Eric Scott

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sigmax
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Eric Scott
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Chicago, IL
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07/31
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Single
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Information Technology

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Thinking Aloud

Life & Events > Ce Moi: a Personal Sketch
 

Ce Moi: a Personal Sketch

moiAfter two years online, I finally wrote up a description of myself for my website:
Born and raised into a wonderful family in southern Illinois, where my dad practiced as a primary care physician, I'm now a young, energetic college student with the whole world ahead of me.
Personality:

  • I think deep. A lot. (Though I tend not to talk about it unless I know you'll resonate)

  • I get quiet when I feel uncomfortable.

  • I enjoy the little things in life: Blowing in empty bottles, spinning until I see stars, making dinosaurs out of my straws, ordering a drink for my teddi bear at Pizza Hut, etc. As such I have a fun extraverted side.

  • I'm self-confident, but patient and unassertive. As such, I tend to befriend the disliked, and only disagree with you after thinking long and hard about it.

  • I tend to become a leader over time, though I'm too shy to take charge right away.

  • I have a childhood phobia of initiating telephone calls.

  • The easiest way to annoy me is to interrupt and hijack my alone time (Which is highly focused) with something relatively unimportant

  • The easiest way to attract me is to demonstrate independence, positivity, empathy, intelligence/depth, creativity in your passions, and a drive in your life: to be an active peer in the journey (A smile always helps too).

  • I dislike shallow humor, and am not very good at small talk. I prefer genuine, deep connections with people over random "your mom" jokes.


Passions: When I'm not studying for class, working as a programmer, or hanging out with friends, I really come alive during my alone time. I'm a very independent and self-driven person, and make a regular habbit of writing down my thoughts and imaginary worlds, exploring the world through books on science, philosophy, and culture, composing music on my piano or guitar, climbing trees, doing cartwheels, tinkering with computers, attempting to imitate foreign accents, and/or playing my guitar on street corners and sidewalks (The tips are measley as a street musician -- but you meet all sorts of interesting people!).
Philosophy: I consider myself a secular humanist, which can be summed up as "we don't really know what's going on in the universe, but we're all in this together," and usually goes hand in hand with naturalism. I was raised Seventh-Day Adventist and maintain strong and positive relationships with many Christian friends.
Being able to respect others beliefs and empathize with their point of view is very important to me, and I'm highly interested in conflict-resolution and how people respond to paradigm's they're not familiar with. These scenarios apply to everything from day-to-day decisions (peer pressure, relationships, work-environment, and sub-culture) to more overarching beliefs (religion and politics).
Dreams: My dreams are diverse, and there's no way I can do it all (I have a list of ten or so majors I would be interested in), but it generally comes down to two or three distinct pictures (Which may be feasible):

A. International Service: Having lived for a year in rural Nigeria as a child (Where my father volunteered at a mission hospital), the world is my arena, and I'm acutely aware of the disparity of lifestlye (And quality there of) between the U.S. and third-world countries. As such, I expect to spend money investing in African markets, and fully intend to join the Peace Corps after college, where I might teach English, math, or science in a secondary school, or run a computer lab. International experiences are life-changing, and give one an awesome breadth of perspective. My draw to the third world is based on the twin ideas of adventure and altruism. And if you had met some of my African friends, and seen their passion for the future development of their lives and countries, you couldn't help but be struck by a desire to help too -- to devote yourself to something truly world-changing.I could see my self spending anywhere from two to twenty years overseas, contingent on when I go to grad school and whether my family shares in the dream.
B. Science: As a kid I always wanted to be a scientist, astronaught, or some such thing. Those dreams have reawoken as I've entered college and gained an idea of what it actually means to study science. Everything is interesting, but right now I'm studying computer science and math, and have fairly established notions of going to graduate school in the field of computational intelligence (Which deals with using principles from biology to develop "intelligent" computer programs). Like every science student, I dream of making some sort of world-changing discovery, and being a new Einstein -- but if nothing else it would be a thrilling adventure to explore, teach, and make some sort of contribution, however small.
C. IT Career: On the more normal level, since highschool I've assumed I would become a computer programmer, or some sort of IT professional. Those notions are well underway, as this summer I've been working full time in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, as a web programmer. Having now been exposed to the business world a little, I could see myself pursuing a masters in management, and doing my best to work my way up the technical and corporate ladder in the world of information technology. Such a game plan would provide me with a stable career with which to support a family. Given my passion for the big picture, art, and cross-cultural (Or cross-subcultural) experiences, however, I'm somewhat skeptical of being able to find satisfaction in the business/development world.

Whichever of these dreams end up being fulfilled, I will most certainly continue to write, and fully intend to publish more than one book in my lifetime (Whether they be autobiographical, philosophical, technical, or fictional).

posted on June 14, 2008 3:47 PM ()

Comments:

I enjoyed your sketch. I, too, come from a very conservative family of Christians and live in an extreme cross-cultural experience. Take care.
comment by jerms on June 17, 2008 9:03 AM ()

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