Oh boy it’s been a long time since I’ve posted… I’m writing I started writing this on 1/24/18.
So I’m actually cheating and writing this retroactively. The date I’m writing this is actually 2/2/18 which is probably later than most of my other posts. However, the reason I’m doing this is to explain the absence from posting on this blog and to present things in a more chronological order. Also I want to say up front - this post will not have any real technical analysis or programming… so you can definitely just skip this and not read it. This post, to be quite honest, is more a post for myself than anyone. I mean the other posts are also for me becausce I love writing about this stuff… but this one in particular.
You see whenever I first start the blog post, the date is actually parsed from the file name. So whenever I start, that’s the date that gets pulled in to my blog. Buttttttt I started the post above this one (generative handwriting deep learning model) as my E90 project and that was a real rabbit hole. For the details on that story though, you can just check out that post.
I recently graduated from Swarthmore College now awhile ago. It doesn’t feel like that long ago, but yeah it definitely has been awhile. Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to have some truly amazing experiences. I’ve also had a decent amount of time to reflect on my time at Swarthmore and think about the people I met, the memories I made, and how it changed me and sculpted me into the person I am today.
So let’s see. I graduated Swarthmore on May 21st, 2017. That’s 259 days ago. Which is pretty absurd to think about.
Since then, I’ve spent two months as a leader hiking with an incredibile co-leader, Katie Veasey, and 10-12 5th to 6th graders through Overland Summers. One of my best friends from home, Henry Head, who is now crushing life at Google was also a leader. As we reflected at the end of the summer, leading for Overland was rejuvenating for the soul. From dealing with intergroup conflicts or having teaching moments and seeing behavior change over the course of the two week trip or clapping off bears from our campsite or dealing with literal pounds of puke, I don’t think I’ve ever had a more influential experience.
But moving beyond that, I’m now living in Chicago with my other best friend from home, Will Jaroszewicz. I’m working a prop trading firm called Belvedere Trading and learning a ton and definitely getting challenged and pushed. I’ve made some spectacular friends in the city and have been having a blast so far. From TBOX to White Sox games to Halloween to euchre tournaments, there really shouldn’t be anything that I could complain about.
And there isn’t. Life is genuinely incredible. I could not be luckier to have the friends whom I have, my roommate, my job, my crazy family.
But life is just different. Not in a bad way at all - just in a change from the normal way. And change is hard. Swarthmore was and is different. It’s true what they say. Life is just different now that I’ve graduated. And I know that’s true across the board for pretty much anyone who has graduated. And I also know that tons of people struggle with their first year out, but I think - and I might be extrapolating - that it might be harder for Swatties than others.
Don’t get me wrong this blog post isn’t going to be a blog post just continually praising Swarthmore. It definitely has its issues. But there are some things that I feel the institution does well with. Swarthmore, while incredibly diverse in the student body, emboldens the students along a similar line of thinking. It encourages the students to think globally, be extremely curious, and pursue their passions. It’s the reason that I actually attended Swarthmore. I’ll never forget talking to other students during my overnight stay with some of the guys on the tennis team. I was a junior in high school at the time and while I loved learning, the raw passion and energy I could feel from these Swatties was tantalizing. It’s something that sticks with me to this day. And upon attending Swarthmore, that passion I saw wasn’t just for show. That was real. And I was surrounded by it. The curiousity and the passion to immerse oneselves in their subject matter, their sport, their acapella, their dance - whatever it might be - was addicitive. My roommate and I my junior year were so focused on tennis and sports and so fired up about life in general that we could function for days on just a couple hours of sleep. It didn’t feel taxing. We woke up every day full of energy because we were so excited about what the day held for us. Seeing classmates up and studying at 6am on a Saturday not because they had to, but because they wanted to? That. That is inspiring. My classmates and peers were my friends but also my role models. Each person was alive in the fullest sense - firing on all cylinders.
And I miss it. Tons.
Work is great. It really is great. I’d recommend Belvedere to pretty much anyone. The work is challenging and dynamic. My peers are incredibly smart. I literally didn’t know how to effectively design and write good code before this. I mean don’t get me wrong… I stll don’t. But I’m learning. Plus the company kegs are a huge up. I honestly couldn’t really think of a better place to work. It can be super stressful but it’s such a team environment.
Part of me is curious if this is normal. If people in their early 20s all think like this but it’s just kind of accepted and almost normal. Regardless, it doesn’t really matter too much and I’m not about to get too meta. I suppose the purpose of this post is to reiterate how much I appreciate Swarthmore and what it provided me. An insatiable desire to learn and to grow - a passion for learning really. Unforgettable memories. More perceptive self-reflection. People who I admire and I’m lucky enough to call friends. A place that I can call my home. So yeah. Thanks Swarthmore.
