Posts by bryant

bryant_g

Dec 28, 2016

Undergraduate / Stanford Intellectual Vitality Essay - Epilepsy paved the road to my future [6]

Stanford students possess an intellectual vitality. Reflect on an idea or experience that has been important to your intellectual development.

Any help will be appreciated :)

epilepsy and inspiration

Living an ordinary life is all I ever wanted as a kid. For the longest time, I thought I was broken and every day was a struggle to live. By the time, I was 7, my class was involved in a bus accident coming back from Mystic Aquarium. I was asleep and hit my head hard on the metal surrounding the bus window. A few days later a seizure occurred. By the time my third seizure occurred I was brought to the emergency room and after hours of tests on me, I was told I had epilepsy and could not see flashing lights or be on electronics for no more than an hour a day. I was already in love with computer gaming at the time so I was distraught to the fact I could game as often as I could.

After living with epilepsy for six years, and still not being able to use electronics for no more than an hour a day. I decided enough was enough, I wanted to use a computer for as long as I wanted even if another seizure struck. My decision to start using computers for a long period after my epilepsy problem, encouraged me to understand how computers worked, which led to me creating ROMs for my phone and tablet and then studying Python. Even though epilepsy ruined my life initially, it inspired me to become a future programmer, it allowed me to become a part of a community.

bryant_g

Dec 29, 2016

Undergraduate / Stanford Intellectual Vitality Essay - Epilepsy paved the road to my future [6]

Here is a whole new essay, I tried to use the feedback given, that happened in the middle of the original essay, I need to cut it down but don't know where also I want to know which essay is better. Thanks to anybody who responds

"I'll get you your phone," My mom told me as I was locked out of the house again
After weeks of looking for a smartphone, I finally choose the LG Thrill. I only chose it because it had a 3D camera and a 3D display which I found super cool at only age 11. I didn't really care about the OS or the specs back then because I thought it was super cool, especially since the only thing I had before that was my computer.

As I grew, I found out phones were getting faster and my phone was starting to show its age. At the time, I didn't have the money to get a new phone and I had only one more month on my contract. I grew sick and tired that I had a slow phone, I just couldn't take it anymore I had to do something. I searched high and low on the internet looking for a way to speed up my phone but couldn't find anything except the basic tips of freeing up space or disabling aminations, which didn't even work, it frustrated me that I did not have power over my phone. Until I came across Xda-developers, I found out about the world of rooting and compiling ROMs, I was fascinated about what could be done. But I couldn't root my phone it was the most difficult thing ever at the time.

Few months after trying to root my LG Thrill, and failing multiple times, I upgraded to the LG G2 and got a Samsung tablet. I could root my LG G2 and Samsung tablet super easily after learning some basic tips on rooting. I didn't stop there, I couldn't I needed to make my phone mine. What I did next blew my mind, I compiled a ROM for both my phone and tablet from the ground up, I finally created something, it was the most exciting thing I ever did in my life, I loved every second of it. These early experiences motivated me to keep on creating new ROMS, which led me to learn how to code with Python and apply my new knowledge to my future projects.