The other day I was browsing (read: procrastinating) around and reading about what's new in the tech world when I happened to come across something that made me absolutely giddy.

First of all, some background info: I am a computer science major pursuing a certificate in environment and sustainability. Yes I know, the two are kind of completely unrelated but I was always something of a hippie so what was I to do? And until I saw this article, I did not have even an inkling of an idea of how I was going to combine these two fields, or even if I could at all.

This past weekend, I went to a hackathon called Indigitous #Hack and I got to code up a project purely in Python. (you can check it out here). This was one of the first times that I actually got to develop a complete project in Python rather than writing mini-scripts, and it was amazing to engage and see what Python could do.

If you’ve been in the CS world for a while, you probably know who Grace Hopper is. If you don’t you’re kind of living under the proverbial rock. PSA: Grace Hopper was a famous computer scientist (also a United States Navy Rear Admiral) known for inventing the first compiler for a computer programming language and coining the term “bug,” among heaps of other accomplishments. In a nutshell, she’s a bad-ass lady.

Hello, dear readers! This week's blog is going to be all about the UTCS 50th Anniversary Celebration that took place last Friday, an event which I sincerely hope all of you got to witness, but if not, never fear, for I hope you can live vicariously through these words.

What is it about hackathons that makes them so popular? Why would you spend 24-48 hours of your weekend with no sleep, living off of weak caffeine, staying inside when you could be doing active outdoorsy things, catch up on sleep, or study?

The second round of midterms are almost upon us and everything seems to be getting harder and harder. More homework, more projects, more obligations, it just keeps snowballing. It's barely two months in and I'm having to research classes for next semester and sign a lease on an apartment, and I barely know what a lease is. Just for reference, my color coded calendar, which I made at the beginning of the semester to be more efficient and productive, looks like a rainbow threw up on it.

This past weekend, I participated in a Hackathon, and it was quite possibly the most fun event I have ever been a part of. It was my first Hackathon and since I am pretty new to computer science in general, I was very nervous that I would have no idea what I was doing, and worse, drag my team down.

I know we're in the midst of a lot of people's midterm week and I can already feel the despair oozing out from everyone. I know this major can sometimes feel like it's way too stressful, especially in these coming days, with all the projects due and tests to take. And with all the stress comes all the doubts rushing in. I know I for one think a lot about whether computer science is the right major for me at all when I'm too stressed about computer science to be excited by it, or I can't seem to get something right that everyone else seems to be getting or some other such trivial thing that sends me down a dark spiral of angst and existentialism.

It always irks me when people say “Give 110%!” Or 150%. Or 200%. Or any percentage over a hundred. Because. It. Is. Impossible. There’s probably plenty of people willing to debate me over it, but 100% is all of yourself and you can’t give anymore than all of yourself. Just like you can’t eat 102.54% of a pie. I mean, I get that it’s an idiomatic expression, but in my opinion it’s just an annoying platitude that should be eradicated.

Congratulations survivors! We have weathered the storm and come out the other side reasonably whole!

When I walked into the Frank Erwin Center, I was definitely a bit overwhelmed. Over 200 companies were tabling, the thought of which made me a bit dizzy. And with both companies and students trying to woo the other, I couldn't help but think all this was a bit like some extravagant courting ritual. And I'm really bad at flirting.