Hi, my name is Soham Patel and I am a mechanical engineering
major. I have been at the University of Oklahoma for the past two and a half
years. And before OU, I spent my first semester at the University of Kansas. I originally
started out as a biochemistry with pre-medicine major, but realized that
biochemistry is really boring so then I changed to chemical engineer. Chemical
engineering was somewhat okay but nothing interested me more than machines, and
finally ended at mechanical engineering and it’s perfect.
Before OU and KU, there was major event in my life. My
birth. I was born in Leicester, England
and lived there for about ten years. My parents lost their factory job, and
jobs in England were sparse so they decided to move to America. When we moved
to America we moved around a whole lot. As far as I remember we moved from Cincinnati,
to Indianapolis, to Kentucky, to Sacramento, back to Indianapolis, and then
Tulsa.
I was in Tulsa for most of my high school years. My parents bought a motel in Tulsa called the
Best Budget Inn. It was a small business with twenty five rooms. It was located
in the ghetto. The only good thing about the motel was that there was an elementary
school behind with a basketball court. I learned and improved at basketball
there playing with the older bigger guys.
Other than basketball I like to run. I
ran in high school, but the bad thing about that was I’m too skinny. Some other stuff I enjoy doing other than playing ball and
running would be building random stuff, watching random stuff on Netflix while
I’m bored, and being lazy. I’m out of stuff to say about myself, but that
basically was my whole life story.
Random Map of England to show location of Leicester
Hey Soham!
ReplyDeleteI love how open and honest you are in your introduction! I think that it is really cool that you were born in England, I had never been out of the country before this summer so I am just so fascinated by other cultures. I would love to get to know more about your life in England and what it was like. I can relate to moving a lot, I haven't done it nearly as many times as you but my family has moved 4 times, and I know its hard to transition, but at the end of the day I think it is such a privilege to have to opportunity to travel and live in many different places, because not many people get the chance to do that! I also share your love for running and watching netflix! I just ran my first half-marathon, which i'm pretty proud of! One of my favorite pastimes as well is just lounging around and watching netflix.. never gets old!
Soham, it is a pleasure to meet you. What a great introduction blog. I'm thankful to see not only where you've come from but also how you've come here, too. I think it's cool that your family owns a hotel, too. I want to do that someday. Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting to know you through your comments / writings in this class!
ReplyDeleteHello Soham!
ReplyDeleteChoosing you for Extra Credit this week :) Haha. Wow. I had no idea that this was your life story.. That's insane. You've definitely been through a lot. But it's so cool that you were born and raised in England. I'm glad that you're at OU now and have a major that you can finally relate too and enjoy! And I wish I was good at basketball. I played in an Asian League my freshman year and because I had run cross country and track in high school, the coaches just instructed me to run around and wear all the players out lol. I literally have the worst hand eye coordination, so no one would ever pass me the ball. Safe to say that i'm done with that league and now just run when I feel like it. I also love watching random Netflix shows. When you have time, you should totally watch Orphan Black. It's a cool show, I actually finished it today! Anyways, good post :)
From Leicester to Tulsa: that is a journey! If you go on to have a family and children of your own, that will be a story that you can tell them. We moved around all the time when I was a kid also, and sometimes I was jealous of people who lived in the same house for all their childhood... but at the same time I would not trade all the experiences I got to have living in different places when I was little. And now with this Indian Epics class, you can do some virtual traveling: it's not the same as going to India itself (I have never been to India... but I still keep hoping that SOMEDAY I will get a chance to do that), but thanks to the magic of stories and pictures, we can take a sort of journey to India, a virtual journey. I hope you will enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteWow England? That's so cool! I'm from Tulsa too such a small world! Biochemistry sucks I'm pre medicine but sometimes I want to stick it out and go to medical school but then someways I just want to travel the world and not worry about school. Netflix and lazy sounds good to me any day haha. I hope to get to know you better through this semester!
ReplyDeleteSoham,
ReplyDeleteI am from Tulsa too. Well, Broken Arrow actually! That is really cool that you have lived in so many cities. Which was your favorite? I also love to just lounge around in my free time. It is a good break from a very busy week.
Hey Soham,
ReplyDeleteIt’s really cool that you’ve lived in so many places, although I’m sure that moving must have been stressful at times. I also enjoy playing basketball and watching Netflix while I do homework… Not always the most productive combination. In the first week of this class, I was paired with Neeral. I noticed that you two have the same last name, and it made me wonder if you might be related. Anyway, it was nice to get to know a little bit about you and I look forward to reading more of your posts throughout the semester.
Hi Soham, I think your introduction has been the most interesting one I have read so far! I can't imagine living somewhere for ten years then having to move because of something so sad, I am glad your parents were able to bounce back from their job losses. I have never gotten to live in another country (let alone another state) so it is very cool you have been to so many places across the country! I think it is interesting how you came to find a major that fits for you, trial and error works more than people think. I wonder how going to college in Kansas was compared to here in Oklahoma, I always hear that Oklahoma is pretty different than other states but I wouldn't know really based on the environment feel of living somewhere else. Good luck on your remaining time here at OU and wherever life takes you!
