So many things to do, so little time.

Other Chit-Chat
1

As I am approaching the age of 17, I look back on my life thinking “what have I done with my life?” I am expected to live another 60 years, hopefully I will live another 90 years. I realize time goes by so fast; everyone feels the same way at least once in their lifetime. Looking back at my middle school yearbooks, it only feels like yesterday I was a middle schooler. Its so funny how awkward everyone looks in middle school and how everyone grew up. I realize life is so short; only about 80 years to live. I already spent almost a forth of my life time.

What have I done? Its going to be only a couple months that I would be applying for college, only 1 year and 1 month till I am an adult. There are so many things I want to do with my life, but it dawned on me that I can only choose one path. I dream of working on rocket ships, pioneering in quantom mechanics, programming best selling video games, creating nano technology and the list goes on and on.

Life is what you make of it; so far, my life sucks. It feels like 80% of my life has been with school. What have I accomplished in school? I have been a terrible student every since I started schooling. I look back at my previous years in high school, I just coasted right through high school, never studying or taking it seriously. I only got straight B’s with a couple C’s. Certainly not valedictorian status. Do I have any talents other than academics? No, unless you consider programming a talent. Even programming, I am not that good of a programmer compared to some others out there. There are kids out there that are publishing research papers before they are even 18, getting straight A’s and what am I doing?

Now what are my dreams? To get into Caltech and study till I get a doctorate degree in Computer Science and then either do more research at JPL or get a job as a game programmer or something. Now how can I reach those goals if I am getting straight C’s my Junior year? All those habits from my earlier years are just stuck with me, at least I am doing all my homework. All I can do now is work hard, but what is my motivation? I have been coasting through schooling because I had no motivation to succeed. I had the resources to be an all A student, but no motivation. My motivation now is Caltech.

Now most of you older people must have felt what I feel. I am tired of being mediocre. I hate blending in with the crowd; I want to stand out. I believe that if you do not stand out, you can’t make an impression.

I realized this when I could not find anything significant to write about on a personal narrative essay I have been assigned in English…
:frowning:

My sig says “Carpe Omnis” which means “Cease it all” in latin (not sure about the grammar, I used an online translator)
I want to cease it all

2

First of all,
Everyone, and I mean everyone, matures at a different rate. For some it takes a lifetime and for others it happens when their parents thrust it upon them. You are about average from where I sit. Now that you know you are “mediocre” you can start to do something about it. You do not have thirty or forty years of bad habits to overcome, you have maybe two or three. Change the ones you want and nurture those that don’t need the change. Take a hold of your life.
I quote movies from time to time and one of the best was from “Oh God”. George Burns acting as God in the film says “I give you everything you need to succeed. How you use it is up to you.” Remember if everyone was famous and everyone performed great deeds, how would you know? Some people stand out and are recognized for that something. But many of us do our jobs everyday, have fun and help others. We might have a chance to do something that is recognized, but we are making a difference none the less.

3

For starters, you might want to translate Carpe Omnis as Seize All rather than Cease All. Has a whole different meaning when spelled correctly.

Next, you are off to a good start in that you have a goal and the drive to get there. Just having that puts you above average.

Now go out there and carpe omnis. The world is yours to make of it what you will.

4

You’re 17. You spend this part of your life getting ready for doing what you want, not doing it.

Who other than the most extraordinary of people accomplished much before they turned 17?

Maybe your dreams are difficult to achieve, yes, and maybe you won’t do them exactly the way you think you will, but there’s more than one way to reach the same goal. Doctorate at Caltech in CS? Why a doctorate? Why Caltech? You can make best selling video games at many schools, including Carnegie Mellon and RPI (which have great game simulation majors in particular). Nanotechnology? Tons of engineering schools can get you started on the right path for that. There are tons of universities to pick from, and the big secret is that you will probably get a similar education at most of the top tier in general.

So don’t hate yourself because you can’t do everything now. Get ready to do stuff later. Be patient and stay focused.

5

You are so far ahead of where I was when I was seventeen. All I cared about was girls and things I can’t mention here in polite company.

You are also so far ahead of the mast majority of your piers who don’t even care about their future or grades.

You know your goals, strive to do your best.

Good luck.

6

I learned from my coach that the difference between
A+titude
&
F
Is shown after you highlight.

It is mind over matter.
Thats the case in all matters in life. Whether it is grades, to the relationships you form with others.

edit: Got my PSAT score today… I did terrible -__- I got a 186. I know 2 sophomores that got 220 and 228 on their’s. I feel very crappy. It felt so easy, only got 4 wrong on the math and that is a 69 apparently

7

You do have time. If you put yourself on the right track today and stick to it–nil volentibus arduum. [There are probably better phrases, but I know this one’s right.] 90 years is exactly as long as you make it.

