Balancing College, Parallel Programming, and My Love for iOS Development.
Life has a funny way of putting things on pause, and right now, that’s what’s happened with my journey in iOS app development. It’s not because I’ve lost interest, but because college life, especially here in the U.S., is no joke. The courses are challenging and packed with incredible depth. They teach you from the foundation up, and believe me, that foundation is no easy climb.
One course that’s got my brain spinning is Parallel Programming in Grid and Cloud. For my first assignment, we’re working with OpenMP — a topic that, if I’m being honest, made me cry in class out of pure confusion. But here’s the good part: I have an amazing support group of fellow students, and my professor is incredibly kind. Every time I ask a question, he responds with the biggest smile and patiently clarifies things. That warmth has really kept me grounded as I work through developing an algorithm for the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP). Is it going well? I think so, but it’s definitely a challenge.
Then there’s my Information Assurance in Cyber Security class, which is a completely different kind of puzzle. This one’s more fun, in a way. We’re learning about the many components of cyber security and as part of an assignment, we researched what a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) does by watching various videos. It was a fascinating glimpse into the world of securing information — something that I might not have ever explored if it weren’t for this course.
Get Harsha Agarwal’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
While I’m completely consumed by these assignments, iOS app development is still very much on my mind. I promise to get back to it soon because the Apple Student Challenge is just around the corner. I’ve been looking forward to taking part in it, and I’m excited to dive back into my passion once I get through the whirlwind of coursework.
For now, it’s a balancing act — one I’m slowly learning to navigate. But hey, that’s life, right?
Happy Coding!
Love,
Harsha.








