About Me
Personal Ambitions
I want to understand, feel, and do as much as I can to better myself and those around me. No matter how many equations I know or solutions I can come up with, there is no substitute for the wisdom I can get from experience and communication. Even though I consider myself an introvert I love to hear about peoples life stories and philosophy. I hope to maximize a net positive impact on the world and master the art of tailoring advise based on the individual.
I struggle knowing I only have a few decades and that the years go by faster the older I get. I want to make the most with my time and can't stand the though of wasting it. This belief is what pushes me to seek efficiency, and prevents me from becoming complacent. Although it can be a fair amount of pressure to always be productive. Thats where being mindful of balance has helped me and understanding that maximizing anything will almost surely have a negative side effect in some way if it becomes too extreme. After some musing I also thought up the concept, "Meta-Balance", which is where you find the balance between being well rounded and specialized.
Health is a huge priority of mine. I keep to a clean diet and stay physically active by rock climbing, skiing, and roller blading. Skating has been one of my most frequent and favorite forms of exercise since I've joined the "Inline Insomniacs" club at UIUC. I've loved my time as president and it has taught me quite a bit about delegating and overlooking large groups in hazardous environments. Mental health is just as, or even more, important than the physical aspect. That's why I've dedicated time every day to my journal for the past 2+ years. It allows me to decipher what I'm feeling and develop a plan for how to move forward when I'm feel stuck or lost. It also helps me keep track of past thoughts and experiences that I can look back on in the future.
My first Igloo!
Crafting Backstory
If you haven't noticed yet, I love making just about everything. I was originally introduced to the idea of crafting by my father. I had accompanied him to his construction sites since before I can remember. Anytime I asked him a question, he'd show me how to properly use the tools involved. As a child, I also loved taking apart anything I got my hands on to try and see how it functions internally or to find what order it was constructed in.
As I grew older I began making more dangerous projects that required a bit more forethought. A metal melting foundry was one of the first times I needed to seriously consider the safety of my project because even as a 14-year old, I knew molten metal was hot! A friend of mine and I would spend hours melting down soda cans to make a few aluminum ingots. There are a lot of things I'd change about that operation if I were to do it again, but when we saw that first can collapse under its own weight and turn bright red I knew all the effort and burns were worth it.
As the years went by I continued to hone my abilities. I became a bit more ambitious and scaled up my projects. I learned to work in a group during my time with battle bots, and I started to personalize my possessions. Eventually, simple day-to-day tasks started being analyzed like my projects. Is my office chair too short? I'll just weld together an extension. Is my table wobbly and small? Let's make a custom one and bolt it directly to the wall. Did I lose a necklace? Why not make a better one!
Can you guess my favorite color?