(rant incoming)
something that's becoming so surreal to me is that a project of mine could actually be going to space (well, 3/8th the way there.) for the past couple months, I've been working on a project with a friend of mine as a part of a community run hack club event: design, engineer, and make real a payload for a high altitude balloon, and you'll get sponsored to make that project and go to Boston. there's been so many cool opportunities that I've been introduced to as a part of hack club. while it certainly sometimes seems a bit cultish, the things I would not know today would be crazy to me. I've learned how to make hardware, learn new programming languages, I've met new people. being able to run a biology experiment 100k ft up (30 km for my non-american friends) is absolutely wild to me as a teenager, being barely halfway through high school. I guess it really just shows where I may be going in my future, but also that I have no clue. at this point, there's a plethora of options for my future. programming? absolutely! electrical engineering? you bet. networking? heck yeah! creative writing? sign my up. photography is my creative outlet. I want to do it all, but life is too short to stick to one thing. or is it? i have no clue. maybe i can blend them all? I feel getting caught up in having a job, college applications (eventually) or just exhaustion is going to make me choose eventually. I feel like I'm standing at the edge of a massive buffet but everyone is just making me take one plate. but I want to do everything! and doing this space thing, this crazy, real tangible project, just makes that feeling stronger. there's so many things I'm exploring with it; biology, embedded development, hardware and PCB design, data science. like, if I can help build something that goes 100k ft up as a high schooler, what are the actual limits? and if there aren't hard limits on what I can do, why should there be limits on what I can be or what I care about? the thought of all those paths is exhilarating, but it's also genuinely kinda overwhelming. like, deep-breath overwhelming. how do you even start deciding when every direction looks fascinating? I guess… I guess I just keep doing the cool stuff that pops up, like this hack club project, and hope the path gets clearer? or maybe just accept that the path is going to be a really, really winding one.
This is a good problem to have. I feel that way a lot.
Opportunity cost is everywhere, but as long as you wake up pumped to continue the mission, you’re doing alright. The only wrong path is the one that doesn’t excite you.
Yes, keep “doing the cool stuff that pops up.” Stay open to opportunities because there are a lot of cool people doing cool things, and you can learn a lot from them and achieve a lot more by working together.
But also leave some time to pursue your own endeavors. I find my sense of self starts to fade when I spend too long working to realize other people’s visions. Make sure you’re doing things for you and not just people-pleasing. Plus SparkShell is fucking sick.
I recommend keeping one or two priorities at a time. Any more, and they’ll compete for your time, and then you’ll feel you’re not making progress and lose motivation. I like to swap priorities out every month or two. I was all-in on the movie for a while, now I’m in Vermont working on a film festival, and this summer I’ll be in Maine making an album and figuring out movie distribution.
So work on that hack club project for a while, then maybe give yourself a month to write and take photos, then come back and learn another programming language. Something like that.
Point is, you don’t need to stick to one thing. And you shouldn’t. However, while you may be able to do anything, you can’t do everything. Focus on one at a time.
Be honest with yourself about what you want, and pursue that.
I appreciate the advice, thank you! Keeping certain priorities is really hard for me unfortunately because I probably have at least 10 projects/ideas at any one time. Just how my brain works, it seems. While I do have lots of projects, I'm also doing Robotics (going to Canada in July!) and Scouts. I'm almost at Eagle! Life is short, and sometimes I wish it wasn't so, but I'm getting ahead of myself.