Hello!
Hi, how are you doing today?
You know? Pretty good today. It's so nice to talk to a  real person. I can't tell you how many times it's just ghosts. Or this one person who I believe is determined not to talk to me.
That would be pretty annoying. What sort of things do you do for fun?
Right now? You know, heh, I'm not so sure. I used to play a lot of video games, but they've lost their appeal. And I just to be an avid reader, too, but I haven't picked up a book in a while. I think I went to college with such enthusiasm that I just, um, kinda forgot what hobbies I used to have.
My roommate really likes to play video games, and I played with him over the summer. And I know what you mean, work and school take up so much of my time!
Right? I mean, it's good to have priorities, and I'm certainly not saying that losing the desire to game is a bad thing. But it's a little surprising how much time and effort you invest into the schoolyear until you hit a break.
Yeah, I feel I do not get a lot out of playing video games. I love to hike but now that there is snow on the mountains that makes it not as fun. I've been in school non-stop since January so I think I have gotten used to it.
Have you really? So that means summer and spring, too?
Yep! It was not that bad, actually. The classes were very fast paced so once I got tired of them they were over.
I wish I'd taken summer of spring classes. I ended up spending my time at home doing practically nothing. And I feel twice as bad for that now considering a lot of my classmates are out doing good things. One of them got an internship to Google. Google!
It doesn't feel good to be lazy sometimes. What is your major?
Computer science.
Oh wow! That's insane!!
But I'm not very far into it. I'm only a freshman. And, yeah, I know, right? And the crazier part is, he's only been at college a year.
Nice. I do a little bit of computer science/ coding for my major. I'm doing statistics
Statistics, eh? I haven't looked very much into that major. What's it about? Just grinding and computing numbers until your calculators wear out?
Not really. I want to go into data analytics in business. So using data that the company has to make smart business decisions such as pricing and things like that.
So are you getting a business emphasis or something? I've heard from a lot of people that a minor in business goes a long way, even if it's not very applicable in your field. But, I mean, for something like that, I'm sure business would be way handier than, say, computer science.
I want to get accepted into the school of business, but until then, I'm majoring in statistics. What do you want to do with computer science?
Honestly? I'm not really sure. I walked into the first class really enjoying it, so now here I am, enjoying the schoolwork and hoping it'll do me good. I know that computer science is a really hot field right now--or that's what I'm told, at least. There's apparently a lot you can do with it, but I'm still so new to the area; I wasn't sure I wanted to do computer science until just recently.
Yeah, I have a good amount of friends that are majoring in computer science. From what I understand, it is in high demand. Plus it pays pretty good I think!
Heh, I sure hope so. I feel so behind, if I'm to be honest. Even though it's just my second year of college, I feel like there's so much I don't know, and because of that, I'm missing opportunities. I didn't know to look for summer internships or to apply to tech companies or anything.
I don't think it's something to be too worried about. This university is full of super talented people and it sometimes feels like you're in competition with them all. I feel in the same boat, but I'm confident things are going to work out!
But . . . what if I end up unable to catch up because I'm not doing enough now? I guess I should be more like you. I know that I worry a lot and that it's not the best for me. The choices I made in the past are unchangeable. But today? Right now? I can choose this. I want to make sure I'm choosing well, but I don't know how to.
Definitely. Just find a niche in computer science that you really like and devote extra time into becoming really good at it. If you're able to learn some really valuable hard-skills that will look really good to employers.
But what if I don't end up finding anything I like? What if I spend so much time exploring that I don't concrete any skills? I don't even know what employers are looking for. How am I supposed to get good at those things, then? And every day that I'm not pursuing something is another day my classmates get ahead.
Employers are looking for people that didn't spend all their time studying, but people who diversified themselves. And remember, you're not in competition with all of your classmates. There's plenty of computer science jobs to go around!!
Heh, yeah, I know you're right. I don't really think of myself as "in competition" with my classmates because, well, I want them to succeed as much as I do.
You've got potential to succeed. Being here at BYU puts you miles ahead of other people. I believe in you! I've got to go and do homework, but thanks for chatting. Have a great day!!