This is my introductory letter. In it, I was asked to talk about myself and mention my hobbies, class, major, interests, what I hope to learn in class, and much more. Since the project was about who I am, it was extremely simple to accomplish. However, compared to my classmates my Introductory Letter is longer. I wanted to add as much detail and context about my life as possible, not only for Ms. Jean-Stern to have a better idea about me, but also for anyone reading it.
January 28, 2019
Ms. Jean-Stern
160 Convent Avenue
New York, NY 10031
Dear Ms. Jean-Stern:
I am currently a freshman in the City College of New York studying Computer Science. This is my second semester and I am extremely excited for what is to come, specially since the City College of New York’s computer science course is one of the best in the country. Many sources I read online described it to be on par with that of an Ivy League. In addition, it is one of the only colleges in New York that provide a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science, which I am working my way to. In comparison, other colleges only provide a Bachelors of Art, which is useful but not for my future plans. After graduation I plan on working for a startup company and raise enough money to possibly create my own. Ideally, I would like to work for a video game company, testing, animating, and developing games that make others happy.
I am extremely interested on my major because of many reasons, such as its potential in the future. Technology is evolving extremely fast and I want to be part of this evolution. Moreover, in future most jobs would likely be taken up by automated machines, many people will lose their jobs but one job that will never be replaced is programming machines. In addition, I feel a great amount of passion for it. I have been programming since my freshman year of high school. On the past five years I have learned that programming is indeed a difficult and frustrating task, however I enjoy feeling challenged and interacting with the community. I believe that I also took up programming due to my sister, who is also studying Computer Science. She is a role model to me as her hard work and passion constantly fills me with determination.
When I am free I like to go out with my friends and make jokes while exploring the city. But for the most part, I do programming and art as a hobby. I feel as if both concepts are two sides of the same coin because they both require thinking and human spirit. Art is about expressing the world around us and reflecting what we see and what we feel back into a canvas. Because of this, I enjoy abstract art the most as it expresses an artist’s emotions, message, and possibly a story. In my opinion, programming is similar but it is a more analytical. Programming is about creating an answer to a challenging question and that may not sound like art, but the work done undergoes a similar process. Both require constant practice to learn and gain techniques to improve ones craft. In addition, it is difficult to program when one has no interest in programming or is constantly frustrated. Like brush movements, the program becomes erratic and imprecise, leading to a big mess. The only way to solve the mess, is by having a clear mind and letting our ideas flow. Similarly, reading is art but grew an indifference towards it.
To me reading is meant to be fun as we learn new facts and get an insight within the mind of the writer. However, when I started high school, many of my English teachers would be uninteresting and unengaging as they made every fun activity into a task. Class was often silent as there was little to no communication between my teacher and classmates. My teachers would tell us to read a book quietly and never asked to do tasks based on the reading. I felt restricted and I began to dislike the subject. Oddly enough, my teachers were fond of me but I was not fond of their teaching methods. Fortunately, last semester I had an English teacher that encouraged using different methods of art to teach English. She would make us play with play, crayons, and our projects consisted on arts and crafts. Her methods were different from other english teachers, but the artistic side of the class functioned as a stress reliever and a metaphor for English. I learned that reading and writing should be focused on expressing ourselves and sharing. Thanks to this class, I realized that there is more to English than I previously thought, therefore, my interest in the subject grew as the semester unfolded.
Writing for engineers is an interesting subject to learn and teach as every type of engineering is different, but in the end our writing styles are very similar. We all have to deal with data and further simplify it, as well as expand upon ideas and our knowledge. Out of the class, I hope I am able to learn more about writing strategies and how to properly cite sources. I feel uneasy about the fact that a machine has the power of getting me expelled for using a similar sentence or style as another person on the internet. Previously, I would put every piece of information I found online inside quotation marks, even information I paraphrased. Other than English, I hope I am able to learn more about my major by interacting with my classmates through group projects and research papers. I recall that on the first day many of my classmates mentioned an interest in computer science. Because of this, I hope we can engage in mutual interests, such as AI, talk about current events and learn from each other.
Sincerely,
Mark Natavio
Mark Natavio
