to me, he really does love me. It..s hard. But life is too short to mope around in my sorrow and let it take control of me. This is where my addictions take over to compensate for my father..s. Or are they addictions?
When the going gets tough the orbital sander gets going, and I dig into work on my senior project. The task; full restoration of a ..74 VW Bug. With every ounce of weathered paint removed from that old bug, an ounce of sorrow leaves me and becomes part of my creation. With every line of code programmed into a website, a memory of a line of coke that Pops left on the beer stained coffee table is deprogrammed from my brain. With every angle penciled into a design, brings a new viewing angle of life.
Currently I am pulling together my knowledge of programming, wrenching, and design, to create plans for a new take on automotive in-dash entertainment systems. Project X, for it is yet to be named, will feature all the comforts of today..s dashboards, but also incorporate some new ideas. There will be a built in hard drive so music from CDs can be imported to the car itself. Project X will also rid the dash of cumbersome climate controls; instead they will be digitally controlled through the touch screen interface, along with engine monitoring and management, GPS navigation, service and maintenance reminders, and real-time traffic reports. The engine management feature will allow engine settings to be switched between preset parameters; economy, highway, performance, and computer select. The computer select setting will be something like GM..s horsepower on demand, allowing the engine..s computer to monitor driving style and adjust settings accordingly. I have not yet seen a car that includes the option of both manual and automatic selection of engine modes. I know that BMW has a similar in dash computer, called iDrive. However every review claims that with menu after menu after menu, it is impossible to navigate, and unsafe to use while driving. Project X will be much safer and far more user friendly. The analog gauge cluster will be replaced with an LCD screen. From the Project X touch screen, (only while the car is in park for safety) the user will be able to customize the layout, colors, style, and position of their gauges and indicators, to give their car that custom look. Project X will blow away all other in dash computers.
Every sour memory pushes me further and further along my own course, far from that of my fathers. My passion to fix things, bring new to the old, envision and build truly is an addiction. It is addiction to engagement and persistence. I have exhausted my passions on a tinkering level, and I am ready to take on the professional level. There is only one University that fully encompasses my diverse interests: Western Washington University. With the help of the Vehicle Research Institute and the Computer Science department, I will be able mechana-programa-neering a new road for my self; a road of happiness and success.
The Mechana-programa-neer
Instead of going out and playing ball with friends, spending time with the girl I like, or sometimes, even instead of bathing, eating, or sleeping, I exercise my passions. One week I..ll spend countless hours glued to my desk. With a pencil in hand, and some grid paper before me; designing the perfect house, or pouring out ideas of future products hidden in the recesses of my mind. At other times I spend an entire day and long into the night in the garage. Under a car, beneath a dashboard, and often times under the hood sitting side-by-side with an engine, getting literally covered from head to toe in grease as I work. And after a good shower, I dream of my next rebuild. The next week I spend days with my eyes locked in a deathly stare at a computer monitor, its white rays illuminating my face in a ghostly fashion; programming, compiling, debugging, rebuilding. Not to mention, all this is done on a computer I built from scratch.
In auto shop class, my fellow mechanics crack jokes about my all night networked computer gaming parties. My computer geek friends certainly don..t comprehend dashing between schools to attend the best Advanced AutoTech class. The guys I raced with on the regional go-kart circuit wonder why I waste time working to get into college. Why? Why spend my time on such brain-boggling, time consuming, headache-provoking tasks? The answer is relatively simple; IT..S FUN!
Actually, if more closely examined, as if under the precision lens of a microscope, it can be seen that an answer to the previously stated question is not so simple after all. ..ITS FUN!.. is more of an excuse than an answer.
Alcoholism and drug abuse surround me. My father is walking proof that zombies do exist; dead in brain, but not in body. I have to perform the tasks related to his addictions; take care of him, clean up after him, put up sheets over the windows so his hallucinations don..t haunt him, but most importantly, remember that he is my Dad, and no matter what he says to me, he really does love me. It..s hard. But life is too short to mope around in my sorrow and let it take control of me. This is where my addictions take over to compensate for my father..s. Or are they addictions?
When the going gets tough the orbital sander gets going, and I dig into work on my senior project. The task; full restoration of a ..74 VW Bug. With every ounce of weathered paint removed from that old bug, an ounce of sorrow leaves me and becomes part of my creation. With every line of code programmed into a website, a memory of a line of coke that Pops left on the beer stained coffee table is deprogrammed from my brain. With every angle penciled into a design, brings a new viewing angle of life.
Currently I am pulling together my knowledge of programming, wrenching, and design, to create plans for a new take on automotive in-dash entertainment systems. Project X, for it is yet to be named, will feature all the comforts of today..s dashboards, but also incorporate some new ideas. There will be a built in hard drive so music from CDs can be imported to the car itself. Project X will also rid the dash of cumbersome climate controls; instead they will be digitally controlled through the touch screen interface, along with engine monitoring and management, GPS navigation, service and maintenance reminders, and real-time traffic reports. The engine management feature will allow engine settings to be switched between preset parameters; economy, highway, performance, and computer select. The computer select setting will be something like GM..s horsepower on demand, allowing the engine..s computer to monitor driving style and adjust settings accordingly. I have not yet seen a car that includes the option of both manual and automatic selection of engine modes. I know that BMW has a similar in dash computer, called iDrive. However every review claims that with menu after menu after menu, it is impossible to navigate, and unsafe to use while driving. Project X will be much safer and far more user friendly. The analog gauge cluster will be replaced with an LCD screen. From the Project X touch screen, (only while the car is in park for safety) the user will be able to customize the layout, colors, style, and position of their gauges and indicators, to give their car that custom look. Project X will blow away all other in dash computers.
Every sour memory pushes me further and further along my own course, far from that of my fathers. My passion to fix things, bring new to the old, envision and build truly is an addiction. It is addiction to engagement and persistence. I have exhausted my passions on a tinkering level, and I am ready to take on the professional level. There is only one University that fully encompasses my diverse interests: Western Washington University. With the help of the Vehicle Research Institute and the Computer Science department, I will be able mechana-programa-neering a new road for my self; a road of happiness and success.