DeleteHey Soham, nice to make your e-quaintance. This might seem a little off-topic, but did you ever watch the show Battle Bots when it was on the air? I watched it all the time when I was younger (I still watch the old fights on YouTube), and I was always fascinated by the different bots the engineers would bring into the arena. I think if I were to go the mechanical engineering route, I would definitely end up building some kind of destructive robot with the hopes of competing like in the glory days of the show. Anyway, I'm glad you were able to figure out what you were passionate about. It's not always easy, so kudos.
ReplyDeleteHello Soham, nice to meet you. As a biochemistry major, I have to disagree that biochemistry is boring. But I suppose reasonable people can disagree. It is good that you found what you like to study without too much tinkering. I was born in Tulsa and went to high school there as well. I'm sure that moving around so much as a child was hard, and I hope you like where you ended up.
ReplyDeleteHey Soham!! And may I just say, wow! You have definitely lived in a variety of places, and had tons of different experiences. Your childhood must have been very interesting, to say the least.
ReplyDeleteAs a person who has many chemical engineering and biochemistry friends, I know that the major is fun--but only for a very specific group of people, haha. So I am glad that you were able to recognize that those majors weren't for you and move on to find something that you actually enjoy. I hope that mechanical engineering continues to work out for you!!!
Hey Soham,
ReplyDeleteIt seems like you've already experienced so much thus far! Although i'm sure it's hard to move around so much, you will have plenty of stories to tell your kids one day. Also, it makes assignments like these much easier. I've lived in the same place my entire life. We moved once, and it just down the street from the previous house. Literally down the street.
I also changed my major coming into college. It's good that we can find what works for us early on rather than later. Biochemistry sounds hard. Science/math was never my thing. But it sounds like it's yours!
Good luck with everything!
Hi Soham! I really liked reading your introduction! It was admirable how open you are, and it made your intro seem very real. It's so cool that you've been able to be in so many different places. I was born and brought up in OK, and while I have loved it, sometimes I wish I had a bit more adventure and would have seen more of the US. I visited England last year, and it was one of my favorite experiences. Have you been able to go back and visit? Your journey to find the right major for you is great too! I'm so glad you have found something you really like! I wish you all the best!
ReplyDeleteHey Soham! It is really nice to meet you. I took biochemistry this summer and I completely agree with you. That class was really boring. I’m just glad I got to take it with Professor Najar. He seemed to make the class a little bit more interesting with some everyday uses. I also really like playing basketball. Maybe we can get together and play at the huff sometime.
ReplyDeleteSoham, it is my second time to read your introduction and it’s great to “meet” you again. I really appreciate all of your kind comments on my blogs and stories and everything else. Your advice and kindness has been welcomed and used! It’s interesting that you spent a semester at the University of Kansas. I hear Lawrence is an awesome town. I have some friends up there that really love the school, too. One of my mentors went to school there. It’s also really cool that you were born overseas. I haven’t been to England, but I really hope to go someday. It sounds like you’re a well-traveled individual. On top of that, I think it’s really cool that your family owns a motel. I think that someday I want to own a hotel, but I guess we will see how that works out. What made you want to become a chemical engineer? I hear that chemical engineering is the hardest major at OU. What shows do you watch on Netflix? Recently, I’ve been watching Homeland, Orange is the New Black, and Revenge. I love TV shows – they’re like movies, but the plot can be so much longer and thicker and more developed. Anyway, great to re-meet you!
ReplyDeleteHey Soham! It is nice getting to read a little bit about you and your life. It is awesome that you were born and lived in England for so long. I spent some time in Europe this past summer and plan to go back again this summer, England is definitely on my list of places to go. I can't believe you started out as a Biochem major. I had to take Biochem during my junior year and was semester of that was plenty for me, I can't imagine basin a major on that. However, mechanical engineering does so quite interesting and is a field I had looked at for myself while originally deciding on a major. Well it was great getting to know a bit about you and I hope all is going well with your semester.
ReplyDeleteHey Soham, Nice to meet you! You've had quite the journey moving around throughout your life and my dad went through a similar experience when he was younger as well so I can feel for you on that. I am also a tall skinny guy who enjoys playing basketball so maybe we could meet up and play sometime! Best of luck on the rest of your semester.
ReplyDeleteSoham, it is so nice to meet you! I was a mechanical engineering major for a year at OU and I hated it. Statics was not my thing. I am sure you are very successful at it because you seem like the kind of person who is very organized and takes the time necessary to understand all of the concepts required to do well in your classes. I also transferred schools. I went to school in California but I think we all end up where we are supposed to! Great job this semester so far!
ReplyDeleteHey Soham, great job on the introduction, I found it very captivating. It sounds as though you've had quite the life with a lot of adventure. I've always tried playing basketball but I think running's more my strong suit. It probably has something to do with my complete lack of hand-eye coordination. Mechanical engineering though, that's definitely hand full. Though I'm sure it will definitely payoff in the end. Well, best of luck in your future endeavors and hope this semester finishes up smoothly.
ReplyDeleteHi Soham! Wow, that's awesome that you're from Tulsa because I'm from Tulsa too! I always get excited when I meet new people at OU that are from the same city as me. Small world. Also, that's badass that you're from England. One of my friends, Hannah, was born in England as well. I also pick Netflix as my boredom fix. I always find myself picking the most random shows to watch. It was nice to learn a little bit about you! I hope you have a great rest of the semester.
ReplyDelete