My Introduction

19 Jan 2019

Hello everyone! My name is William Hirsch, and I’m currently a computer science student studying at the University of Toronto Mississauga. I come from Quebec, which has a different school system from the rest of Canada. In Quebec, you go to elementary school from grades 1-6, then go to high school from grades 7-11. After that, you go to a cross of high school and university called CEGEP for two years. Because of this, I’m in a weird position where I got some first year classes credited, enough that I’m considered a second year student, but I still had to take a number of first year courses last semester.

I’ve been interested in computers since I was around 10 years old, and started learning some of the deeper intricacies in grade 7. I had a decent grasp of Python 3 by the end of the 9th grade, but I never got many chances to let it show. My love for programming really blossomed in CEGEP, where, during my second year there, I took a few more formal programming classes (which ended up counting as 108 and 148) that solidified my idea of what sort of things you could do with programming.

I also truly enjoy getting into debates with people. I used to be a part of my high school debate team, which taught me how to construct, as well as dismantle an argument. I also enjoy analyzing the media I consume, particularly anime, and looking at it through different lenses, and observing both the mechanics of how the messages and story are told, as well as the philosophical implications of what those stories say.

I sometimes have trouble with my word choices. This often leads to me stumbling in conversations, especially when trying to communicate more complex ideas. I can often be heard saying “words are hard.” I really hope this class allows me to get past some of these problems with myself so that I can get across what I’m trying to say more clearly.

I tend to be able to speak most clearly when I’ve thought through what I’m going to say before saying it, otherwise I tend to get lost in what I’m saying, having my mouth move faster than my brain can keep up, which just leads to me sounding a little silly.

I hope to have a great semester with everyone!