My shorter-term goals include:
Finish
converting to and updating new formatting for my personal website: Not
only do I wish to provide a more-seamless presentation of my portfolio, but I
also wish to create an ever-growing repository of knowledge on a range of
topics that can benefit those who wish to utilize my projects/insights or
those who simply wish to learn;
Complete
my M.S. in Economics: I find myself at the point in my
personal/academic/professional development where I realize that given time and
an internet connection, I can learn more and make better progress on my
personal projects than I am allowed within the constraints of formal education;
however, ignoring the sunk costs of time already committed, I also understand
the nature of the job market and the potential opportunities that credentials
from a formal education can provide (and I also love learning new topics and
listening to lectures);
Complete
Version 1.0 of my project: Checkout out my site or GitHub repository with some additional
information on that. In short, it is a convenient and user-friendly
interface that has cross-platform capabilities (i.e. PC and mobile) for
tracking dog(s) bathroom habits, has quick and easy accessibility (to
help with the human-error component in data collection), presents useful
statistics (time of last outing, last urination/defecation, etc), conducts
statistical analysis and methods in machine learning to predict/model excretory
needs based on collected data, looks for abnormalities in trends that may
suggest potential underlying health concerns, and allows additional
outing-characteristics to be defined and considered in the modeling. Currently
what I plan to call "the scoop".
My longer-term goals are:
To
ensure that I leave this world in a better state than it would have been
otherwise without the life of Kyle Brewster: This is much more of
an abstract goal, but I find it important to have a
philosophical/ethical framework for guidance in a world that is more
complex than what can be simplified into numbers, code, or models;
To
learn!: Watching “School House Rock” taught me an immortal truth from a
young age – KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. I wish to be a lifelong student of learning to
learn as much as I can and empower others with the opportunities that knowledge
can provide;
Serve
time as an elected representative at the federal level: This goal
is largely intertwined with my other two long-term/life goals. As a lifelong
student, I plan to expand my knowledge to the fullest in order to position
myself to be the most well-informed individual I can possibly be. One who will
be able to read and understand academic papers regarding the potential
implications of policy alternatives (or otherwise “expert opinions”, one who
understands that the inhabits of this country are people with their own
thoughts and feelings that can’t be simply represented only as a
statistic, and one who will keep honest in their core values while in a
position of political power to help shape the government in ways beneficial to
the public good without being swayed by the potential for financial gain in my
approach.
Bob
Dylan asked me from a young age "how many times can a man turn
his head and pretend that he just doesn't see?". While Mr. Dylan would
suggest that the answer is "Blowin' in the Wind", I suggest that the
answer is "however many times it takes to stop turning their head and do
something!". This is me doing something.
One
thing that I learned from my years of calculus is that some infinite values are
greater than other infinite values and the distinction matters for many
reasons. While the issues facing this country are infinite, the endless bounds
of the flow of my ideas and my determination are greater. I see no better
way to optimally position myself to shape the country and the world other
than by becoming a lifelong student of learning with a steadfast moral framework
who is unable to be persuaded by anything but a proper consideration of the
facts and doing the right thing.