Who tf am I???
>Good question. Still kinda figuring out that one myself.
>My name is Jackson, but If we know each other you can just call me Jax, I prefer it in most casual situations.
>22.
>Right now I’m in the middle of a CS degree at Western Governors. Do I care that much about programming or working in tech? Not really. I just found it more interesting than the other four majors I’ve tried. If my current passion of stage lighting design/MA3 programming ends up not leading to full-time work I’ll fall back to this and hopefully just get a programming job at a game company. At least then I’d be helping create something people enjoy.
>Most of my free time outside of my network admin internship and school is spent working on my freelance lighting design stuff, seeing live music, weightlifting, scuba diving(when it's warmer or can afford to travel), scrolling through shitposts on instagram, and gaming.
>My next foray will probably be learning how to snowboard, I'd like to have an extra outdoor hobby or two since Scuba diving is pretty awful in Utah(duh), and getting to good diving spots outside of here is expensive, requiring more time off from work or school to participate than most other weekend-friendly hobbies
>Right now I only play a couple of games regularly, if I want to relax it’s usually Stardew Valley, Satisfactory, or No Man’s Sky. Hopefully I can finally get around to playing Webfishing soon. Aside from those I also play a few shooters right now, the newest being Ultrakill, it's so fucking fun and chaotic. If I’m feeling hyper competitive I’ll play the big three esports shooters CS/Siege/Valorant, and if I wanna be social I’ll play Fortnite casually with friends.
>Scuba diving has been my most recent obsession. Since I got certified early 2024 I’ve logged about 25 dives in Mexico, California, and various sites in Utah. I should be able to apply for my advanced diver certification soon, and after I hit 50 the master diver certification will be next. The only problem is that this shit is really expensive and most of that cost comes from travel if you don’t live on the coast near any good sites. However, being able to go places and find sea creatures underwater that most people can’t is what makes it so addicting to me. It’s like the other 71% of the world is suddenly opened to you.
>I hope to one day help make scuba diving more accessible and inviting for younger people. Right now most divers I meet are old rich guys over the age of 50, which makes sense considering the monetary and time cost of traveling to dive. There are more affordable options out there than weeklong live-aboards, but are rare and not well marketed. Dive shops know this, but stand to make better profits on the big expensive international trips. I hope to one day change this through better outreach to gen Z divers and those not as privileged, to show that diving can be affordable when you’re not being gouged by big dive shops, some of which are just fronts for huge dive gear manufacturing corporations.
>Over the past two years I’ve developed an obsession with live music. Since turning twenty I’ve been to over 50 shows, 28 of which were in 2024. The energy and raw emotion of live music, especially experienced with other people around you is something I can never get enough of. I’m typically quite introverted, but am the opposite at shows; I love meeting people who share the same music tastes as me and have made more friends doing so than I did in all my years of school.
>Most of the shows I go to are metalcore, hardcore, or punk adjacent, but really any high energy genre, especially those popular with chronically online people like me, will get my attention. There’s just more of a touring culture with metalcore and related genres versus breakcore/hyperpop/digital hardcore/whatever. In a nutshell, If the set will have a pit you’ll find me there. While I certainly enjoy much slower indie and alternative music, I find it more fun to go to those types of shows with friends as a whole planned thing; people usually aren't as talkative at those shows when I go solo and try to make conversation.