Just a note: understand that this means accepting your ‘failures’ as well as your successes. Don’t get into CalTech for undergrad? Don’t worry about it. Find a school that works for you and excel there. CalTech will look at your for grad, if that’s still what you want. You’ll screw up sometimes (I do it quite regularly), don’t let that get in the way of your motivation.

The PSATs serve two purposes. National Merit, and telling you to study more for the SATs. Listen to the latter and you should be fine.

P.S. I’d check your Latin. I don’t know much about Latin cases, but grammatically you’re looking for the plural of the neuter (I assume) accusative. I would think it’s omnia.

8

This just reminded me of one of my favorite Latin phrases: Quid quid latine dictum sit, altum videtur.

english

Anything said in Latin sounds profound

9

You know its bad when your mom tells your brother “If your brother doesn’t get into college, the money I have been saving for him is all yours”. Thats just a new low point of my life… For my mom to say that, or even for her to consider that I won’t go into a college. I can’t even respond to this.

Even if I am just 17; when I am old and dying, will the world remember my name? Will I be making history? Will my name go down in the history books? What kind of legacy can I leave behind for the generations to come? Will I just be another average joe that no one in a hundred years will remember? I want my name down in history.

I believe that there are only two choices that can be made in life, either to lay back and enjoy life or to take action and improve the world. I choose the latter.

10

David,
One thing I have observed is that the people that start by saying they want to be remembered for doing something are remembered for something bad. The rest start out just doing something and get famous later. Be prepared (for any old thing!) and you can leave a mark. Think about it…Do you want to be a Napoleon or a Thomas Edison? A Mussolini or a Florence Nightingale, Steve Wosniak, Andrew Carnegie, George Westinghouse, Nikola Tesla.
Everyone you meet on the street is changed by you forever. It may be small or it may be huge, your impact is up to you. Smile and nod and the person may go on to have a happy day, frown and sneer and the person may remember you forever. Acquire understanding and pass that understanding on to others.
And in case you haven’t figured it out yet, that was a big, verbal, kick in the butt your mom gave you. Get up and do something about it.

11

Here’s one of my favorite quotes regarding fame:

“Don’t confuse fame and success. Madonna is one; Helen Keller is the other.” ~ Erma Bombeck

If there are so many things to do and so little time - there is no time like the present. Get busy with the hard stuff. Studying falls into that. There’s nothing glamorous about studying and applying yourself through a sincere and dedicated effort. That said, the work done and achievements gained make all the difference in a life.

12

Whining on a public forum will only get you remembered as a whiner.

Honestly, this level of angst is a bit much for my tastes: It is exhausting. In my estimation, you are right in the middle of the pack for high school FRC participants - and that is a fantastic place to be! You have opportunities that are unavailable to the vast majority of people on the planet.

I was the last student admitted to my college class. Literally, the very last one picked. I could choose to interpret this as meaning that I was the worst student in my grade… or I could be proud that I made the cut. I chose pride, and happily worked my butt off for the best four years of my life (so far). Now I have a great job playing with robots all day. I couldn’t have achieved that if I had angsted away my time.

So, quit being the living definition of self-fulfilling-prophecy and quit your belly-aching. You don’t have to be the best to change the world - if that were the case, the other 7 billion of us could sit around waiting for the perfect one to get everything done.

PS: “I got a 186. I know 2 sophomores that got 220 and 228 on their’s.” is a really immature thing to say. How do you think it would make the sophomores feel? Comparing yourself to others in this way is the equivalent of saying “How did someone like that beat someone like me?”

13

CONGRATULATIONS! You have just matured by leaps and bounds. If you are finally thinking about life, then that is the perfect place to start. Most people go through their entire lives (I’ve met lots of them, and so will you!) without ever asking that very question “what have I done with my life?”.

Don’t worry about the past. Now is the time to focus on the future.

You say you are a programmer. Well, as a programmer, you know that in order to accomplish goal X, you need to put in code that does A, then does B, then does C, and will do D if C turns out to be false, etc…

Essentially, start mapping what you want to do, what you really want to be. Make a plan (just like a program). Put in “if” statements - if this doesn’t happen, then I will do this. You’ve already stated what you would want in an ideal world. Now make some plans to get there, or plans to do something else that will get you near what you want! But most of all, start doing something about it. In other words, once you have written your program of your life, hit the enter key and start running it!!

But most of all, realize this, “the past does not equal the future.”

The future is whatever you make of it! So make it a good one!

14

Also don’t forget to get yourself inspired. If you want a head start, start watching this video by Randy Pausch - Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

15

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” -T.A. Edison

Work work work. There is *always *someone smarter, faster, more experienced, or just plain better than you. The only thing you can effect is how hard you work to get better.