User:8alpreet

I've always had a tough time writing intros and bios, because I don't know WHAT to share first. What's most important to know about me? I suppose it's that I'd rather go my own way and fail, than accept the norm and succeed. I've come to realize this about myself recently and a part of me, the one that seeks safety in established norms, is resisting even as I type this. I've been on this relentless search the past eight or so years of life, it wasn't a search towards, rather it was a search OUT of a "regular" life. I recall the idea of being forty and raising kids filling me with dread back in high school. Then through out my time UC Irvine for my Informatics degree, I never quite felt at peace. It was a terribly frustrating time because I knew I was capable but I wasn't able to perform in academia. I put all the focus on my academic performance, but the issue was deeper. After leaving college and working as a full-stack engineer at a large healthcare payor, my dissatisfaction with life rose to a new pitch. I achieved the title, salary, and status I thought I wanted in life but I was absolutely miserable. Luckily, I discovered a certain author who just threw on the lights and illuminated life for me. I would say I devoured his books but really they devoured me. Maybe a year after those books (listening to each MANY times), about two and a half years into my software role and much to the disappointment of my parents, I quit my job. No grand plan, I just felt that I had to quit. I was planning to take a year off but that turned into almost three. I experimented along the way with learning embedded software, fixing things around the house, fixing my family's cars, but I never quite found IT. I didn't know what it was anyways. While the author illuminated the TRUTH about my/the universe's existence, I didn't get an operating manual for my life in the world. Through a connection, I've ended up working for a healthcare related startup in Silicon Vally. I've been there for a few months, but I continue to find myself unengaged. The company goals, the lifestyle, and software just don't make me feel connected to life. I felt more satisfied and engaged when I fixed cars or replace a toilet set. Getting software to work is satisfying too, but I am not engaged in the process. The process of fixing/building something physical is what really speaks to me. I realize I want to do all sorts of stuff without limits like, but not limited to: hardware, software, construction, writing, and animal-agriculture. If any archetype, defined loosely, fits me, it's the Renaissance Man. I'm driven by curiosity. I want to do interesting stuff, everything else is background. Things like financial growth, societal respect, romantic success (though I do have a propensity for this) don't put wind in my sails. Money and respect are useful as far as their utility in everyday life; dogged pursuit in the accumulation of either seems misguided to me.

Note: please excuse errors in structure and grammar. I prefer the raw style, but I will (eventually) try to improve my writing skills.