Questions

A list of questions you may have about me.

Rapidfire Questions

Q: What is your favorite book/movie/TV show?
A: The Twits by Roald Dahl, Ratatouille, Breaking Bad.

Q: Myer Briggs type? Zodiac Sign? Birthstone?
A: ENTJ-A (Commander), Pisces, Aquamarine.

Q: Favorite/least favorite food?
A: Favorite: A tie between spaghetti and meatballs and bulgogi beef short ribs.
Least Favorite: Capers (unless prepared in lemon-chicken form).

Q: University? Major? Graduation date?
A: Northeastern University, B.S. CS, 5/3/2028.

Q: Favorite quote?
A: "It's not over until I win"
- Les Brown

Fun Questions

Q: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
A: Extra time. I think and work constantly, and can easily work away an entire day doing something that interests me. More time would let me get more done.

Q: What are the top three things on your bucket list?
A: Dunk a basketball, make a successful YouTube channel, leave a profound impact on the world (in a good way).

Q: If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only have one type of food, what would you choose to have an endless supply of?
A: Chili. Along with canned pineapple and mandarines, chili is one of the few foods that tastes great in canned form. While I could pick other canned soups, chili is very nutrient and calorie-dense; I think I could live off it for a pretty long time!

Q: What's the oldest thing in your room?
A: A time capsule. When I was in fourth grade, I decided to mush a slice of banana and seal it inside a small plastic bag. I placed it inside a container I created out of popsicle sticks, a cardboard tube, and other bits and bobs held together by many pieces of masking tape. At the time, I jokingly said to the boy I was working with that we would open the time capsules when we grew to be old and sitting in rocking chairs. As the days pass, I think more and more that what I said so many years ago may very well become true.

Q: What's the weirdest feedback a teacher has given you?
A: "I think you might be smart". This comment was written on a rubric in eighth grade by my literature teacher after I presented a speech to the class about the nuances of grading in education. When I saw that comment, I immediately chuckled. While that teacher did go on to talk in class about my "smarts", I've made sure to never let it get to my head. There's always more for me to learn, and certainly a lot that I can improve in.

Obligatory Questions:

Q: If you wanted to right now, where would you travel to?
A: Australia. I absolutely love the outdoor-oriented lifestyle there, and from the couple of videos I've seen of their animals, I am intrigued by their wildlife. I also find the names of some of their brand names very amusing (Bunnings, MooGoo, etc.) - I would fly there just to see that.

Q: What is a skill you've worked on to improve?
A: My cooking abilities. This is somewhat of a lifelong goal I've been honing recently, and it's been working out great! I genuinely believe you should try cooking something occasionally - being able to make and eat good food is the quickest and easiest way to improve your life.

Q: Do you have any pets?
A: Currently, no. In chronological order, I had a betta fish named "Dynaco", two goldfish that I received from a 2nd-grade science experiment, waxworms, darkling beetles, two African Dwarf Frogs*, a small saltwater crab, Sea-Monkeys, a Roborovski Dwarf Hamster, and a baby house gecko I fittingly named "Geico". Unfortunately, the previously mentioned pets have passed away. * It's been years, but I specifically remember that I only had the frogs for 3 days. After my mom read an article about a kid getting an obscure disease from their dwarf pet frog, she had me return them to the store.

Q: What are some unique skills you have?
A: I have a very good memory. I can vividly recall certain events in kindergarten (like the blocky computers we used to play games on, and specific times I struggled to differentiate writing d's and b's). I took the human benchmark website verbal memory test to test my memory. My highest score was 157, which falls in the 98.34th percentile. According to the website above, my typing speed is 113 words per minute. Additionally, despite what my physical appearance might suggest, I am deceptively strong and athletic.

Q: Favorite school memories?
A: Elementary School: A biology unit where we observed crayfish and fed snails carrots and celery.
Middle School: A shift in the school's schedule allowed my cooking class to make yummy foods and eat it all while watching Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen Show on a comically blocky TV.
High School: Creating JAVA 101 during my junior year (I mean it! :) ).

Q: Favorite school subjects besides computer science?
A: Philosophy - I thought it would be very boring, but I was lucky to have an excellent professor. Logic is an incredible branch of philosophy.

Q: What is something you'd like to improve about yourself? In other words, what personal challenge have you struggled with for a long time?
A: My sleep schedule. Because I will be in college soon, I know I need to change my bad habit of staying up late. Typically, the primary cause behind this behavior is trying to work on a project - whether it be coding or a creative DIY idea. It's a little unfortunate that my best, most interesting ideas come at night!

Q: What's something strange about you?
A: I often eat gargantuan portions of food for lunch and dinner. Yet, my BMI is in the single-digit percentile. (I have a healthy weight and do not have an eating disorder. My metabolism just runs as fast as Usain Bolt, I guess).

Philisophical Questions:

Q: Does luck exist?
A: Yes and no. A lot of what we attribute to luck is within our own control, and a lot of what we believe is within our control is due to random chance. It is humbling and important to remember that it is statistically unlikely you are special. Understanding that your success is a combination of hard work and a level of previous good fortune is key to being heathily empathetic towards others who are not as well off.

Q: Does free will exist?
A: Mostly. One strong argument against free will is that all of our actions are based off of previous events; many of these previous events are not within our control. For example, deciding to drink tea may feel like a conscious choice. However, this argument states that you drank tea because you may be part of a culture that drinks tea, a culture you are a part of because you were born in a particular place, a place you did not choose to be born in. I view this argument more optimistically: if our present actions were not based off of previous events (i.e., no past events influenced our present actions), that would be the strongest indicator that we cannot make our own choices.

CS Questions (for nerds):

Q: Favorite programming language? Text Editor/IDE?
A: Java, Windows Notepad, IntelliJ IDE.

Q: What is your favorite Java topic?
A: All things GUI - paintComponent, swing, Mouse/Key Listeners, etc. Compared to CLI-based programs, GUI feels more tangible and fun. At the same time, these are some of the most infuriating Java libraries I've ever touched - GUI is very error-prone and often displays nothing at all (from said errors) or something you absolutely did not want to appear that way.

Q: What is your favorite techy-gadget?
A: The Raspberry Pi (a credit-card-sized, fully-functional computer board). My uncle gave me a knockoff version of one of these for my birthday, and ever since I've used a similar Raspberry Pi to create so many cool projects. The Raspberry Pi is the reason why my passion for computer science, and Java 101, all began.

Q: What are three traits you think lead to success in computer science?
A: Resilience, Curiousity, Experience (through practice)

Q: What is the point in learning Java?
A: Java introduces you to OOP (Object Oriented Programming) concepts that you can carry over to other programming languages. While being able to learn and understand other programming languages quicker after learning Java is not unique to the Java language, Java is at a "good" level of difficulty that will make learning other languages far less mentally taxing.

You didn't ask. I answered!

Q: What's your favorite plant?
A: Mammoth sunflowers (Latin name "Helianthus Giganteus" - they really live up to the name!) stand out to me as the fastest-growing, most robust plant. They produce massive blooms, have 1.5" diameter stems, and grow very, very tall. I also enjoy how birds decimate the seeds once they bloom and fly off plump and happy.
I've grown a LOT of plants - check here for pictures.

Q: What's your favorite gardening experience?
A: One of my favorite plants in my backyard wasn't even mine at all - I actually took it! When I was walking through a public street, I noticed an abundance of little plants attached to a large plant by thin stems. I recognized them as the spider plant, and pinched off one of the offshoots. After potting and repotting over the course of three years, I finally transplanted it into the ground. It's been doing very well since.