Essay:

I was lucky when I started college because I knew exactly what I wanted to study.
I've been interested in computers since I first saw them in elementary school.
I immediately joined the Computer Science department upon acceptance into the University of Montana.
I soon discovered my strong interest in computers gave me a head start in the program.
This allowed me to pursue other interests on top of my computer science degree.
After consulting with my advisor, Mike O'Conner, I decided to join the business school and math department as well.

My freshman year was very hectic because I took some honors math courses.
I incorrectly assumed college would be like high school.
I took all the honors courses offered in my high school and passed them.
I had a rude awakening in the college honors classes.
I will admit I learned a lot about calculus.
I also have a very good calculus book to reference when I start forgetting what I learned.

My sophomore year was just a little easier because I became familiar with the college game and avoided honors courses.
The reason it wasn't a lot easier was the computer science classes became much harder.
Last year my professors were very tolerant of late assignments and sloppy work.
This year had what seemed like a zero tolerance policy.
My data structures class was particularly difficult, but turned out to be the most useful class so far.
I learned about all different kinds of heaps, stacks, linked lists, b-trees, and arrays.
Not to discount the other useful classes like Database & Software Science.
They introduced me to databases and how to collect data from websites.
They also taught me how to work in a software development team.

My junior year turned out to be a breeze.
I had "the moment" that the computer science department talks about.
It is where everything clicks and makes sense.
I suddenly understood everything I had been taught and could see where it was useful.
Not only that, but I could also see where my classes were going.
This made my algorithms, architecture, networking, and web programming classes very easy.
I wish it had also helped me with my math classes, but that might happen at a later time.

This year feels like it might be a disaster because I wasn't expecting it.
Every year seemed to get a little easier except this one.
All my previous classes had been oriented around programming.
This year is all about writing.
It is an important hurdle for me to jump... but it also is my least favorite.
I am slowly learning how to write and express my ideas.
Hopefully, I'll be a master at it when I enter graduate school.
All of these experiences should also help me teach CS 172 - Excel & Access next year.